Thomas Gould
Question:276. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the mortgage to rent scheme; and if any private operators are currently operating in the scheme. [4603/24]
View answerThursday, 1 February 2024
Questions (276)
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 concept of the scheme is that a household with an unsustainable mortgage goes from being a homeowner to being a social housing tenant.
To the end of 2023, 2,388 households with unsustainable private mortgages have completed the MTR scheme since its introduction. A total of 6,750 individuals are benefitting from the scheme, which comprises of 3,760 adults and 2,990 children. A further 411 cases are being actively progressed though the scheme.
Both the Programme for Government and Housing for All commit to strengthening the Mortgage to Rent scheme and ensuring that it is helping those who need it. Building on the significant amendments already made to the scheme in 2017, a 2021 Review of the Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme was undertaken and was published in January 2022.
One key priority action of this Review was to broaden the eligibility criteria of the scheme and this was implemented in February 2022. These include changes to the positive equity and property acquisition limits and more flexibility on over-accommodation where a member of the household is aged 65 or over, or has a disability. Also, the increase in the income threshold for social housing has also opened the MTR scheme up to more borrowers because households entering Mortgage to Rent must qualify for social housing support. These changes have enabled borrowers who would not previously been eligible, to apply for the scheme.
Another action from the review of the MTR scheme was for my Department to consider the policy options around the scheme and how the scheme might be funded, to ensure its continued operation as well as ensuring value for money for the State. My Department, in conjunction with the Housing Agency, has recently run an Expressions of Interest (EOI) process which invited participants from both the private and Approved Housing Body (AHB) sector to put forward their interest in becoming MTR providers that can deliver the scheme at scale. This EOI process was necessary to support the long-term sustainability of the scheme and will offer lenders more providers with whom they can engage and process cases. The EOI process has concluded and the new large-scale MTR providers will be in place imminently. These new large-scale MTR providers will be comprised of Approved Housing Bodies and private companies.
The Pilot scheme with the private MTR provider Home for Life, which had been in operation since 2018, was terminated from 25 May 2023 in anticipation of the EOI process being undertaken. However, it is important to note that the Department put in place arrangements which allowed Home for Life to continue processing all active MTR it had on hand on the 25 May 2023. These cases continue to be finalised by Home for Life.