Repossession orders rising

The number of orders made by the courts in England and Wales at an early stage of the repossession process rose 17% in the first quarter of 2008 compared with the same period of 2007, from 2,438 to 27,530.

The repossession figures for the first half of 2008 will be published in August. The Council of Mortgage Lenders predicts that there will be 45,000 repossessions in 2008, up from 27,100 in the previous year. This compares with 11.8 million outstanding mortgages in the UK.

The government says there will be more free legal advice for those at risk of repossession, along with specialist training for debt advice agencies.