## Mortgage And Landlord Possession Statistics In England And Wales, April To June 2017 (Provisional) Main Points

Since April to June 2016, the number of mortgage possession claims made to county courts has increased, and warrants and repossessions continue to fall. All landlord possession actions continue to decrease in line with the long-term trend.   

Mortgage possession: 
claims and orders have 
 
increased 
Mortgage possession **claims** and **orders** have **risen** 
again (compared to the same quarter last year), a continuation of the increase seen in October to December 2016, but figures remain at a similar level to the past two years. 
Mortgage: average time 
(from claim issued to 
 
possession action) has 
increased  
Average time from claim to order has decreased. Time 
from claim to warrant and **repossession** continues the long term rising trend (to over 135 weeks, up **from** 116 weeks in the previous year (Apr-Jun 2016). 
 All stages of landlord 
 
possession actions have 
decreased  
Landlord possession claims, **orders** for possession, warrants of possession and **repossessions** by county court bailiffs have decreased, continuing the long-term downward trend seen since April to June 2014. 93 Local Authorities have **no repossessions recorded**. 
Mortgage possession 
 
claims and repossession 
rates remain at low levels 
Mortgage possession claim rates are highest in 
Blaenau Gwent with 55 per 100,000 households. Mortgage repossession rates are highest in South Lakeland with 23 per 100,000 households.  
Landlord possession 
claims and repossessions 
 
highest in London and the 
The highest rates of landlord possession actions are concentrated in London (8 of 10 highest claim rates and 
16 of 20 highest repossession rates). 
East 

This publication provides mortgage and landlord possession statistics in April to June 2017, compared to the same quarter the previous year. A data visualisation tool has been introduced to this quarterly edition and can be accessed here. For technical detail, please refer to the accompanying supporting document. 

For feedback related to the content of this publication, please contact us know at CAJS@justice.gsi.gov.uk 
 

## 1.  Overview Of Mortgage Possession Claims And Order Possession Actions Have Increased

Mortgage possession **claims** (5,186) and orders for **possession** (3,343), have both increased by 17% and 8% respectively (compared to the same quarter last year). However, while these figures are again an increase on the previous quarters, they remain broadly in line with the recent trend, seen since January to March 2015. 

 
The continuing downward trend seen for **warrants** of possession and **repossessions**, 
may reflect a time lag of cases progressing through the system. 

## 

Mortgage possession claims fell from a peak of 26,419 in April to June 2009 before stabilising in April to June 2015 (4,849). In April to June 2017, claims for possession increased by 17% to 5,186 claims (compared to the same quarter in 2016). Orders for possession followed a similar trend to mortgage claims, falling from a peak of 23,850 orders in July to September 2009, but continuing to decline to 2,685 orders at July to September 2016. In the most recent quarter, orders have increased by 8% compared to the same quarter in 2016, from 3,101 to 3,343. The fall in the number of mortgage possession actions since 2008 coincides 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. Additionally, the downward trend seen in recent years mirrors that seen in the proportion of owner-occupiers. However, in the most recent year, claims and orders have started to increase. Outer London is the region most driving these trends, with the largest percentage increase in both claims and orders. 

## 2. Mortgage Possession Action Timeliness

Average time between claims being issued to possession action has increased. 

The average time for orders to be issued has continued to slowly **fall**. For issues of warrants, the time taken has increased **to the highest** level seen for the past 5 years.  
 

Following a decline since the peak of 140.7 weeks in July to September 2016, the 
time for issue of repossessions has **increased** again to 135.8 weeks.  
 
Number of weeks taken from initial Mortgage claim to… 

| Orders     |
|------------|
|            |
|            |

claims and court orders decreased slightly in the last quarter 

The average no. of weeks between claims and warrants has increased compared to early 2016 
The average no. of weeks between claims and repossessions has increased compared to the previous year 


Claims to warrants have 
Claims to reposessions have 
Claims to orders have 
increased from 89.3 (Aprincreased from 115.8 (Apr-Jun 
decreased from 16.2 (Apr-
Jun 2016) to  
2016) to  
Jun 2016) to 13.8 weeks 
93.3 weeks (Apr-Jun 2017) 
135.8 (Apr-Jun 2017) 
(Apr-Jun 2017) 

