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Mortgage and landlord possession statistics: October to December 2023

ended 08. February 2024

The Ministry of Justice has just published a new report, Mortgage and landlord possession statistics: October to December 2023. Key points below. Newspage asked brokers for their views, bottom.

  • Compared to the same quarter in 2022, mortgage possession claims increased from 3,163 to 4,384 (39%), orders from 2,482 to 2,702 (9%), warrants from 2,131 to 2,201 (3%) and repossessions by county court bailiffs decreased from 735 to 593 (19%).
  • When compared to the same quarter in 2022, landlord possession claims increased from 20,457 to 23,382 (14%), orders from 16,145 to 18,003 (12%), warrants from 8,778 to 9,833 (12%) and repossessions from 5,427 to 6,649 (23%).
  • Increases in possession claims have been recorded in all regions. Private and social landlord claims remained concentrated in London (with 7 and 1 of the highest 10 claim rates respectively).
  • The median average time from claim to mortgage repossession has decreased to 50.5 weeks, down from 63.7 weeks in the same period in 2022.
  • The median average time from claim to landlord repossession has increased to 23.7 weeks, up from 21.7 weeks in the same period in 2022.

7 responses from the Newspage community

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Richard Jennings CeMAP
Founder & Managing Director at Richard Jennings Mortgage Services
This is another set of damning stats that will further erode confidence in the buy-to-let market. With rates of arrears increasing and the time from commencing to repossession shorterning, it reflects poorly on lenders' sympathy and understanding of borrower circumstances.
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Akhil Mair
Director at Our Mortgage Broker
The surge in mortgage possession claims by a staggering 39% and landlord possession claims by 14% is deeply concerning. Such sharp spikes indicate a looming crisis in housing security across the nation. The fact that these increases are widespread across all regions, with a concentration in London, paints a grim picture of the property landscape. It's alarming to witness the growing number of individuals and families facing the threat of losing their homes, highlighting the urgent need for comprehensive interventions and support mechanisms to mitigate this escalating crisis.
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Ben Perks
Managing Director at Orchard Financial Advisers
A mixed bag of statistics. At a glance, it seems encouraging news that repossessions reduced last year. But we have to wonder, is this a combination of the the Mortgage Charter and lenders being more lenient given current economic circumstances? The amount of mortgage possession claims has increased, which indicates payment arrears are on the rise, which is no surprise in the current climate. The Mortgage Charter has given people options to reduce payment for 6 months, so the reposession figures may just be delayed. It will be interesting to watch these figures over the first quarter of 2024 to see what picture they start to paint, but that picture may not be pretty.
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Ranald Mitchell
Director at bad credit mortgage specialists Charwin Mortgages
39% is a large increase in reposessions year on year, highlighting the ongoing turmoil that mortgage holders are facing. With tenants defaulting, largely due to cost of living pressures, what's also evident is that many landlords simply don't have the financial resiliance to cope with the rental voids created. With Court ordered reposessions decreasing slightly, it shows that many admit defeat, probably smaller landlords, and agree to the sale of their property rather than go through the indignity and expense of Court action.
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Ken James
Director at Contractor Mortgage Services
Is it any wonder that this statisctic has increased, with rate increases hitting both residential markets and BTL the cost of borrowiing has seen big jumps in rate, whilst theses figures have started to reduce, for many this reduction in rates has come too late with rates expiring in the hieghts of the incerases. For many this was that push over the edge that caused them to loose their homes. I do feel this rate of possesions may slow dwn as we push into 2024 as long as we continue to see the rates reducing or at least staying level for a while as many are starting to adjust to what is the new normal.
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Scott Taylor-Barr
Principal Adviser at Barnsdale Financial Management
Context is key when looking at statistics, after all if one person was repossessed in 2022 and two people in 2023, that's a 100% increase. According to the FCA figures for 2023 the total UK mortgage debt is £1,654.3 billion. Finder's mortgage statistics show the average UK mortgage as £189,503. That means that the total number of mortgaged properties in the UK should be around 8.7 million homes. So, even with this increase only 1.23% of total UK mortgages are in arrears and from a macroeconomic viewpoint that's a tiny amount and with interest rates having increased from their ultra-low levels I don't think anyone is surprised to see an upward tick in arrears as people's fixed rates end and they are seeing sharp increases in repayments. There are always options though, so it's important to reach out for help as soon as you can see an issue arising, either to your lender or to a broker, to explore the steps you could take to avoid going into arrears.
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Graham Cox
Director at Bridging Hub
Landlord repossession claims were up nearly a quarter in Q4 2023 compared to the same period the previous year. Not at all surprising given how the surge in interest rates has led to either unaffordable refinancing costs or more void periods due to higher rents. The situation is particularly bad in London for landlords and tenants alike. More social housing is desperately needed.