Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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201. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the total number of mortgage to rent transactions that have been fully completed at this stage; the number by local authority and by lender; if he will confirm the authoritative source of information on the scheme for distressed borrowers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40636/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Up to the end of Quarter 3 2016, a total of 187 households have remained in their home having availed of the Mortgage to Rent Scheme which was introduced in 2012 for borrowers of private commercial lending institutions. A further 669 were being actively progressed through the process. Further statistical information relating to the Mortgage to Rent Scheme since its inception, including a breakdown of MTR cases by local authority and by lender, is available on the Housing Agency’s website at the following weblink: .

A number of amendments were made to the MTR scheme in July 2015 to allow more properties to qualify and to make the scheme more flexible and accessible to borrowers.

Information in relation to the MTR Scheme is available in the first instance from the lender concerned and also from a number of other sources including but not limited to the following primary sources of information-

- the Housing Agency who administer the scheme on behalf of my Department: ,

and

- Abhaile– the Government’s new Mortgage Resolution Service operated by the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) in conjunction with the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI), the Legal Aid Board and the Citizens Information Board: .

The Government is committed to supporting households in long-term mortgage arrears to remain in their homes and has included a review of the MTR Scheme for borrowers of private commercial lending institutions as an action in the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness. The review, currently underway, is examining what further amendments can be made to the scheme to make it work better for borrowers and my Department is consulting with key stakeholders in this regard. The review is to be completed by the end of the year.