Government Urged To Reform Mortgage To Rent Scheme

The Government is being urged to reform the Mortgage to Rent scheme.

The scheme was launched in 2012 to help with the mortgage arrears crisis.

Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Finance, Michael McGrath TD, said: "In February 2017, then Minister for Housing Simon Coveney announced a revamp of the Mortgage to Rent scheme and promised that it would be made available to a far greater number of people. Since then, however, only 121 transactions have been completed. In that same period, just 144 applications were either terminated or deemed ineligible.


"This is yet another example of Fine Gael promising major reform and delivering precious little. Even if the 912 active applications were completed, the overall figures are still minute when compared to the levels of mortgages in arrears over two years. They are also minuscule when compared to the number of mortgages been sold off. Last week, we saw Permanent TSB use a securitisation model to remove mortgages from their balance sheet. Interestingly, Pepper who will take ownership of these mortgages has utilised Mortgage to Rent more than any other lender.

"Clearly, the Mortgage to Rent Scheme is a bureaucratic nightmare as over 1,000 applications have been withdrawn. In addition, the issue with the residual on the loan after the sale of the home needs to be resolved and the rules surrounding who qualifies for the Mortgage to Rent Scheme need to be reviewed.

"By far and away the biggest issue is credit. It is extremely frustrating that the Government has given the cold shoulder to the Credit Union movement's offer to assist in making more credit available."