Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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449. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of persons in mortgage arrears who have been given the option of the mortgage to rent scheme in counties Laois and Kildare. [7282/16]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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My Department has developed two Mortgage to Rent schemes - one which is available to borrowers of private commercial lending institutions and a separate scheme for local authority borrowers. The Local Authority Mortgage to Rent (LAMTR) scheme has been developed specifically for local authority mortgage borrowers, as part of the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP) arrangements which operates in local authorities. The scheme was piloted in Dublin City and Westmeath County Councils in 2013 and rolled out nationally in 2014. In total, 193 LAMTR cases have been completed to date, 7 of which were in Laois and 6 in Kildare, with a significant number of other cases being progressed by local authorities in the context of their operation of the MARP.

The LAMTR scheme is similar to the scheme for borrowers with mortgages from private commercial lending institutions, insofar as it also targets low income families whose mortgage situation is unsustainable and where there is little or no prospect of a significant change in circumstances in the foreseeable future. Further information on the LAMTR scheme is available on my Department’s website at the following link:.

Both schemes also ensure that the family remains in their home. In the case of LAMTR, ownership of the home is transferred to a local authority, rather than to an Approved Housing Body (AHB) as is the case under the MTR scheme in the private lending sector. Both schemes require the household to be eligible for social housing in order to access to the scheme.

My Department does not have access to information relating to the number of borrowers who have been offered the Mortgage to Rent Scheme by their specific private lending institution. The lender is the main point of contact for the borrower in terms of the operation of the scheme - only lenders can put an application forward for the scheme. The Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) can advise borrowers in mortgage distress how to access the Scheme, but it is up to the lender to offer the borrower access to it.

According to the latest figures available, at the end of February 2016, a total of 785 cases were either complete or being actively progressed under the Mortgage to Rent (MTR) Scheme for borrowers of private commercial lending institutions; 27 of these were in Laois, with 64 in Kildare. Of these, 150 cases had completed all stages of the process. In total, since the introduction of the Scheme in 2012, 3,256 cases had been submitted; 93 of these were in Laois, with 210 in Kildare. There are a variety of reasons why cases have not progressed including the householder’s circumstances improving during the process, no social housing demand in the area, the householder’s income being in excess of the statutory limits for eligibility for social housing, and poor condition of the property. My Department continues to work together with the agencies involved with the Scheme, including lenders, to streamline the administrative process and ensure that all potential cases are dealt with speedily and efficiently.

My Department continues to keep the operation of both Mortgage to Rent schemes under review.