Mortgage orders for possession were up by 24% to 4,459, and the actual number of repossessions rose by 9% to 1,149. However, mortgage warrants issued fell by 17% to 3,792, which is unusual and will be monitored closely by the MoJ over the coming quarters.

This is the sixth consecutive quarter that mortgage possession claims have risen year-on-year, having fallen consistently from a peak of 26,419 in Q2 2009 before stabilising in Q1 2015 when it was 5,643.

These quarterly increases were caused by one large mortgage provider processing claims that had previously been held back since 2015, but have now returned to normal.

Repossessions by county court bailiffs had also been falling since a high of 9,284 in Q1 2009, to 934 in Q3 2018, the lowest recorded level of the series. In the final quarter of 2019, repossessions increased to 1,149, an rise of 9% compared to the same period in 2018.

The MoJ said: “The historical fall in the number of mortgage possession actions since 2008 coincides with lower interest rates, a proactive approach from lenders in managing consumers with financial difficulties and other interventions, such as the Mortgage Rescue Scheme and the introduction of the Mortgage Pre-Action Protocol.”