Thomas Gould
Question:289. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Finance the statutory timeframe to provide written refusal and reason for refusal to mortgage applicants. [38893/20]
View answerTuesday, 24 November 2020
Questions (289)
Written answers
The Central Bank has advised that the Consumer Protection Code 2012 (the Code) sets out timeframes for assessing a mortgage application. A regulated entity is required to make a decision on a mortgage application within 10 business days of receipt of all documents or items of information necessary to assess the application. If the regulated entity cannot make a decision on whether it will grant or refuse the application within 10 business days, it must inform the consumer of the reasons why the assessment of the application will take longer than 10 business days and the expected timeframe within which a decision will be made.
If the mortgage application is refused, the European Union (Consumer Mortgage Credit Agreements) Regulations 2016 require that the regulated entity must inform the consumer without delay of the refusal. Where the refusal is based on the result of the database consultation, the creditor shall inform the consumer of the result of such consultation and of the particulars of the database consulted. The Code also requires that, where a credit application is refused, the regulated entity must clearly outline to the consumer the reasons why the credit was not approved, and must offer to provide this information on paper or another durable medium to the consumer.