Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 October 2013
175. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Finance if a code similar to the code of conduct on mortgage arrears should be part and parcel of addressing mortgage arrears in the buy-to-let sector which is responsible for housing one quarter of consumers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42172/13]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, the buy-to-let sector encapsulates a wide range of property owners, from private investors with single properties, to those with multiple properties operating on a more professional basis. The Central Bank’s statutory Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA) protects borrowers experiencing arrears in relation to their primary residence. The focus by Government is primarily on formulating and implementing appropriate measures to assist those homeowners who are experiencing genuine difficulty with the mortgage repayments on their principal home. In that regard, the ‘Keane Report’ made a number of key recommendations and the Government is now actively progressing the implementation of those recommendations. However, some of these initiatives will also be of assistance in addressing significant ‘buy to let’ mortgage arrears and over indebtedness. For example, the Central Bank’s performance targets for the main mortgage banks apply to the buy-to-let sector as well as principal dwelling homes.
The Mortgage Arrears Resolution Strategy process, overseen by the Central Bank, requires lenders to develop and implement appropriate resolution strategies and implementation plans for ‘buy to let’ mortgages as well as mortgages on the debtor’s primary home. The Central Bank has advised me that the Consumer Protection Code 2012 (the Code) contains protections for personal consumers who are experiencing arrears on loans, other than loans secured on a primary residence, including buy-to-let mortgages (a consumer being defined as a natural person acting outside his or her business, trade or profession). Such protections require lenders, inter alia, to provide information to borrowers and to seek to agree an approach that will assist borrowers in resolving their arrears situation. The Code also requires that the level of contact and communications from lenders, or any third party acting on its behalf, is proportionate and not excessive and imposes limits on the number of unsolicited communications which a lender can make in any month.
