8% In Mortgage Arrears Over 90 Days

The Central Bank has revealed over 8% of homeowners in Ireland are in mortgage arrears for over 90 days.

The bank's latest data on mortgages, restructures and repossessions up to September show that 8.1% of private residential mortgage accounts are in 90 day arrears, compared to 7.2% for the same period last year.

Director of Consumer Protection at the bank, Bernard Sheridan, urged those struggling with mortgage repayments, or those who fear they will fall into difficulty, to make contact with their lender as early as possible.

He said: ‘The earlier you make contact with your lender the more likely you are to come to a manageable solution’. The Central Bank’s revised Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears provides many protections to consumers in or facing mortgage arrears. By engaging with their lender, consumers can benefit from those protections."

At the end of September 2011, there are 773,420 private residential mortgage accounts held in the Republic of Ireland to a value of €114.4 billion.

Of those, 62,970 are in arrears for more than 90 days compared with 55,763 accounts at the end of June 2011.

Meanwhile, during the quarter ending in September, there were 89 cases of mortgage lenders applying to Courts to commence proceedings, comprising arrears totalling €5.3 million built up on loans equating to €27.2 million.

Out of these, 125 court proceedings were concluded in the third quarter, of which the Courts granted orders for possession/sale in 76 cases.

A total of 162 properties were taken into possession by lenders with 43 being repossessed on foot of Court Orders and 119 following voluntary surrender or abandonment.

(DW)