A Shropshire couple have won a landmark battle allowing them to stay in their home after they faced the threat of eviction.

Paul and Amanda Jackson were told they would be able to rent their own home forever when they sold it to a specialist sale and rent back company after getting into mortgage arrears. But two years later they were faced with eviction.

The company called Repossessions Stopped failed to keep up its mortgage payments on the property.

The Jacksons, who have lived in their house in Ferndale Road, Shrewsbury, since 1984, were left devastated after receiving the eviction notice in 2007.

However, a judge at Birmingham Crown Court ruled last week that they could stay in the property for life, with them either taking out a new mortgage and becoming the owners, or through renting the property from the mortgage lender who had repossessed it.

Mr Jackson said: “We took that option – sale and rent back – to provide security and safety for our family as we didn’t want to lose the home we had lived in for more than 20 years.

“But when we were served with the eviction notice we felt as if everything was being stolen from us.

“It was a strange feeling when it was going through court as we knew there would be other people in the same boat. I hope the ruling will do something positive for others. Now we have a firm base to work on.”

Housing charity Shelter, which brought the case to court on the family’s behalf, today said it believed it was the first ruling of its kind.

Shelter’s principal solicitor John Gallagher said: “This is a huge and important victory for not only the Jackson family but everyone who is tempted by these sale and rent back schemes.”

The schemes enable people struggling with their mortgage to sell their property to a company and then rent it back again. But they have come in for heavy criticism following claims that some companies pay less than 60 per cent of the market value for properties.

In the case of the Jacksons, Repossessions Stopped paid only £63,000 for the property, despite it having a market value of £100,000.

It was not possible to contact anyone at Repossessions Stopped.

By Tom Johannsen