Landlord repossession claims lifted 2% to 25,418 over the same period.

The department points out that home loan and landlord repossession actions hit “2019 levels,” before the first pandemic lockdown in March 2020, adding that “mortgage actions have increased at a much greater rate than landlord actions”.

But it says: “Following Financial Conduct Authority guidance to avoid possession proceedings during the pandemic, repossessions were very low during most of 2020 and 2021. While they have increased recently, they remain below pre-Covid levels.”

It points out that mortgage repossession claims have “generally risen” since the second quarter of 2021.

The department adds that mortgage orders rose 38% to 4,038 in the period, while warrants lifted 33% to 3,119 and repossessions by county court bailiffs were up 36% to 861.

Landlord data shows that orders rose 7% to 19,254, warrants lifted 17% to 11,763 and repossessions were 13% higher at 6,942.

For mortgages, the median average time from claim to repossession has fallen to 43.9 weeks, down from 57.8 weeks in the period.

Claims to order median times are currently 8 weeks, up from 7.4 weeks.

And warrant claims have fallen to 35.9 weeks, down from 42.6 weeks.

Landlord data shows that the median average time from claim to repossession has risen to 24.5 weeks, up from 23 weeks in the period.

Claims to order rose to 8 weeks, up from 7.3 weeks, while warrant claims are at 14 weeks, up from 13.3 weeks.

Propertymark chief executive Nathan Emerson says:  “Considering both inflation and interest rates have tracked downward across the year, many people are still potentially battling longer term effects, and some are ultimately struggling.

“With the average house price in the UK being £293,000, many buyers, especially first-time buyers will struggle to step onto the housing ladder, even more so for those in England who will also contend with the new stamp duty threshold from April next year.

“We now hope to see the UK government act on its ambitions to build more quality homes across the country with the appropriate infrastructure in place, alongside interest rates and other costs reducing further to ease the pressure on people’s finances.”