Mortgage and landlord possession volumes in the first quarter of 2024 have both increased compared to the same quarter last year, Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures reveal.
Mortgage possession actions have continued their gradual upward trend with mortgage claims at their highest since 2019.
Compared to the same quarter in 2023, mortgage possession claims increased 28% from 4,035 to 5,182.
Meanwhile, orders went up 19% from 2,532 to 3,019, warrants by 9% from 2,636 to 2,881 and repossessions by county court bailiffs saw a 4% rise from 729 to 759.
Landlord possession actions have also all increased this quarter and are now almost at their pre-covid 2019 baseline.
All landlord possession actions have increased compared to the same period in 2023 but at a lesser rate than mortgage possession actions.
Landlord possession claims increased by 6% from 23,389 to 24,874, orders by 3% from 17,644 to 18,154, warrants by 9% from 10,503 to 11,407 and repossessions by 6% from 6,501 to 6,864.
Elsewhere, the median average time from claim to mortgage repossession has decreased to 45.7 weeks, down from 60.9 weeks in the same period in 2023.
However, the median average time from claim to landlord repossession has increased to 24.1 weeks, up from 22.4 weeks in the same period in 2023.
Mortgage and landlords possession claims rates have risen across all regions.
Westminster had the highest rate of mortgage possession claims at 279 per 100,000 households owned by mortgage or loan, followed by Newham and Croydon; with 215 and 178 claims per 100,000, respectively.
The highest private landlord possession claim rates were found in London, with six of the 10 highest rates occurring in this region. Barking and Dagenham had the highest rate for private landlord claims.
The highest social landlord possession claim rates were also found in London with fiveof the 10 highest rates occurring in this region. Croydon had the highest rate for social landlord claims.
London boroughs accounted for six of the 10 local authorities with the highest rate of private landlord claims.
Meanwhile, three local authorities had no private landlord claims during this period. Excluding this, South Hams had the lowest rate of private landlord claims.
London boroughs accounted for five of the 10 local authorities with the highest rate of social landlord claims.
One local authority had no social landlord claims during this period. Excluding this, Isle of Anglesey had the lowest rate of social landlord claims.
Commenting on the latest figures, Liberal Democrat treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney MP says: “These deeply worrying figures show a steep rise in families at risk of losing their homes due to soaring mortgage rates.”
“This Conservative government crashed the economy with their disastrous mini budget and sent mortgage rates spiralling. But now Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt have failed to lift a finger to help those impacted by this Conservative chaos.”
“It is unforgivable and shows just how out of touch the Conservative Party is with people struggling to get by.”
