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Mortgage possession claims up 39% "paints a grim picture of the financial strain gripping homeowners"

ended 13. February 2025

New data published this morning shows that, in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the same quarter in 2023, there was an increase in mortgage possession claims from 4,385 to 6,080 — a rise of 39%. When compared to the same quarter in 2023, in Q4 2024 there was a 3%  increase in landlord possession claims from 23,374 to 24,010. More broadly, increases in mortgage possession claims have been recorded in all regions. Newspage asked mortgage and debt experts for their views, below.

5 responses from the Newspage community

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Ranald Mitchell
Director at bad credit mortgage specialists Charwin Mortgages
The latest mortgage possessions data paints a grim picture of the financial strain gripping homeowners. A 39% surge in mortgage possession claims year-on-year is a grim reminder that many households are now feeling the full force of the interest rate readjustment. For years, borrowers stretched themselves to the limit when rates were low, often without considering the 'what if' scenario of rising repayments. Now that reality is here and, for thousands, the sums simply don’t add up. Landlords, too, are under pressure, with possession claims creeping up as rising costs, higher mortgage rates, and tightening regulations squeeze their margins. Many are exiting the market, leading to further instability in the rental sector. This is unlikely to be the end of the mortgage misery. Fixed-rate deals taken out during the ultra-low interest rate era are continuing to expire throughout 2025.
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Patricia McGirr
Founder at Repossession Rescue Network
A 39% surge in mortgage repossessions is sadly no surprise. Budget policies have added more fuel to the burning pyre of household incomes. Homeowners aren’t missing payments by choice, they’re drowning in a system rigged against them. Recent rate drops will be cold comfort to those whose damaged credit locks them out of refinancing, trapped by lender policies that punish rather than help. Rate cuts mean nothing if lenders keep punishing those who need them most. Meanwhile, landlord possession claims creep up, showing tenants are struggling, too. For many the housing market is not a world of opportunity, it’s become a nightmare from which they can’t escape.
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Riz Malik
Independent Financial Adviser at R3 Wealth
If repossessions are up when we have ‘economic growth’, imagine what is yet to come when the economy contracts. The cost of living crisis has come home to roost for many households and urgent action needs to be taken by the government.
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Dariusz Karpowicz
Director at Albion Financial Advice
The eye-watering 39% surge in mortgage possession claims tells a stark story of Britain's housing crisis, with thousands of homeowners caught in the perfect storm of high interest rates and soaring living costs. These aren't just statistics, they represent real families watching their dream of homeownership crumble. With repossessions rising during supposed economic growth, and modest increases in landlord possession claims, it's clear the housing market has become a precarious place for both owners and renters. While recent interest rate cuts offer a glimmer of hope, they've arrived too late for many households already trapped in a spiral of financial hardship.
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Emma Jones
Managing Director at Whenthebanksaysno.co.uk
If the government needed a wake-up call to the pressures households are under, this is it. Many people are in a desperate position. Hopefully we will get more rate cuts this year, which coud provide some support to people struggling with their repayments.