Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 November 2021
240. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the refusal by Irish banks to finance mortgages for so-called cargo container houses due to the fact they are not fixed foundation housing; his views on this policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53988/21]
View answerAs the Deputy will appreciate, the decision to grant or refuse an individual application for credit, and/or whether or not to seek security for the provision of credit (and if so the type of such security), or to provide credit on an unsecured basis, is a commercial decision to be made by the individual lender in line with its own lending policies and individual underwriting decisions. As Minister for Finance I have no role in such matters.
However, any regulated lender which offers or provides credit secured on residential property has to comply with certain regulatory requirements. For example, the European Union Consumer Mortgage Credit Agreements Regulations 2016 (CMCAR) applies to credit agreements which are secured on residential immovable property or secured by a right related to residential immovable property where the person to whom the credit is provided is a consumer. The CMCAR sets out certain consumer protection obligations and conduct of business rules on regulated entities which provide such credit, including, where the credit application is refused, the need to inform the consumer without delay of the refusal. The Central Bank’s Consumer Protection Code 2012 imposes further information provision obligations on regulated entities including, where a person's application for credit is refused, the requirement to clearly outline to the consumer the reasons why the credit was not approved and if requested to provide these reasons on paper or on another durable medium.
If a mortgage or other credit applicant is not satisfied with how a regulated firm is dealing with them, or they believe that the regulated firm is not following the requirements of the Central Bank’s codes and regulations or other financial services law, they should make a complaint directly to the regulated firm. If they are still not satisfied with the response from the regulated entity, the response to their complaint from the regulated entity is required to include details for the borrower on how to refer their complaint to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman.
