Trends in eviction and mortgage possession claims in England

Insecure housing poses a risk to health, as it can undermine people’s sense of control over their own environment and cause stress. Research has found that accumulating housing cost arrears, housing payment problems and imminent eviction or repossession can have a considerable impact on people’s psychological well-being.

The chart looks at mortgage possession claims for homeowners and eviction claims for social and private renters. Claims are legal notices ending tenancies; an accelerated claim is initiated if the tenant fails to vacate the property following a notice, and does not require a lengthy court procedure. A claim is the point that we can first measure the threat of homelessness beginning and identify households that are most at risk of losing their homes. 

Claims have fallen in England:

• Mortgage claim rates  fell by 7.3 percentage points to 2.4%  between 2009/10 and 2019/20.
• The rate of private and accelerated claims gradually fell from 2012/13 , with 7.2 households per 1,000 rented properties being served a claim in 2019/20.
• In 2019/20, social housing had the largest claim rate, meaning that social tenants were most at risk of eviction, but that too reduced from a peak of 28.2 per 1,000 households being served a claim in 2013/14 to 11.5 per 1,000 households in 2019/20.

If claims were to rise, this would suggest potential increases in the number of households experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness. 

Evictions were banned in the early stage of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and have slowed down subsequently. However, housing affordability pressures are rising due to the cost of living crisis. 

Charities warn of rising housing arrears that point to a potential increase in evictions in the future if no further policy measures are taken.

Evictions and mortgage possessions were declining prior to, and then banned entirely, during the pandemic However, with rising housing costs and wider financial pressures resulting from both higher interest rates and inflation experienced in 2022 and 2023, we expect that these will increase significantly, resulting in more homelessness and further pressure on temporary accommodation services that can often be of low quality. This in turn will likely result in worse health and mental health for people in the households affected. It is vital then that policy responses are formulated to reduce this impact by reducing housing displacements and improving health and mental health support.

The number of claims reflect all of those that have been processed by a court.

Rates are created using the number of households in England from the English Housing Survey for 2020/21.

Source: Ministry of Justice, Mortgage and Landlord Possession Statistics, 2021; Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, English Housing Survey 2021​​​​​