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BBC reporters have gathered and shared stories of individuals facing court actions to repossess their homes as mortgage repossessions in England and Wales have reached their highest level in five years. Journalists attended hearings in county courts across the East of England and London, witnessing firsthand the struggles of mortgage holders and tenants appearing before judges. Among those affected were a couple burdened by £13,000 in arrears on their property, and a woman confronting the repossession of a house she had left 15 years ago after a marriage breakdown. Alongside the homeowners, landlords also described the financial difficulties they are experiencing, amid assurances from lenders’ representatives that home repossessions remain a last resort.
According to data obtained by the BBC’s investigations team, mortgage repossession orders totaled 10,853 in the 2024-2025 period, marking a five-year peak. Andrew Goodwin, a senior economist at Oxford Economics, attributed this rise in part to increasing unemployment and higher interest rates in recent years. Reporters were present at courts in locations such as Northampton, Peterborough, Norwich, Stratford, Wandsworth, and Croydon to hear a variety of cases involving both mortgage and rental repossessions. For example, a former management consultant in Croydon recounted losing his and his wife’s jobs in 2024, which resulted in mortgage arrears and jeopardized their son’s home. They were granted until March to settle the outstanding debt. Meanwhile, in Stratford, a woman tearfully faced repossession of a property in which she had not lived for 15 years, with arrears amounting to £87,000 following her marriage breakdown.
The day’s cases also included other compelling stories: three properties were repossessed within an hour at Stratford Magistrates’ Court, including one with arrears of £87,672; a Wandsworth tenant of 30 years risked losing his rental home due to proposed rent increases by the landlord; a 75-year-old living in social housing in Peterborough found himself nearly £3,000 behind following a scam; and a single mother at Norwich County Court owed her landlady £5,200 in unpaid rent. These cases illuminate the range of financial pressures affecting both homeowners and tenants alike.
Legal professionals assisting those at risk of losing their homes also spoke of being overwhelmed by the rising demand for support. Angus King, a housing solicitor with Southwark Law Centre, reflected on how the situation has worsened: “When I began my career, up until a few years ago, I would think to myself ‘that person won’t actually end up homeless.’ I knew we would find some way to keep them from it, but now that simply isn’t the case.” His colleague Billy Harding described people arriving at court “at crisis point,” signaling the scale of the problem. Council data revealed that requests for homelessness prevention assistance have increased in three-quarters of responding areas. Broxbourne in Hertfordshire reported the highest rate in 2024-25, with 95 individuals per 100,000 seeking help. Concurrently, repossessions carried out by bailiffs have been rising again after a decline during the Covid-19 pandemic.
At Norwich County Court, a landlord spoke about her anxiety over attending court to recover £2,200 in unpaid rent. She explained that the tenant, a carpenter, had offered to repair windows in exchange for rent, but never followed through on the arrangement. A solicitor representing landlords emphasized that landlords themselves face bills and financial strain and cannot be expected to subsidize their tenants indefinitely. Meanwhile, Karina Hutchins from UK Finance, the banking industry’s representative, stressed that lenders view repossession as “always a last resort.” These accounts from both tenants and landlords underscore the complex and often tragic impacts of the current housing crisis
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