Mortgage repossessions by borough

Key points

  • Within London, Newham has the highest rate of mortgage repossession orders.
  • All but one of the boroughs with the highest rates of mortgage repossession orders are in the East of London.
  • The boroughs with the lowest rates of mortgage repossession order are mainly in the West.

Mortgage repossessions by borough

What does this map show?

This map shows the boroughs with the highest rates of claims leading to mortgage repossession orders.

Within London, Newham has the highest rate of repossession orders with around 3.5% of all households with a mortgage receiving court orders in each of the last three years. This represents around 800 housholds each year. It is more than a third higher than the second highest borough, Barking & Dagenham.

Out of the 12 boroughs with the highest rates of repossession orders, all except Croydon are in the Inner East & South or Outer East & North East of London. The seven boroughs with the lowest rates of repossession are clustered together in the Inner West, and Outer West & North West and Outer South.

Additional information

The statistics are presented as a proportion of the types of tenure: i.e. mortgage repossessions as a proportion of mortgage holders. It is important to do this as London has a different mix of tenures to the rest of the country - more renters and fewer mortgage holders. Moreover, this mix varies from borough to borough.

Data used

Mortgage and Landlord Repossession Statistics, Ministry of Justice. The data is an average of 2007-2009.

Mortgage data include all types of lenders whether local authority or private (e.g. banks and building societies).

The repossession indicators can measure two actions - the claims issued in the courts and the numbers of possession claims leading to an order made.

Claims issued are claims made in a county court by the claimant to begin action for repossession.
Claims leading to an order are orders issued by the court following a hearing on the claim. This is what the map shows.

Please note that the court order may not always result in repossession as the order can be suspended if a suitable repayment arrangement is agreed. The figures do, however, indicate the serious extent of mortgage debt or rent arrears that a household faces.

Indicator last updated: 11 October 2010

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