Its figures state that there were 38,688 claims over the first quarter compared with 33,344 in the corresponding period of 2007. MOJ further said that 27,530 mortgage possession orders were made in the first three months of the year, 17% higher than in the first quarter of 2007 and 9% higher than in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Meanwhile, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) says repossessions on mortgaged properties will likely rise by almost 70% this year to 45,000, from 27,100 last year. The 2007 figures showed an increase of around 20%. A formal publication of CML figures for the first half of 2008 is expected in August, according to a spokesperson.

Howard Archer, chief UK Economist at Global Insight, believes the situation seems set to deteriorate further. "The financial pressure on many home owners is increasing, and it seems certain that repossessions will trend up appreciably over the coming months, particularly if the economy suffers an extended marked slowdown and unemployment starts rising, which seems likely," he said.

Archer also feels that rising costs of living aside, a significant number of people have had to stretch themselves to the absolute limit to get into the UK housing market in recent times as prices soared. "This means that they are particularly vulnerable to any adverse shock to their finances," he concluded.

Commenting on the MOJ figures, David Stubbs, RICS senior economist, said, "The repossession numbers emphasize the difficulties that some home owners are having in meeting their mortgage payments."

He feels this difficulty may be exacerbated over coming quarters if people who want to re-mortgage find it hard to secure an affordable rate on their new deal. RICS maintains that repossession should increase to around 43,000 in 2008, still well below high the low point of 76,000 in 1991.

"The government should consider investigating ways to lessen the impact of repossessions by providing better support and financing for housing associations to take action when families are at risk," he concluded.

Following the publication of the figures, the UK's housing ministry released a statement saying the "Government wants to ensure the financial advice and support is available for borrowers who may need it, especially for the 13% of home-owners who will be coming off fixed rates this year."

Earlier, speaking to the BBC, UK Housing Minister Caroline Flint said, "It is important to recognize we are dealing with an entirely different situation in the market from what was experienced in the early 1990s."

She added that the fundamentals of the housing market remain strong with high employment, low interest rates and long-term demand for homes from first-time buyers.

By Gaurav Sharma, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it , edited by Nancy Girgis, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it