Shelter has published research highlighting the nation’s repossession hotspots.
The housing and homelessness charity has shown the places in England with the highest proportion of homeowners who have been issued with a possession order for their home, and are therefore at serious risk of repossession.
Shelter is highlighting the research to encourage homeowners who will be hit when interest rates rise to start preparing now for higher mortgage costs so they don’t find themselves at risk later down the line.
The research was conducted by analysing the latest Ministry of Justice data on the rates of claims leading to possession orders per 1,000 households across every local authority. 65 local authorities have been identified as repossession hotspots because they are in the top fifth nationally.
The analysis shows that Corby in the East Midlands is the country’s top hotspot, having the highest rate of at risk homeowners, closely followed by Barking and Dagenham and Newham in London, Knowsley in the North West and Thurrock in East of England.
The charity also claims that the results reveal worrying groups of local authorities in parts of the county, including a swathe of repossession hotspots across the North from Merseyside to the Humber, large parts of Tyneside, a cluster of Kent and Essex coastal towns and a collection of areas around the Wash in East Anglia.
The research also found a strong link between unemployment and rates of possession orders with unemployment having risen at more than double the rate in hotspots, compared to the least at risk areas.
The charity’s league table of hotspots is being released on the day the FSA releases new repossession figures.
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.