Banks mortgage-to-rent scheme not working in Laois – Fleming

Published on: 16 April 2015


Fianna Fáil TD for Laois Sean Fleming has said the mortgage-to-rent scheme which the banks are meant to operate and offer as a sustainable solution to people in mortgage arrears is in need of radical overhaul.

Figures just published show only 1 case has been completed in Laois since the scheme’s launch in 2012.

Deputy Fleming 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 banks transfer the house to an approved housing body. The family can then continue to live in the house and rent from the housing body instead of paying a mortgage to the bank.

“Figures supplied to Fianna Fáil by the Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly show that just 88 mortgage-to-rent transactions have been fully completed nationwide, with only 1 of those by Laois 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.

“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”.

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