The number of homeowner mortgages in arrears are up 8% year-on-year, according to latest data from UK Finance.

In addition, the number of mortgage possessions among homeowners are up 39% year-on-year.

StepChange Debt Charity’s own client data echoes this, showing that among those with a mortgage seeking debt advice, mortgage arrears have been steadily rising this year.

SPIKE IN CLIENT ARREARS

Average arrears per StepChange client now stands at £9,657, a 68% increase year-on-year.

New YouGov polling commissioned by StepChange confirms ongoing difficulty for mortgage holder finances.

Among UK adults with a mortgage, 41% have found it difficult to keep up with bills and credit commitments in the last few months.

Meanwhile, 25% have used credit to afford their mortgage payments (20% in September 2023, and 16% have used credit, loans or an overdraft to make it through to payday. This compares to 11% of the wider population.

“we’ve not seen interest rates come down as quickly as they shot up in 2022”

Richard Lane, chief client officer at StepChange, said: “Even with an expected fall in the Bank of England’s base rate, we’ve not seen interest rates come down as quickly as they shot up in 2022 – and as we can see among our own clients in problem debt, this has taken its toll.

“Thousands of mortgage holders have faced new fixed rate deals over the past year or two with monthly payments eating up a much larger proportion of their income. This has had a knock-on effect on people’s ability to keep up with bills and repay other debts as they prioritise keeping a roof over their head.

“The effect on private renters can also not be underestimated – many landlords have passed on higher debt servicing costs to tenants, making their rental payments increasingly unaffordable.”