Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 November 2021
371. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to the refusal of Rebuilding Ireland to approve home loans due to a failure to save in circumstances in which women were in receipt of maternity benefit with no additional payment from their employer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52574/21]
View answerApplicants for the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan must be of good credit standing; have a satisfactory credit record; and be a first time buyer, to be eligible.
Applicants must provide bank or similar statements (such as post office, credit union etc.) for a 12-month period immediately prior to making an application, clearly showing a credible and consistent track record of savings. The cash savings should be no less than 3% of the market value of the property. Gifts are permissible up to 7% of the market value of the property, where their source is verified.
To support prudential lending and consistency of treatment for borrowers, a Loan to Value ratio of 90% applies to the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan. Therefore, in order to avail of the loan, applicants must have a deposit equivalent to 10% of the market value of the property.
The Housing Agency provides a central credit assessment service to local authorities and credit checks are undertaken as part of the credit assessment process. The final decision on loan approval is a matter for the relevant local authority and its credit committee on a case-by-case basis. Decisions on all housing loan applications must be made in accordance with the statutory credit policy that underpins the Scheme, in order to ensure prudence and consistency in approaches in the best interests of both borrowers and the lending local authorities.
Loan applicants who are dissatisfied with a loan application decision of a local authority Credit Committee may appeal that decision to the local authority. Details of the appeals process can be obtained from the relevant local authority.
