Just 7 Cork mortgage-to-rent cases completed so far – McGrath
Published on: 10 April 2015
Cork South Central Fianna Fáil TD Michael McGrath has said the mortgage-to-rent scheme is in need of a radical overhaul after receiving figures that show just 7 cases have been completed in Cork since the scheme’s launch in 2012.
Deputy McGrath stated, “In theory, the mortgage-to-rent scheme exists to provide a safety net for families who are set to lose their home because of mortgage arrears. Under the scheme, the family will lose the ownership of the home but will continue to live in it. Instead of paying a mortgage, the family will pay a rent to an approved housing body, such as a voluntary housing association.
“Figures supplied to me by the Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly show that just 88 mortgage-to-rent transactions have been fully completed nationwide, with 4 of those by Cork City Council and 3 by Cork County Council. Against the backdrop of recently published data from the Central Bank showing that over 30,000 families may lose their home, this is a truly abysmal performance by the mortgage-to-rent scheme.
“With thousands of repossession proceedings in the system, it is deeply concerning that the Government’s mortgage-to-rent scheme is failing miserably to provide a safety net for those in arrears facing the prospect of losing their home. The Government needs to urgently review the scheme, remove the unnecessary bureaucracy and complexity inherent in it, and make it workable. I have been trying to work through the scheme on behalf of a number of families in mortgage distress and I have to say I have found it to be a bureaucratic nightmare.
“There is a lot of spin coming from the government ahead of an expected announcement of measures relating to mortgage arrears and the personal insolvency service. As part of this announcement, the government needs to accept the mortgage-to-rent scheme as presently designed is simply not working and it must radically overhaul the scheme to make it fit for purpose”.