Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Leah Farrell/Rollingnews.ie

Government scheme to help keep people in their homes has only completed 282 cases since 2012

Fianna Fáil’s Michael McGrath described the numbers as “pitifully low”.

THE GOVERNMENT’S MORTGAGE to rent scheme has only completed 282 cases since 2012, a figure that has been described as “pitifully low”.

The figure was released to Fianna Fáil’s finance spokesperson Michael McGrath via parliamentary question, who said that neither the government nor the Housing Agency “has a desire to fund the mortgage to rent scheme”.

McGrath’s condemnation of the scheme comes in a week where homeless families living in hotels has been highlighted, with a number being told to leave the Gresham Hotel by the end of the month.

The mortgage to rent scheme is a mechanism whereby homeowners in mortgage arrears will sell their home to a housing association, and they can still live in that home paying rent to a local authority.

People remain in their home as a social housing tenant, and cannot be evicted. The government says it offers “peace of mind”, people pay “an income-based affordable rent”, and there is the option to buy back your home after five years if your financial situation improves.

In his reply to McGrath, Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy said that, since the scheme’s introduction in 2012, a total of 3,765 cases had been submitted to the end of September.

Of these 2,909 were deemed not to be eligible. As per guidelines from the Housing Agency, there are a number of criteria that people must meet, including completing the mortgage arrears resolution process with the lender, property must not exceed a certain value and the household’s income must not exceed a certain level.

mortgage to rent Housing Agency Housing Agency

A total of 282 cases were successful, while the other 574 were being actively progressed, Murphy said.

He added: “Following a review of the mortgage to rent (MTR) Scheme, published on 8 February 2017, a range of amendments to the eligibility criteria and administration of the MTR scheme came into effect to enable more properties to qualify and to make the scheme more flexible and accessible to borrowers.”

The Minister said that recommendations in this review would be implemented to try to bring its benefits to more people. An additional €5 million has also been allocated to the scheme.

Murphy also admitted that the current way the scheme is funded “may not be capable of delivering the scale of successful cases that could benefit from the scheme over time”.

As a result, “alternative funding models” for the scheme were being examined, including working with a number of “financial entities who have expressed an interest” in working on the scheme to progress a number of “alternative long-term lease arrangements”.

Fianna Fáil’s McGrath was not impressed with this answer. He said: “Minister Eoghan Murphy’s Dáil reply to me talks about ‘reviews’, ‘alternative funding models’ and ‘pilot operating models’.

There is no talk of individuals, families and the daily misery of facing the prospect of losing your home – a prospect that is a reality for far too many… Perhaps they privately believe that it is the borrower’s own fault for getting into that situation.

He said that with tens of thousands of family homes in arrears, it would be natural to expect the government to make sure its mortgage to rent scheme was functioning properly to provide that “safety net”.

He also highlighted the recent launch of another mortgage to rent scheme, delivered by AIB, the Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation and social housing organisation iCare, as “the only source of hope for some borrowers”.

Read: Head of Housing Agency who said homeless families may be ‘gaming the system’ reappointed for another year

Read: Concerns raised for 14 homeless families told to leave Gresham Hotel by the end of the month

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Close
7 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy here before taking part.
Leave a Comment
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Fomorian
    Favourite Fomorian
    Report
    Jan 7th 2018, 6:18 AM

    Ah feck it I couldn’t be bothered to pay this mortgage on my house. Where’s my free one?

    38
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Gillian Weir Scully
    Favourite Gillian Weir Scully
    Report
    Jan 7th 2018, 7:06 AM

    @Fomorian: I think this is called social hosing? I was chatting with some friends ….. of a certain age and we all agreed and remembered we bought the house and did without anything else until we could afford to change. We lived with swirling yucky green carpets, no carpet or curtains for years. I remember I used the box from the fridge freezer as curtains for months ….. plain side showing to neighbours of course.

    Now things need to be perfect to start with which is huge pressure.

    41
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Ciaran Whyte
    Favourite Ciaran Whyte
    Report
    Jan 7th 2018, 8:35 AM

    @Gillian Weir Scully: yup we hard card board boxes as carpet for the guts of a year. We slept down stairs on a second hand sofa bed, until we were able to afford an actual bed for the bedroom. I remember when we got our wooden (laminate) floor in… I was like Christmas.

    26
    See 1 more reply ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Fiona deFreyne
    Favourite Fiona deFreyne
    Report
    Jan 7th 2018, 11:19 AM

    @Gillian Weir Scully: such insufferable proclaiming of virtue whilst ignoring the reality of what led to be problem. You support trolleys in hospitals. You are your friends are certainly of a certain age in terms of smug and complacent outlook.

    8
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Diogenes
    Favourite Diogenes
    Report
    Jan 7th 2018, 6:11 AM

    Sure theyre gaming the system arent they Leo?

    16
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Leroy
    Favourite Leroy
    Report
    Jan 7th 2018, 12:06 PM

    “Government scheme” They usually work well

    9
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.

Leave a commentcancel

 
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds