There was a 3% drop in home owner mortgage arrears to 93,630 in Q3, compared with Q2.

The figures come from UK Finance which adds that the number of Buy To Let mortgages in arrears fell 4% to 13,000.

The overall proportion of mortgages in arrears remains low, at 1.08% of homeowner mortgages and 0.67% of BTL mortgages.

For comparison purposes, the number of homeowner and BTL mortgages in arrears in Q1 2009, during the global financial crisis, was 209,600 – this is almost twice the number currently in arrears.

Possessions numbers also remain very low. 

Some 1,700 homeowner and BTL mortgaged properties were possessed in Q3 – that’s 15% below the 1,990 seen in Q4 2019, before the pandemic.

Lenders will always seek to ensure customers remain in their homes and possession is only ever a last resort after other options have been explored with the customer.

Eric Leenders, managing director of personal finance at UK Finance, says: “The number of mortgages in arrears has seen a slight decrease compared to the previous quarter, which is good news following increases over the past year. This reflects the fact that, while many households remain under pressure, the challenges of higher rates and the cost of living have begun to ease.

“However, we know that this will not be the case across all households, and lenders want to support anyone who might be struggling. Lenders offer a range of support to anyone worried about their finances. Please reach out to your lender as soon as possible to discuss the help available if you have any concerns. Doing so won’t affect your credit score.”