Losing the roof over their heads: Repossession hotspots revealed

Published 21st Jun 2011

* Midlands town Corby has most residents losing homes
* Hotspots are areas with highest unemployment


Homeowners in Corby in the East Midlands are most at risk of having their home repossessed, a study of the country's reposessions hostpots found today.

The Northamptonshire town has the highest proportion of homeowners who have been issued with a possession order for their home over the last 12 months, according to the research.

It was closely followed by Barking and Dagenham and Newham in London; Knowsley, Merseyside and Thurrock, Essex.

The report warned that the figures reflected a need for homeowners across the country to prepare for higher mortgage repayments when interest rates rise as expected later this year.

A possession order is an advanced stage of the repossession process which means a homeowner is at serious risk of losing their home.

Corby was found to have a rate of possession orders nine times the higher than the lowest rate in West Dorset.

The study by the housing and homelessness charity identified 65 of 324 local authorities as repossession hotspots - most of them areas of high unemployment.

High concentrations of repossession hotposts were found in the Tyneside areas surrounding Yorkshire, Leeds and Liverpool, the Wash, South East London and the Kent and Essex coastal towns.

The average rate of unemployment in the local authorities with the highest rates stood at 9.6 per cent, compared to 5.3 per cent in those with the least.

And unemployment has risen, on average, by 3.3 per cent over the last three years in the most at risk areas, compared to a 1.4 per cent increase in the lowest, Shelter said.

The study also identified clusters of local authorities - Tyneside, Kent coastal towns (Thurrock, Medway, Swale) and The Wash (South Holland, Fenland, Peterborough) - among those in the highest risk group.

It also highlighted a red 'ribbon' of repossessions across northern England from the Mersey in the west to the Humber estuary in the east.


Repossessions

The results were based on analysis of the latest Ministry of Justice figures on the rates of claims leading to possession orders per 1,000 households for each local authority, published in May 2011.

Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, said: 'This research paints a frightening picture of repossession hotspots across the country where homeowners are literally on the brink of losing the roof over their head.

'We know only too well that the combined pressures of high inflation, increased living costs and stagnant wages are really taking a toll on people.

'All it takes is one thing like job loss to tip people over the edge and into the spiral of debt and repossession and ultimately homelessness.'

Source: ' ThisIsMoney '

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