Outstanding mortgage payments, council tax arrears and energy debts are combining to place Somerset homeowners in ‘precarious’ situations, according to a leading advice charity working in the area.

The team at Navigate Charity work in the South West to provide specialist one to one support for people experiencing social isolation and financial hardship.

They say they’re dealing with an increasing number of homeowners who are struggling to maintain their mortgage as other cost-of-living pressures rise.

According to the charity’s latest figures, there was a 51% increase in the total value of debt being presented by homeowning clients in Somerset last year, with specific debts linked to overdrafts, credit cards, family borrowing, electricity debt and water arrears all contributing.

When looking specifically at energy debt, their clients collectively owed £133,542 last year.

Claire Summers, Service Delivery Manager at Navigate Charity, said: “On the surface, some appear to be coping: their mortgage is up to date, and there’s no immediate threat of repossession. But dig a little deeper and a far more precarious picture emerges.

“Many clients prioritise their mortgage payments at the expense of everything else. Their determination to ‘keep the house’ is entirely understandable, but it can come at a significant cost.”

Claire says that this practice leads to many homeowners borrowing even more and presenting for support when things become unmanageable.

She added: “The real challenge is not simply the level of debt, but the absence of realistic ways to repay it when homeowners are already stretched to their limit.

“Formal debt solutions are often ill-suited to homeowners in this position. Debt Relief Orders are usually not an option because property ownership excludes eligibility. Bankruptcy places the home at risk. Income-based solutions or repayment plans require surplus income that many clients simply do not have. As advisers, we are increasingly constrained by systems that were never designed with this group in mind.”

The team have had to become more creative in their support for homeowners, often working with lenders, local authorities and employability programmes to create new payment plans, write off debts and help boost income.

The team have been helping people like Sarah* – a single mum who suffers with chronic depression and anxiety, living in her own mortgaged property alongside her disabled son. With debts, mortgage arrears and a £1,000 monthly deficit, she was referred for debt and energy support. Advisers secured a 60-day breathing space and negotiated payment holidays, maximised benefits, and obtained grants, white goods and energy-efficiency items. Counselling addressed her health conditions and improved her wellbeing while reduced water charges and ongoing creditor communication prevented repossession. Sarah later returned to flexible employment, applied for SMI, and entered an IVA to manage £68,470 of debt, stabilising finances.

Claire added: “Fuel debt, in particular, is notoriously difficult to resolve. Energy providers rarely agree to write-offs, preferring instead to direct clients toward trust funds. We do support clients to apply for these funds wherever appropriate, but caps on awards mean that those with the largest and longest-standing debts, often the most vulnerable, are least likely to benefit fully.

“What this work has shown me is that homeowners in debt occupy an increasingly uncomfortable middle ground. They are often excluded from the safety nets available to renters, yet lack the financial resilience assumed of property owners. Supporting them requires creativity, persistence, and compassion, as well as systems that better reflect the realities they face.”