The implications of all this is that if someone has one of these loans, the family should be looking at ways of repaying it in whole or in part,early.
Of course, if it has switched to a variable rate, then it can be repaid in whole or in part without penalty.
If it is still in the fixed rate period, there probably would be an early break fee.
If the loan is still at 5.5% with 5 years left of the fixed rate, one way around it might be to buy the house from the parent. If I recall correctly, there is no early repayment fee if the house is sold.
Brendan