Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 May 2018
477. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the reason a house which is valued within the mortgage to rent thresholds must be discounted to take account of essential repairs and maintenance despite the fact that repairs and maintenance are not required and this is preventing the mortgage broker accepting the sale price; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19907/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme introduced in 2012, where an Approved Housing Body (AHB) indicates an interest in acquiring a property, the AHB will make an offer to purchase the property based on the market value determined by an independent valuation less any known essential repairs that were not taken account of in the valuation process. This means that while the market value will reflect the condition of the property where the repairs are of a cosmetic nature, the valuation does not take account of structural or health and safety issues.
Essential repairs are those repairs necessary to bring the property up to private rental standards as required under the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2017 (S.I. No. 17 of 2017) which is a requirement of all properties being provided to social housing tenants.
The condition of the property and the cost of repairs to bring the property up to statutory standards is a factor that may impact on the viability of an AHB purchasing a property. As the households applying for MTR will have been in a position of acute financial hardship, possibly for a number of years, prior to applying for the scheme, they may not have had the means to carry out the necessary repairs on the property. Accordingly, the scheme has to provide a mechanism by which repairs to the property can be funded to bring the property up to the private rental standards and this is done by deducting the costs of repairs from the market value of the property.
I can neither compel an AHB to purchase a particular property nor a lender to sell a particular property. The Housing Agency who administers the scheme on behalf of my Department works closely with AHBs and lenders at all stages of the MTR process and seeks to ensure that MTR cases are dealt with in a fair and efficient manner.
