Flood of repossessions predicted as court orders go sky-high
The number of possession orders made by courts has soared by a quarter to almost 30,000, figures showed as Alistair Darling unveiled his rescue plans.
Figures from the Ministry of Justice revealed 29,516 mortgage possession orders were made in England and Wales in the third quarter of this year – up 24 per cent from the same period last year. The figure is also 3 per cent higher than in the second quarter of 2008. The number of claims to courts is also 9 per cent higher than the third quarter of 2007, although 1 per cent lower than in the second of 2008.
In a separate survey, the Council of Mortgage lenders released figures showing the number of repossessions in the UK had risen by 12 per cent to 11,300 in the third quarter of this year – up from 10,100 in the second quarter.
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Vince Cable said: ‘The steep rise in arrears makes it highly likely that a flood of repossessions is just around the corner.’
Conservative shadow housing minister Grant Shapps said: ‘These worrying figures show that far more needs to be done to stop families being thrown onto the streets.’
CML director general Michael Coogan said lenders were only using repossession ‘as a last resort’.
The Ministry of Justice stressed that its data did not show the number of repossessions made, as not all orders result in repossession, and some go through without coming to court.
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