Thomas Gould
Question:379. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of mortgage to rent schemes approved by local authorities since 2018. [8312/22]
View answerTuesday, 15 February 2022
Questions (379)
Written answers
The Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme was introduced in 2012 for borrowers of commercial lending institutions and is targeted at those households in mortgage arrears who have had their mortgage position deemed unsustainable by their lender under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP), who agree to the voluntary surrender of their home and who have very limited options, if any, to meet their long-term housing needs themselves. In addition, the household must be deemed eligible for social housing support. The borrower surrenders their property to their lender who sells it to a MTR provider which can be either an Approved Housing Body (AHB) or since 2018 a private company, Home for Life Ltd. The AHB or local authority (in the case where the property is sold to a private company) becomes the landlord and the borrower remains in the property as a tenant paying a differential rent to the landlord based on his or her income.
To the end of December 2021, 1,682 households with unsustainable private mortgages have completed the MTR scheme since its introduction nationally in 2013. The 1,682 households in the scheme represent 2,738 adults and 2,274 children who have remained living in their homes and communities. As of that date, 720 active cases were being progressed under the scheme. The Housing Agency publishes, on a quarterly basis, detailed statistical information on the operation of the MTR scheme on the Housing Agency's website at the following link: www.housingagency.ie/housing-information/mortgage-rent-statistics
The Mortgage to Rent scheme is administered on the Department’s behalf by the Housing Agency, who coordinate with all stakeholders to ensure each application meets the eligibility criteria. The scheme, by its very nature, involves multiple stakeholders and it is essential for the efficient operation of the scheme that all stakeholders complete their individual roles within the MTR process. Local authorities are one of these stakeholders and play a vital role within the Mortgage to Rent scheme. The local authorities assess the household to see if they are eligible for social housing support and also check certain aspects of the application including if the property is suitable for the scheme and if the rent stated is appropriate.
A MTR scheme was also introduced for local authority borrowers and has been in place nationally since 2014. Under the scheme, a local authority can acquire ownership of properties with unsustainable local authority mortgages, thus enabling the household to remain in their home as social housing tenants. Information in relation to the Local Authority MTR scheme from its inception in 2013 to end 2020, broken down by local authority area, is available on my Department's website under the heading Local Authority Mortgage to Rent at the link below. During that period, a total of 532 households had benefited from the scheme. Information relating to 2021 will be made available shortly.
www.gov.ie/en/collection/42d2f-local-authority-loan-activity/#local-authority-mortgage-to-rent-scheme > refer to the section “Local Authority Mortgage to Rent scheme”.
Both MTR schemes are established parts of the overall suite of social housing options and are important parts of the mortgage arrears resolution process.