Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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498. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of applications received in relation to the mortgage to rent scheme since its inception; the number of applications referred to each housing association and the outcome of each such application whether refused or not; the reason for such refusal; his views on the transparency of the process from the point of view of the person applying; if an appeals process is available or independent assessments available to the person applying if there is a refusal; if the housing association shares assessments of the building survey with the person applying; if not, the reason; his plans to make changes to the present process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20536/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Since the introduction of the Mortgage to Rent (MTR) Scheme for borrowers of private commercial lending institutions in 2012, a total of 3,672 cases have been submitted under the scheme to the end of March 2017. Of the 3,672 cases submitted, 2,816 were ineligible or terminated during the process. Of the remaining cases submitted, 235 have been completed and the remaining 621 are being actively progressed.

The Housing Agency publishes, on a quarterly basis, detailed statistical information on the operation of the MTR scheme, including the number of properties where there has been no Approved Housing Body (AHB) interest and the number of properties declined by AHBs. This information is available on the Agency's website at the following link:

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The reasons why an AHB might decline a property are varied and can include where the lender and the AHB cannot agree a price or where the combined cost of the sale price proposed by the lender and the cost of the repairs required to the property in order to meet private rental standards may mean that the case is not commercially viable for the AHB. The decision to purchase a property under the MTR scheme is a commercial decision for an AHB and I cannot compel an AHB to purchase a particular property.

I published a Review of the Mortgage to Rent Scheme for borrowers of commercial private lending institutions on 8 February 2017 which contains a number of actions to make the MTR process quicker, more transparent, easier to navigate for borrowers and ultimately, more accessible to more households in mortgage distress. The Review is available on the Rebuilding Ireland website at the following link: .

My Department and the Housing Agency have begun implementing each of the actions set out in the Review and I am confident that these changes will make significant impact to those households who can benefit from access to the scheme.