Possession orders up by 24 per cent
Lenders applied for nearly 40,000 repossession orders in the second quarter of 2007, government figures have revealed.
Courts in England and Wales received 39,078 mortgage possession claims, up 17 per cent on the same period last year.
The number of possession orders issued also shot up, rising 24 per cent to 28,658.
The Ministry of Justice figures show more modest increases in the number of possession claims issued by landlords.
Claims rose 2 per cent to 37,609, and orders rose 8 per cent to 28,042.
The figures do not show the number of homes repossessed, as orders to not always lead to possession.
But Council of Mortgage lenders figures released last week showed 18,900 homes were repossessed across the UK in the first half of the year – a 48 per cent rise on 2007.
The Liberal Democrats called for the government to introduce a ‘proper code of conduct’ for mortgage lenders.
Shadow chancellor Vince Cable said: ‘These figures confirm the very worrying trend on actual repossessions which were published last week.
‘The level of growth of repossession orders suggests that we are on track for a repossession crisis very similar to the early 1990s.’
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