Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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1005. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of successfully completed mortgage to rents completed in each of the past five years, by local authority MTRs and approved housing body MTRs respectively, by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11751/18]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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There are currently two Mortgage to Rent (MTR) schemes funded by my Department. A scheme exists whereby a local authority (LA) can acquire ownership of properties with unsustainable local authority mortgages, thus enabling the household to remain in their home as a social housing tenant (LA-Mortgage-to-Rent). The other scheme provides for an Approved Housing Body (AHB) to acquire ownership of a property with an unsustainable private mortgage, which also enables the household to remain in their home as a social housing tenant (AHB-Mortgage-to-Rent). Both schemes are part of the overall suite of social housing options and an important part of the mortgage arrears resolution process.

Information in relation to the LA-Mortgage-to-Rent scheme transactions during its pilot phase in Dublin City Council and Westmeath County Council in 2013 and annual transactions, broken down by local authority and by year, following national roll out of the scheme in 2014, is available on my Department’s website at the following link:

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The Housing Agency publishes, on a quarterly basis, detailed statistical information on the operation of the AHB-Mortgage-to-Rent scheme, including the number of completed transactions broken down by local authority area and by year.  This information is available on the Agency's website at the following link:

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A Review of the AHB MTR scheme, published on 8 February 2017, introduced a range of amendments to the eligibility criteria and administration of the MTR scheme in order for it to work better for borrowers.  The Review, available at , explored the avenues and impediments to participation in the scheme and recommended a number of actions to make the scheme work better for borrowers.  My Department and the Housing Agency are working with all stakeholders to ensure that the actions set out in the Review are being effectively implemented to benefit a greater number of households.  I am providing an additional €5m for the MTR scheme in 2018, which will support at least 250 additional MTR cases to be completed by AHBs working together with lenders using the MTR scheme.

The MTR Review also concluded that the current financial model of the scheme may not, in its current configuration, be capable of delivering the scale of successful cases that could benefit from the scheme over time.  In order to test the operability of alternative funding models for the scheme, the Housing Agency has been working with a number of financial entities who have expressed an interest in working with the MTR scheme to progress a number of alternative long-term lease arrangements.  A call for Expressions of Interest from bodies interested in pursuing pilot operating models was initiated by the Housing Agency on 26 October 2017.  The Housing Agency is currently reviewing the submission(s) received and will make recommendations to my Department as to the make-up of the pilots, which can then be initiated.