Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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497. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the solution the Government will provide regarding the housing need of a person (details supplied) in County Meath, who is in mortgage distress, and has fully engaged with the bank, and who fulfils the criteria for mortgage to rent, but due to the capacity of the social housing providers, will not be able to avail of the scheme. [19670/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Under the Approved Housing Body (AHB) Mortgage to Rent Scheme (AHB-mortgage-to-rent) an AHB can acquire ownership of a property with an unsustainable private mortgage, enabling the household to remain in their home as a social housing tenant. To be eligible for the Approved Housing Body (AHB) mortgage-to-rent scheme a household must have had their mortgage position deemed unsustainable under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process, agree to the voluntary surrender of their home, be in negative equity, and be deemed eligible for social housing in accordance with section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2009.

A single independent open market valuation is commissioned by the Housing Agency to determine the value of the property upon which the purchase price is based. Once a case comes within the above criteria and the householder has provided consent to the lender to share information, the Housing Agency seeks an Approved Housing Body to complete the transaction and prepares a submission to my Department for funding approval.

In relation to the specific case mentioned, I understand that the Housing Agency sought an Approved Housing Body to complete the transaction, but it received no expressions of interest. In general where this happens the transaction cannot progress, as it must be feasible for all stakeholders involved, including the Approved Housing Body.

The Government has recently announced changes to the mortgage to rent scheme as part of a broader package of measures to deal with mortgage arrears. The changes being made are designed to enable more properties to qualify for the scheme and in that context may facilitate a review of cases such as this that previously were not viable.