Dramatic rise for Mortgage Possession Claims - government data

Both mortgage and landlord possessions actions have continued to rise in the current quarter. Mortgage claims have reached their highest volume since Q2 2019 and are now close to pre-Covid volumes. This increase has been seen across all mortgage possession actions.

All landlord possession actions have also continued to rise compared to the same period in 2023, albeit at a lesser rate than mortgage possession actions and not yet at pre covid levels. These increases in landlord possession actions are reflected across all actions for social landlord, private landlord and accelerated procedure claims.

Mortgage possession timeliness has decreased for both claims to warrants (34.1 weeks) and claims to repossession (45.9 weeks), whereas a slight increase was recorded for claims to order (8.4 weeks) compared to Q2 2023. This contrasts with landlord possession timeliness, which has increased across all action types compared to the same period in 2023.

In detail, mortgage possession claims have been steadily increasing since Q2 2021 (apart from small dips in some quarters) and continue to rise in the latest quarter. Claims, warrants and repossession volumes are now 14%, 38% and 32% below the Q2 2019 volume.

Mortgage possession claims fell from a peak of 26,419 in April to June 2009 (in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash) before stabilising in 2015. In the most recent quarter, Q2 2024, there were 5,343 claims for possession, up 34% from the same quarter in 2023.

Orders and warrants for possession have followed a similar trend to mortgage claims. Compared to the same quarter in 2023, orders are up 34% to 3,395 and warrants are up 9% to 2,918 in Q2 2024.

Following FCA guidance to avoid possession proceedings during the pandemic, repossessions were very low during most of 2020 and 2021. While they have increased recently, they remain below pre-Covid levels.

Before the impact of coronavirus, the historical fall in the number of mortgage possession actions since 2008 has generally coincided with lower interest rates, a proactive approach from lenders in managing consumers in financial difficulties and other interventions, such as the Mortgage Rescue Scheme and the introduction of the Mortgage Pre-Action Protocol. The trend seen in recent years mirrors that seen in the proportion of owner-occupiers.

Claim to warrant and claim to repossession median timeliness have decreased for the third consecutive quarter whereas median timeliness for claim to order has increased slightly over this period.

The median average time from claim to repossession has decreased to 45.9 weeks, down from 48.7 weeks in the same period in 2023.

Median times taken to complete mortgage actions have decreased for both claims to warrant and claims to repossession compared to the same quarter in 2023, whereas a slight increase has been recorded for claims to order over the same period. This is following a push from courts to reduce backlogs and ensure swift access to justice. 

This quarter;

•    Claims to order median timeliness is currently 8.4 weeks, up from 8.1 weeks in the same period in 2023;
•    Claims to warrant median timeliness has decreased to 34.1 weeks, down from 42.9 weeks in the same period in 2023;
•    Claims to repossession median timeliness has decreased to 45.9 weeks, down from 48.7 weeks in the same period in 2023.