A family have won a landmark ruling allowing them to stay in their home after they faced losing it through a sale and rent back scheme, it has emerged.

A family have won a landmark ruling allowing them to stay in their home after they faced losing it through a sale and rent back scheme, it has emerged.

Paul and Amanda Jackson, who had lived in their property in Shrewsbury since 1984, had entered into a sale and rent back scheme with a company called Repossessions Stopped after getting into mortgage arrears.

They were told by the firm that they could remain in the property indefinitely.

But in 2007, just two years after the arrangement was set up, they received an eviction notice after the firm failed to keep up with its mortgage payments on the property.

However, a judge at Birmingham County Court ruled that the family could stay in the property for life, with them either taking out a new mortgage and becoming owners, or through renting the property from the mortgage lender who had repossessed it. When the parents die, their daughter, who is over 18, can inherit the tenancy, as can their son, if he is over 18 at the time.

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."

Housing charity Shelter, which brought the case to court on the family's behalf, 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.

"I would urge anyone having mortgage difficulties to seek independent advice from Shelter, a Citizens Advice Bureau or other debt counselling organisations before contacting these kind of companies."

Sale and rent back schemes enable people struggling to keep up with their mortgage to sell their property to a company and then rent it back again.