Local Authority Mortgage to Rent scheme

The Local Authority Mortgage to Rent scheme is a government initiative to help homeowners who:

• have mortgages through a local authority, and
• are at risk of losing their homes due to mortgage arrears

The scheme is one of the possible resolutions for people who have been involved in the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP) with a local authority and whose mortgage has been determined as unsustainable. The most important step any household in mortgage arrears can take is to engage early with the Arrears Support Unit of their local authority.

The scheme enables householders to stay in their home. Ownership of the home transfers to the local authority. The householder becomes a social housing tenant and pays a differential rent to the local authority.

To take part in the scheme you must be able to answer yes to the following questions:

Mortgage

1. Are you unable to make the repayments on your Mortgage Loan and is this situation unlikely to change in the future?

2. Are you engaging with your lender to try to find a solution to the situation?

3. Have you completed the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP) with your lender?

Property

1. Is your family home the only property you own?

2. Does your property adequately house your household? You are allowed a maximum of two spare bedrooms but flexibility on this can be applied for:

• borrowers who are aged 65 and over
• borrowers or one of their dependents who has a disability where the property has been significantly and permanently adapted
• borrowers or one of their dependents who has a disability where the property has not been adapted but is specifically suitable to their particular needs

Your local authority can provide you with further guidance and information.

3. Is the value of your property no more than:

• €515,000 for a house and €385,000 for an apartment or townhouse in the areas of Dublin, Kildare, Meath, Wicklow, Louth, Cork and Galway?
• €395,000 for a house and €265,000 for an apartment or townhouse in the rest of the country?

Household

1. Are you eligible for Social Housing Support in the local authority in whose area the house is located?

2. Is your net household income below €25,000*, €30,000* or €35,000* a year, depending on what part of the country you live in? Information on these limits is available on gov.ie.

• Additional allowances for children.

(Note - net household income is the household income received through employment, self-employment, social welfare income or other income sources after taxes and social insurance (PRSI) have been taken off. Certain payments from the Department of Social Protection are not included for the purposes of a social housing support assessment. Your local authority can provide you with more information on this.)

3. Do you have a long-term right to remain in the Republic of Ireland?

To apply for the scheme, please contact the mortgage arrears support unit in your local authority.