Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said that guidance will be given to judges in an effort to lower repossession rates.

Mr Brown told the Commons that mortgage lenders will have to show the courts that they have examined every option.

Some charities argue that several lenders have been quick to turn to repossession, rather than exhausting every avenue first.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has estimated that property repossessions will jump by almost 19,000 this year to 45,000, from the 26,200 figure recorded last year.

The charity Citizens Advice has welcomed the new guidelines.

The charity's head of consumer policy, Sue Edwards said: "This timely introduction of a pre-action protocol for mortgage arrears will ensure that court action is only taken as a last resort where all other options have failed and no agreement can be reached.”

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Yvette Cooper said that she wanted stronger rules across the board to provide enough support to home-owners.

The new guidelines will advise the courts of what is to be expected of lenders with repossession cases.

This is in addition to the Financial Services Authority rules in place, used to guide lenders on how to deal with home-owners who fall into arrears.

Regulators have acknowledged that some lenders have been too aggressive in their repossession policies as the financial crisis continues.

Under the new guidelines lenders are now expected to demonstrate that they have made ample effort to discuss and explore alternatives to repossession when borrowers fall into trouble with mortgage repayments.

If a case goes to court, lenders will have to stipulate exactly what they have done to meet the guidelines.

Justice Minister Bridget Prentice said: "Lenders will be expected to consider ways of resolving problems outside the court system, so that mortgage possession claims are only brought to court after all other suitable options have been exhausted.”