The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported that the number of UK homes repossessed by mortgage lenders increased by 15% to 9,100 in the first quarter of 2011, up from 7,900 repossessions in Q4 2010.

However, the figure for Q1 this year is still down -10% compared to the same period last year and is equal to the average quarterly number of repossessions throughout 2010.

The number of mortgages that are in arrears, equivalent to 2.5% or more of the outstanding balance, fell to 166,900 from 170,000 last quarter, and represent 1.47% of the 11.3m outstanding loans. But the number of arrears exceeding 10% of the mortgage balance increased slightly from 27,400 at the end of 2010 to 27,700.

The CML’s director general, Michael Coogan, reported that the financial position of many households is ‘likely to be stretched for some while, and some will inevitably find themselves in difficulty’.

He said lenders have a range of options to help borrowers through temporary problems and if in doubt, consumers should ‘talk to their lender as they will want to help’.