Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 June 2014
156. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance the extent to which the various lending institutions have repossessed family homes on an annual basis in each of the past five years to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25431/14]
View answer157. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance if he is satisfied that the various lending institutions are, as previously indicated, using family home repossession only as a very last resort in their efforts to resolve mortgage arrears; if some such agencies appear to use the last resort as a first option in some such situations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25432/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 156 and 157 together.
The strong view of the Government is that, in respect of co-operating borrowers under the Central Bank's 'Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process', repossession of a person's primary home should only be considered as a last resort and that every effort should be made to agree a sustainable arrangement as an alternative to loss of ownership.
In that context, the Deputy will be aware that the Central Bank's Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA) places an onus on the banks, in respect of a co-operating borrower, to explore all the options for an alternative repayment arrangement offered by a lender to address a mortgage difficulty and that a lender may only commence proceedings for repossession where the lender has made every reasonable effort to agree an alternative arrangement with the borrower.
If a borrower is offered an alternative repayment arrangement, the lender must give the borrower a clear explanation of the proposed arrangement and how it works, including the reason why the lender considers it to be appropriate for the borrower. The lender must also provide the borrower with the advantages of the offer and explain any disadvantages.
If the lender is not offering the borrower any alternative repayment arrangement, the reasons for this must be given in writing. The lender must also inform the borrower that a copy of the most recent Standard Financial Statement (SFS) is available on request, and provide the borrower with details, in writing of:
- other options available
- the borrowers right to make an appeal
- the website of the Insolvency Service of Ireland
The same information must be given to the borrower if he/she does not accept the alternative repayment arrangement offered by the lender. Furthermore, the CCMA provides that if a borrower is not satisfied with the alternative repayment arrangement offered by the lender, or if the lender declines to offer an alternative repayment arrangement, the borrower will have the right to appeal that decision to the lender's internal Appeals Board. If the borrower is not happy with the outcome of an appeal/complaint made to the lender, s/he can refer the matter to the Financial Services Ombudsman (FSO). Further information on how to make a complaint to the FSO is available at www.financialombudsman.ie.
Regarding statistics on repossessions, the Central Bank commenced the publication of such data from the second half of 2009 and the following table sets out the annual position on this from that point in respect of primary dwelling properties:-
|
- |
2009 (H 2 only) |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 (Q 1 only) |
|
Court Order |
58 |
102 |
196 |
194 |
251 |
54 |
|
Voluntarily surrendered/ abandoned |
153 |
260 |
412 |
410 |
515 |
227 |
|
Total |
211 |
362 |
608 |
604 |
766 |
281 |
