A number of changes have been made to the Mortgage to Rent scheme in Ireland.

Housing Minister Simon Coveney said a number of households will benefit from the changes.

Minister Coveney said: "I am pleased to be able to publish the review and set out a series of actions and amendments that will make Mortgage to Rent (MTR) quicker, more transparent, easier to navigate for borrowers and ultimately, more accessible to more households in mortgage distress. Crucially, the changes will also dramatically increase the numbers of households availing of the scheme."

Recent Central Bank statistics on mortgage arrears show that the level of arrears is declining, however the Government is concerned that there remains a significant number of borrowers in long-term mortgage distress who have no prospect of a significant change in their circumstances in the foreseeable future.

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The scheme so far has not had the capacity to deliver significant scale or volumes of transactions. 217 transactions have been completed to date with a further 635 reaching conclusion. Up to now, the mortgage to rent scheme has relied on single transactions by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) buying lenders properties that have been voluntarily surrendered by eligible borrowers.

The Minister continued: "I want to give Mortgage to Rent a shot in the arm by testing alternative funding models that can deliver volume. The Housing Agency will work with a number of financial entities who have come forward with an interest in working with the MTR scheme to progress a minimum of 200 units based on these new arrangements.

"The objective is to see how we can structure the scheme to benefit a greater number of households. The new funding arrangements, increased flexibility and expanded scope in terms of eligible properties will enable us to do that."

(CD/JP)