repossessions

many people have borrowed more than they should to buy a home
the money-lenders have encouraged this
because they have too much money in their coffers
and they want to make profit on it
they know that if payments are not kept up
all they need do is repossess the property and sell it
often just to cover the debt, so, the property is sold at a loss
at a loss to the ex-home owner and his family
the wife and children are not to blame but suffer
property speculators make big profits out of their misery

if legislation was brought in
to force lenders
to convert the mortgage into a lease until the borrower
was able to make mortgage payments once more
this would prevent families being made homeless
and may also encourage lenders not to make it so easy
for borrowers to go over their limit ( and get into debt )

why won't the government do this ?
and why can they not work together to achieve this goal ?