The proportion of mortgage balances in arrears hit the highest level level in six years in Q3 of this year.

The Bank of England said the proportion of the total loan balances with arrears, relative to all outstanding mortgage balances, increased on the quarter from 1.02% to 1.14% – the highest level since the second quarter of 2017.

The value of outstanding mortgage balances with arrears increased by 11.4% from the previous quarter to £18.8bn. This was 44% higher than a year earlier, according to the Mortgage Lenders and Administrators statistics.

The value of new mortgage commitments – lending agreed to be advanced in the coming months – dropped by 16.5% from the previous quarter to £51.5bn and was 41.4% lower than a year earlier.

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, commented: “Arrears have reared their ugly heads, with total mortgage arrears up over 10 per cent in a quarter and rising by almost half in a year. As a proportion of the total amount lent in mortgages, it hasn’t been this high since the middle of 2017.”

She continued: “The pain is far from over. Given the predominance of fixed rates in the market, the squeeze on our finances caused by sharply higher rates isn’t going to come as a short, sharp shock, but as a nasty squeeze on a small section of the mortgage market each month, over a horribly prolonged period of time. With so many people moving from a fixed rate of less than 2% to around 6%, it’s no surprise that so many are hitting a brick wall financially.

“If you’re struggling to make payments, it’s tempting to put your head in the sand, but the sooner you face the problem, the easier it will be to tackle. Your mortgage company has an obligation to offer help – which can mean anything from a payment holiday, to stretching your mortgage over a longer period to make the monthly payments more affordable, or temporarily switching to an interest-only deal. So if you feel there’s nowhere to turn, it’s worth getting in touch and asking for help.”