The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has responded to a recent report by the National Homelessness Advice Service and Shelter on the potential of assisted voluntary sales (AVS) to act as an alternative to mortgage possession.

The report looked at the potential of AVS as a means by which borrowers could opt to move out of home-ownership and into other forms of tenure in the right circumstances.

The CML said lenders needed to reflect on whether a structured AVS offering should sit alongside their other options for dealing with borrowers in difficulty.

In its ‘News and Views’, the CML said: “The report suggests that AVS has the potential to deliver better outcomes for borrowers and lenders than possession in some circumstances.