Mortgage repossession claims on the rise

Home repossessions have begun to rise but remain below pre-Covid levels, Government figures show.

The number of mortgage possession claims increased by 30% in the third quarter of 2022, Government figures show.

Data from the Ministry of Justice has revealed there were 3,680 claims for possession by lenders between July and September 2022, up 30% annually.
The number of court orders rose 103% annually to 2,491 and warrants were up 157% to 2,437.

Repossessions by county court bailiffs increased from 390 to 744, a 91% annual rise during the quarter.

These figures are between 50% to 60% of pre-Covid baselines, the Ministry of Justice said.

Some of the increase could be attributed to the suspension of repossession action during the pandemic and courts clearing the backlog.

There were only 10 repossessions from April 2020 to March 2021.

It also coincides with the increased cost of living and warnings that rising interest rates could make mortgages unaffordable for homeowners.

Commenting on the data, Karen Noye, mortgage expert at wealth manager Quilter, said: ““Repossessions spiked after the financial crisis but since then due to lenders taking a more proactive approach to helping struggling borrowers and also low interest rates the levels of repossessions have dramatically decreased.

“However, in the face of the cost-of-living crisis sadly the numbers of repossessions are starting to climb again. Historically, periods of high interest rates have coincided with an uptick in the number of repossessions due to people’s monthly payments increasing to levels they can no longer pay.

“With high energy and food prices some people will start to struggle to heat their homes, eat and service their mortgage and this will lead to repossession.”

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics-july-to-september-2022/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics-july-to-september-2022