 The above charts distinguish the timeliness of possession claims at the different stages of a case. It is worth noting that timeliness can be affected by various factors. For example, the final two charts take account of the amount of time between the court order being issued and the user, such as the mortgage lender, issuing a warrant of possession. The increases in the average time from claim to warrant and claim to repossession shown above, are due to a small number of claims dating from 2004, where users have issued their warrants in the most recent quarter (possibly due to defendants recently breaking the terms of the mortgage agreements put in place at the start of the process). 

|                                          |         | Proportion of claims to reach each stage    |
|------------------------------------------|---------|---------------------------------------------|
| In initial 6 months (first two quarters) |         | 5 year period                               |
|                                          |         |                                             |
| Apr-Jun 2016                             |         |                                             |
| Apr-Jun 2017                             |         |                                             |
|                                          | Apr-Jun |                                             |
|                                          |         |                                             |
| 2016                                     |         |                                             |
| Apr-Jun 2017                             |         |                                             |
| Orders                                   |         |                                             |
| 61%                                      |         |                                             |
| 58%                                      |         |                                             |
|                                          | 68%     |                                             |
| 65%                                      |         |                                             |
| Warrants                                 |         |                                             |
| 15%                                      |         |                                             |
| 14%                                      |         |                                             |
|                                          | 36%     |                                             |
| 32%                                      |         |                                             |
| Repossessions                            |         |                                             |
| 6%                                       |         |                                             |
| 6%                                       |         |                                             |
|                                          | 19%     |                                             |
| 17%                                      |         |                                             |

Over the last 5 years, 65% of claims received orders of repossession; 32% received warrants, and 17% ended in repossession (by county court bailiff). 

Overall fewer claims progressed to orders and warrants both within 6 months of the claim date and over a 5 year period.  Whilst repossessions made within 6 months of the claim date have remained at the same level, **fewer cases** progressed to **repossessions over 5 years**. 

## 3. Overview Of Landlord Possession All Stages Of Landlord Possession Actions Have Decreased

 
Landlord possession **claims** (32,077), **orders** for possession (25,195), **warrants** of possession (16,018) and **repossessions** by county court bailiffs (8,819) decreased 
by 6%, 10%, 12% and 16% respectively (compared to the same quarter last year; 
Apr-Jun 2016). This is in line with the **downward trend** seen since April to June 
2014. 


Whilst the actual figures show a continuation of the annual downward trend in possession actions since April to June 2014, seasonally adjusted figures for possession claims, orders and repossessions show an increase of 3%, 4% and 2% respectively compared to the previous quarter, whilst warrants have fallen by 3%. Seasonally adjusted figures for possession claims have shown an increase for the past two quarters. 

The majority **(59%)** (18,815) of landlord possession claims were **social landlord** claims, 25% 
(7,924) were **accelerated** claims and 17% (5,338) were **private landlord** claims.  
 
By region, the proportion of landlord claims that are accelerated range from 10% in the North East, to 37% (3,197) in London. **Private** claims range from 13% in the **North East**, to 19% in the South East. **Social** claims range from 44% in **London**, to 78% in the **North East**.  
 

## 4. Landlord Possession Timeliness Time Taken For Landlord Possession Claims To Order, Warrant And Repossession Have All Increased

 
Since April to June 2016, **there has been a slight increase** in the time taken across all possession actions (however all are stable fluctuations around historic levels; 11 weeks (orders), 36 weeks (warrants) and 43 weeks (repossessions)). 

Number of weeks taken from initial landlord claim to … 

| Orders     |     |     | Warrants    |     |     | Repossessions    |
|------------|-----|-----|-------------|-----|-----|------------------|
Claims to orders have 
Claims to warrants have 
Claims to reposessions 
increased slightly from 
increased from 34.7 weeks 
have **increased** from 41.1 
11.1 weeks (Apr-Jun 2016) 
(Apr-Jun 2016) to  
weeks (Apr-Jun 2016) to  
to 11.4 weeks (Apr-Jun 
35.9 (Apr-Jun 2017) 
42.5 (Apr-Jun 2017) 
2017) 
Proportion of claims to reach each stage 
In initial 6 months (first two quarters) 
 
5 year period 
 
Apr-Jun 2016 
Apr-Jun 2017 
 
Apr-Jun 2016 
Apr-Jun 2017 
Orders 
67% 
68% 
 
74% 
75% 
Warrants 
23% 
24% 
 
40% 
40% 
Repossessions 
12% 
13% 
 
24% 
25% 

Over the last 5 years, 75% of claims progressed to orders of repossession; 40% to warrants, and a quarter ended in repossession.  
The **proportion** of landlord possession **claims reaching each possession stage increased** in April to June 2017 compared with the same period last year, in the initial 6 months from the date of claim. Over the 5 year period, there was an increase for orders and repossessions, but warrants remained stable. 

