May 29, 2017 10:00 PM EDT By Chris Brandt, UniversityHerald Reporter

Student loan debt has amounted to hundreds of billions of dollars due to the fact that many are defaulting on their payment. This has resulted in the government filing a federal lawsuit to those who have defaulted on their payments and a lot of people have already been taken by surprise when a paper arrived and demanded them to pay.

For many years, the government has been trying different strategies to collect payment from those who have outstanding student loan debt. However, there are still a lot who defaulted on their payments. CNBC reported that there are at least 3,000 people who default from student loan repayment every day. Now, the government is taking a new strategy that forces debtors to pay or they will lose their house.

How does it work?

The government attaches a lien on the borrower's assets, such as their house or other valuable properties. This lien acts as a handcuff preventing the borrower to have a transaction involving their house. That means if the homeowner with an outstanding student loan debt tries to get a new mortgage or refinance, they will be required to clear up any debt first before their request will be granted.

Through the federal lawsuit program, borrowers cannot avoid repaying their debts any longer. Drew Salman, a debt-collection attorney from Philadelphia, said that the debt collection program ensures that people take responsibility for their debt. It also sort of wakes them up from the fact that they have a debt to pay.

Joanna Darcus, an attorney on the student loan team at the National Consumer Law Center, said that the lien threatens borrowers because the government has the authority to sell the house. Because of this threat, borrowers will be forced to pay their student loan debt or lose their house.

The federal lawsuit program has already gone after more than 3,00 students and brought to 19 cities around the country. It will keep on expanding since there are still more than 8 million people who are behind their student loan debt.

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