Total repossessions by county court bailiffs in London

Date 1 September 2017
Date updated 2 March 2020

London has a higher rate of court-ordered home repossessions than the rest of England, with 74% more repossessions per 1,000 households in the capital than the rest of the country (1.04 per 1,000 in the rest of England, compared to 1.81 per 1,000 in London).

However, standing at 6,431 in 2019, the overall number of repossessions in London has fallen by more than 60% since its recent peak in 2015 (16,888). This fall has primarily been driven by the reduction in landlord accelerated repossessions - the route taken by private landlords to regain possession of a property after a Section 21 (a so called “no fault”) eviction. This type of repossession is now less than a third of the level it was five years ago. 

Repossessions for people with mortgages have almost disappeared in London over the past decade, falling from over 3,604 a year in 2009 to 273 in 2019. This was possibly caused by low interest rates. 

The boroughs with the highest rates of repossessions are:

  • Newham (3.39 per 1,000 households - 87% higher than the London average)
  • Barking and Dagenham (3.22 per 1,000 households - 78% higher than the London average)
  • Greenwich (2.96 per 1,000 households - 64% higher than the London average)