Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 June 2016
95. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance the extent to which he can address the situation arising from potential large-scale repossession of family homes, directly or indirectly, through the repossession of buy-to-let properties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17759/16]
View answerThe Government attaches great importance to addressing the issue of mortgage arrears. The recently published Central Bank Residential mortgage arrears and repossessions statistical bulletin to the end of the first quarter of 2016 reports that BTL mortgage accounts in arrears for more than 90 days decreased by 3.5 per cent during the quarter and BTL accounts in arrears for more than 720 days declined by 0.9 per cent, marking six consecutive quarterly declines in this cohort of accounts.
The Deputy will also be aware that Landlord-tenant relations are governed by multiple pieces of legislation (mainly under the aegis of my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government) and the landlord/owner of the property is restricted in what they can do in relation to removal of tenants from a property. A tenant who is looking for information on their rights or who is unhappy with the way they have been dealt with in relation to the repossession of a property should contact the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).
A total of 27,222 BTL mortgages have been restructured up to end March 2016, which shows that where a borrower actively engages with their lender with a view to agreeing a sustainable repayment arrangement to address their mortgage arrears it is more likely that an equitable arrangement will be found, thus avoiding repossession of the property. I would, therefore, strongly urge all distressed borrowers who have not engaged with their lender for some time, to contact the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) helpline for confidential and independent expert advice or alternatively, borrowers should contact the arrears support unit of their lender directly.
