Estate Planning

Predatory Lending and Older Homeowners

By Hull & Hull LLP

The Canadian Centre for Elder Law (CCEL), a division of the British Columbia Law Institute (BCLI), issued a media release on February 28, 2008 advising that it has just released its Study Paper on Predatory Lending Issues in Canada.

In its media release the CCEL noted that while the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States has made the issue of predatory lending a hot topic worldwide, little attention has been paid to the legal aspects of predatory lending in the Canadian mortgage market.

Ron Skolrood, Chair of the BCLI’s board of directors, remarks in the media release, “It appears that there are no specific laws to protect Canadians from a similar crisis occurring here”...“This study paper serves as a starting point for further discussion.”

The Executive Summary of the Study Paper states, “The study paper’s focus is primarily on how predatory lending may affect older homeowners, but similar issues may arise in connection with individuals who are purchasing a home and obtaining a new mortgage.”

Parts of the paper deal with factors in the Canadian mortgage market that may encourage or deter the development of predatory lending as well as existing Canadian legal remedies for abusive lending practices.

The media release notes that while many Canadians think of predatory lending and the mortgage crisis as an American phenomenon from which they are safe, and though the lending atmosphere in Canada has historically been more cautious than in the United States, the extent to which predatory lending occurs in Canada is largely unknown.

For those interested, a full text of the paper is available on the BCLI’s website (www.bcli.org). 

Have a great day.

Craig

Full post as published by Toronto Estate Law Blog on March 25, 2008 (boomark / email).