A total of 1,124 households in Galway are in mortgage arrears for over two years while more than 860 of those have been in arrears for at least five years.
These figures come from the Central Bank’s Long-Term Mortgage Arrears in Ireland Report, however Paul Cunningham, CEO of Home For Life, has said that distressed mortgage holders in Galway, who are eligible for the Government’s mortgage to rent scheme, should not lose their home.
Home For Life is an organisation authorised by the Minister for Housing, Eoghan Murphy, to operate the Mortgage to Rent Scheme, and which aims to keep distressed mortgage holders in their current homes.
Changes to the original scheme’s eligibility criteria now means that an estimated 14,000 home-dwellers in mortgage arrears in the State qualify for inclusion under the scheme.
“This scheme can deal with your debt and keep your family in your home with the prospect of buying it back in the event of your circumstances changing. I firmly believe that no-one who is eligible for mortgage to rent needs to lose their home,” said Mr Cunningham.
“Every side wants a solution and the Government has ring-fenced finances this year to cover mortgage to rent, as well as changing the criteria to bring more people into the scheme. Even if you have been rejected for mortgage to rent three or four years ago, the changes to the scheme since then could mean that you now come back into the eligibility bracket.”
