Mortgage possession actions are slowly recovering from the impact of the pandemic, new government figures have indicated.
Claims, orders and warrants are currently around 53%, 47% and 55% below the pre-pandemic levels of Q1 2019.
As a result of coronavirus and associated actions, figures published by the Ministry of Justice confirmed that all mortgage possession actions have dropped significantly. Compared to the same quarter in 2019, mortgage possession claims (2,890) are down 53%.
Mortgage orders for possession (2,293) are also down 47%, while warrants issued (2,162) are down 55% and repossessions (571) are down 57%.
Historically, repossessions by county court bailiffs fell from a high of 9,284 in Q1 of 2009 to 934 in Q3 of 2018, the lowest recorded level of the series at the time. Following the complete cessation of repossession proceedings between March and September 2020 where no repossessions took place, guidance from the FCA advised mortgage lenders not to commence or continue possession proceedings until April 2021.
As a result, there were just 10 repossessions over the whole of last year from April 2020 to March 2021, and only 571 in January to March 2022, a total down 57% compared to the same quarter in 2019.
Before the impact of COVID, the historical fall in the number of mortgage possession actions since 2008 has generally coincided with lower interest rates. Furthermore, the downward trend recorded in recent years mirrors that seen in the proportion of owner-occupiers.
Founder of the mortgage comparison platform Dashly, Ross Boyd, commented: “Though mortgage and landlords possession actions are down on 2019, pre-pandemic, the 100% increase compared to the first quarter of 2021 is a trend that is worth monitoring. It could be a natural readjustment following the passing of the Coronavirus Act in March 2020.
“Fortunately, many homeowners are on exceptionally low fixed rates and that will support their ability to maintain payments. It's what happens when they come to the end of their fixed rates that matters now. Many will be in for a serious rate shock if rates continue to rise, something that will be exacerbated if inflation is still well above target.”
Latest News
NEW BUILD IN FOCUS - NEW EPISODE OF THE MORTGAGE INSIDER PODCAST, OUT NOW
Figures from the National House-Building Council saw Q1 2025 register a 36% increase in new homes built across the UK compared with the same period last year, representing a striking development for the first-time buyer market. But with the higher cost of building, ongoing planning challenges and new and changing regulations, how sustainable is this growth? And what does it mean for brokers?
The role of the bridging market and technology usage in the industry
Content editor, Dan McGrath, sat down with chief operating officer at Black & White Bridging, Damien Druce, and head of development finance at Empire Global Finance, Pete Williams, to explore the role of the bridging sector, the role of AI across the industry and how the property market has fared in the Labour Government’s first year in office.
Does the North-South divide still exist in the UK housing market?
What do the most expensive parts of the country reveal about shifting demand? And why is the Manchester housing market now outperforming many southern counterparts?
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.
The new episode of The Mortgage Insider podcast, out now
Regional housing markets now matter more than ever. While London and the Southeast still tend to dominate the headlines from a house price and affordability perspective, much of the growth in rental yields and buyer demand is coming from other parts of the UK.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.
© 2019 Perspective Publishing Privacy & Cookies
Recent Stories