## 5. Regional Possession Claims

Mortgage possession claim rates were highest in **Blaenau Gwent** and **Barrow-in-Furness** 
(55 and 52 per 100,000 household respectively).  
Landlord possession claim rates were highly concentrated in **London**, with 8 of the 10 highest rates. **Newham** had the highest rate (382 per 100,000 household). 

## Mortgage

The number of mortgage possession claims per 100,000 households by local authority ranged from 2 in Waverley, to 55 in **Blaenau Gwent**. The Isles of Scilly, Hart, South Northamptonshire and the City of London had no mortgage possession claims. 

## Landlord

Wokingham showed the lowest rate of landlord possession claims (22 per 100,000 households) 
whilst **Newham** showed the highest (382 per 
100,000 households). The Isles of Scilly had no landlord possession claims. 

London boroughs account for **8 of the 10** local authorities with the highest **rate** of landlord claims. 

In addition to London boroughs, **Halton** and Harlow had the highest rates, with 303 and 296 
per 100,000 households respectively.  

## 6. Regional Repossessions (By County Court Bailiffs)

Mortgage repossessions are highest in **South Lakeland** with 23 per 100,000 
households.  
Landlord repossessions are concentrated in London **(16 of the 20 highest rates)** and the **East** (3 of the 20 highest rates). 

## Mortgage

South Lakeland had the highest number of mortgage repossessions by county court bailiffs (23 per 100,000 households) in April to June 2017.  
No repossessions by county court bailiffs were recorded during this period in 93 local authorities. 

## Landlord

London local authorities account for 16 of the 20 boroughs, with the **highest rate** of landlord repossessions being in **Newham**, at 259 per 100,000 households, followed by Barking and Dagenham and Waltham **Forest** at 172 
and 170 per 100,000 households respectively. There were six local authorities with no landlord repossessions by county court bailiffs in January to March 2017 (Isles of Scilly, Ribble Valley, South Bucks, Derbyshire Dales, Bracknell Forest and Chiltern).  

## Further Information

The statistics in the latest quarter are provisional and revisions may be made when the next edition of this bulletin is published and when the figures are reconciled at the end of the year. If revisions are needed in subsequent years, these will be annotated in the tables. 

## Accompanying Files As Well As This Bulletin, The Following Products Are Published As Part Of This Release:

 
A supporting guide providing further information on how the data is collected and processed, including a guide to the csv files, as well as legislation relevant to mortgage possessions and  background information. 
 
A set of overview tables, covering key sections of this bulletin. 
 
CSV files of the map data and the figures by local authority and county court.  
 
A data visualisation tool available at: public.tableau.com/profile/moj.analysis#!/vizhome/MLPdatatool2017Q2/FrontPage  
National Statistics status National Statistics status means that official statistics meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and public value. All official statistics should comply with all aspects of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. They are awarded National Statistics status following an assessment by the Authority's regulatory arm. The Authority considers whether the statistics meet the highest standards of Code compliance, including the value they add to public decisions and debate. It is the Ministry of Justice's responsibility to maintain compliance with the standards expected for National Statistics. If we become concerned about whether these statistics are still meeting the appropriate standards, we will discuss any concerns with the Authority promptly. National Statistics status can be removed at any point when the highest standards are not maintained, and reinstated when standards are restored. 

Contact Queries about these statistics should be directed to the Justice Statistics Analytical Services, in the Ministry of Justice: 
Bridgette Miles - email: CAJS@justice.gsi.gov.uk Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office: 
Simon Barrett- email: simon.barrett@justice.gsi.gov.uk  
And queries on the wider policy implications of these statistics should be directed to the Department for Communities and Local Government's press office: 
Philippa Silverman - email: Philippa.Silverman@communities.gsi.gov.uk 
 

## Next Update: 9 November 2017

URL: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics-aprilto-june-2017 
© Crown copyright Produced by the Ministry of Justice Alternative formats are available on request from statistics.enquiries@justice.gsi.gov.uk