KEEPING PEOPLE IN THEIR HOMES A PRIORITY-CLLR UPTON
Issued : Friday 10 February, 2012
The Labour Party Cllr for Crumlin/Kimmage, Cllr Henry Upton has welcomed theannouncement this week that the first transaction under the mortgage-to-rentscheme has been completed.
“The mortgage-to-rent scheme is designed to help distressed mortgage holders stay intheir homes without the fear of eviction and the many stresses that thatbrings. To avail of the scheme, families surrender their home to a housing bodyand become social housing tenants, renting their home from that housing body.
“The family who availed of the scheme this week now rent their home from the housingbody Cluid, meaning they have avoided both the trauma of eviction and thefinancial burden of securing new accommodation. Under the scheme, a significantportion of the debt on the original loan was written off by the lender, and forthe new loan, the Department of the Environment provided 25% of the equityrequired to secure it.
“The mortgage arrears problem is ofgrave concern, with the Central Bank estimating that there are 55,000 mortgagesin arrears across the country. This mortgage-to-rent scheme is just one measureput in place to assist those in arrears.
“The Keane report for example,outlines a number of measures to tackle the mortgage arrears problem. Onlyrecently, one of its recommendations; the Personal Insolvency Bill, waspublished, which will not only give borrowers better negotiation powers whendealing with their banks, but will radically reform Ireland’s bankruptcy laws.
“The Finance Bill was published thisweek and it gave further details on the budget announcement which outlined howthose who purchased homes at the height of the boom will benefit from increasedmortgage interest relief.
“Alleviating the pressures faced bythose in mortgage arrears is a priority for Labour and is reflected in both ourelection manifesto and the Programme for Government. While we realise thatthese measures alone will not fix the problem, Labour remains committed tohelping people stay in their homes and the mortgage-to-rent scheme incombination with various other measures, including those in the Keane Report,will certainly assist us in doing this.”
ENDS
Cllr 
