Under the CCMA, which groups are protected?

• A. (i) Owner occupiers in arrears.
• B. (ii) Property owners of any residential property.
• C. (iii) Owner occupiers who are in danger of arrears but not yet in financial difficulty.
• D. (i) and (iii) only.

Answer: (C)

The protection under CCMA targets borrowers in the early stage of potential trouble—specifically owner-occupiers who are at risk of falling into arrears but have not yet slipped into financial difficulty. The idea is to intervene before arrears occur, giving lenders room to offer alternatives such as restructuring or temporary relief to help the borrower stay current. Once someone is already in arrears, they’re already in financial difficulty, so this early-stage protection no longer applies. Similarly, protection isn’t automatically extended to all property owners of any residential property; it’s limited to those in the at-risk, pre-arrears stage. Therefore, the group that is protected is owner-occupiers who are in danger of arrears but not yet in financial difficulty.