THE CENTRAL BANK says that it has not yet taken a decision on relaxing proposed rules around mortgage deposits.

Yesterday’s Sunday Independent reported that the Central Bank would wait five years before imposing rules that would mean home buyers would need a 20% deposit.

Under the plan, house hunters would have to have a 15% deposit, increasing by 1% every year for the next five.

There has already been speculation that the government would aim to work around the rules this year.

The rules, announced last October, were designed by the Central Bank to prevent another property bubble.

New mortgage measures

• Loan-to value (LTV): In the terms of loan size, banks are being restricted from granting mortgages that are more than 80% of the value of the property. 
• Loan-to-income (LTI) : As regards income, the restrictions are on mortgages that are greater than 3.5 times the gross income of a borrower.
• Investment property: For buy-to-let properties, the restrictions apply to mortgages where the loan is above 70% of the value of the property.

However, a spokesperson for the Central Bank today told TheJournal.ie that no decision has been taken on relaxing the rules and that the issue was still being consulted on.

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Read: The IMF is a fan of the Central Bank’s mortgage rules