Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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281. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the status of an application for mortgage to rent by a person (details supplied) and if he is aware of the urgency of this particular case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14983/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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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 scheme a household must have had their mortgage position deemed unsustainable by their lender under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP) and agree to the voluntary surrender of their home. In general, the mortgage must be in negative equity with some cases of positive equity considered on a case by case basis. The household must also be deemed eligible for social housing.

Once a case comes within the criteria and the householder has provided consent to the lender to share information, the Housing Agency seeks an AHB to complete the transaction and prepares a submission to my Department for funding approval.

Under the terms of the scheme, before a property can be sold to the AHB, it must be valued independently and the lender and the AHB must agree a price. The price will be based on several factors, including the market valuation of the property and the cost of any necessary repairs. If the lender and the AHB cannot agree a price, the arrangement will not go ahead and the process will be terminated. In relation to the specific case raised, I understand that no AHB is prepared to purchase the property on the basis of the combined cost of the sale price proposed by the lender, and the cost of repairs that would be required to the property in order to meet the required standards. Therefore I understand this case has proceeded as far as possible in the MTR scheme and has been terminated.

It will be a matter for the borrower to discuss with their lender if there are other options available to resolve their mortgage arrears situation. I would urge communication with the Money Advice & Budgeting Service (MABS) that now has a dedicated confidential, free, and independent mortgage arrears service.