Minister O’Brien announces significant improvements to Mortgage to Rent Scheme

Changes will help more people in mortgage arrears stay in their homes 
Over 7,000 people already benefitting from the scheme 
The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, TD, today announced a number of significant improvements to the Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme. 
The changes which are being introduced to reflect current market conditions in the residential housing sector aim to ensure households at risk of losing their homes due to mortgage arrears and who need to avail of the MTR scheme can do so.
The MTR scheme offers households in acute, unsustainable mortgage arrears situations, with little or no prospect of a significant change in circumstances, the chance to surrender ownership of their home and become a social housing tenant, but crucially stay living in their home. It is part of a suite of measures which are now in place to help address long-term mortgage arrears.
Since the scheme commenced in 2012, 2,503 case have been completed benefitting 7,271 people (3,922 adults and 3,100 children).
The changes announced today reflect current housing market conditions and follow a commitment by the Minister to keep the eligibility criteria of the scheme under appraisal 
The key changes, which will apply from 1 November 2024, are:

• A €15,000 increase to the positive equity limit across all regions to align with any changes to local house prices and market conditions.
• Increases to the purchase price thresholds to take account of current residential housing market conditions: 
  
  
  • €515,000 (up from €450,000) for a house and €385,000 (up from €335,000) for an apartment or townhouse in the areas of Dublin. Kildare, Meath, Wicklow, Louth, Cork and Galway 
  • €395,000 (up from €345,000) for a house and €265,000 (up from €230,000) for an apartment or townhouse in the rest of the country 

Minister for Housing, Darragh O’Brien said:
“These changes will ease the burden for many households experiencing mortgage distress. The prospect of losing your home is extremely worrying and stressful. The Mortgage to Rent scheme offers a practical solution and gives individuals and families peace of mind by allowing them to remain living in their home despite facing severe mortgage difficulties. 
“It’s clear that there is a continued demand for the scheme, as since its launch, it has helped over 7,000 people remain living in their homes avoiding the upheaval of having to move out of their house and leave their community. 
“This is why I have updated the criteria of the scheme in order to ensure that more people can avail of it meaning that it continues to be a sustainable solution that keeps people living in their own homes.
“I would encourage anyone dealing with mortgage arrears to contact the Money Advice and Budgeting Service or Abhaile, the mortgage arrears support service, for free advice and support.”
A strengthened MTR scheme is a commitment in both the Programme for Government and Housing for All, the government’s national plan on housing to 2030 and in the Mortgage Arrears Review Group Report, of which the Department was a member.
For information on the scheme, visit www.mortgagetorent.ie