Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 30 April 2025
97. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the Housing Agency plans to increase the thresholds in terms of the value of homes that can be considered for inclusion in the mortgage-to-rent scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21703/25]
View answerThe 2021 Review of the Mortgage to Rent Scheme was published by my Department in January 2022 and is available on my Department's website. One key priority action from this Review was to broaden the eligibility criteria of the scheme and this was implemented in February 2022. This included changes to the positive equity and property acquisition limits and more flexibility on over-accommodation where a member of the household is aged 65 or over, or has a disability.
My Department keeps the eligibility criteria for the Mortgage to Rent scheme under ongoing review and, from 1 November 2024, further increases in the property price thresholds were introduced, to reflect market conditions in the residential housing sector and to ensure households at risk of losing their homes due to mortgage arrears can continue to avail of the Mortgage to Rent scheme can do so, one all other qualifying criteria is met.
This increase in property price thresholds from 1 November 2024 are set out in the table below:
|
Property Type |
Higher Threshold Area (Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Louth, Meath, Wicklow) |
Normal Threshold Area (Rest of Country) |
|
House |
€515,000 (up from previous limit of €450k) |
€395,000 (up from previous limit of €345k) |
|
Apartment / Townhouse |
€385,000 (up from previous limit of €335k) |
€265,000 (up from previous limit of €230k) |
These changes will allow some borrowers, whose property would not previously have met the qualifying criteria for the Mortgage to Rent scheme, to now apply.
In light of these very recent updates to the price threshold criteria of the Mortgage to Rent scheme, there are currently no plans to change limits further.
The 2021 Review of the Mortgage to Rent Scheme is available at www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/publications/2021-review-of-the-mortgage-to-rent-scheme-for-borrowers-of-commercial-private-lending-institutions/
