According to the latest figures from Ministry of Justice, mortgage possession claims in Q3 grew by 30 per cent to 3,680 compared to the same period last year.
Orders more than doubled to 2,491 and warrants nearly tripled to 2,437 over the same period. Repossessions by county court bailiffs also jumped from 390 to 744 between Q3 2021 and Q3 2022.
The Ministry of Justice said that figures were between 50 and 60 per cent of pre-Covid baselines.
The median average time from claim to mortgage repossession fell to 60.1 weeks, down from 114.7 weeks in the same period last year. However, the ministry said that this could be because there were fewer cases in the period.
From a regional perspective, Medway in the South East region had the highest rate of mortgage possession claims at 34 per 100,000 households.
This was followed by Greenwich in London at 33 claims per 100,000, and Slough in South East at 32 claims per 100,000.
Newcastle-Upon-Tyne had the higher overall rate of mortgage repossessions at 11 per 100,000.
Landlord possession claims more than doubled
Landlord possessions have also grown, with claims more than doubling to 21,012 in Q3 2022.
Orders increased from 5,601 in Q3 last year to 15,352 now, and warrants rose from 4,553 to 8,505 over the same period. Repossessions went up by 10 per cent to 5,403.
The median average time from claim to landlord repossession has fallen to 22.3 weeks, compared to 68.6 weeks in the same period in 2021.
The majority of the highest landlord possession claim rates were found in London, with nine of the 10 highest rates occurring in this region. Brent had the highest rate at 325 per 100,000 households.
This was followed by Newham at 295 per 100,000 and Ealing at 284 per 100,000.
Landlord repossessions were the highest in Greenwich at 69 per 100,000 households and six out of the 10 highest rates were located in London.
Renters are ‘under stress like never before’
Dan Wilson Craw, deputy director at Generation Rent, said that private renters were “under stress like never before”.
He continued: “The rising cost of living has pushed thousands into rent arrears, who now face homelessness as their landlords seek eviction.
“Even staying on top of rent is not enough for other renters, whose landlords are using Section 21 eviction notices to force them out without needing a reason. These properties will often end up back on the market at a much higher rent.”
Wilson Craw said renters were relying on the Chancellor to take “emergency steps” next week to keep them in their home and stop rents from worsening the cost of living crisis.
“We need Jeremy Hunt to freeze rents, suspend no-fault evictions, and re-link Local Housing Allowance rates to market rents,” he added.
