COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, February 10, 2014
QUESTION NO.16
QUESTION: Councillor E. Ó Broin
To ask the Manager to provide a detailed report on arrears with respect to households with South Dublin County Council funded House Purchase Loans, the report to include (a) The number of legal repossession proceedings initiated in each year since 1st Jan 2008 to date. (b) The number of repossession order obtained in each year since 1st Jan 2008 to date. (c) The number of repossessions obtained in each year since 1st of January 2008 to date. (d) The number of households currently in mortgage arrears of ninety days or more; the family composition of these households. (e) A breakdown of the accounts by length of time in arrears in excess of one month?
REPLY:
South Dublin County Council has long had a policy of early intervention for mortgage accounts that fall into arrears and borrowers have been dealt with in a timely efficient and flexible way. On average 15% (171 accounts) of South Dublin County Council mortgages are in arrears of more than 90 days compared to a national Local Authority average of 30%.
Since 1st October 2012 the Council has implemented the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP) guidelines issued by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and the City and County Managers' Association.
MARP is a framework for dealing with borrowers in arrears in a timely, efficient and flexible way, which provides mechanisms and structures for dealing with instances of arrears and is a process designed to be fair to both the lending authority and borrower
The MARP process includes the following steps
Step 1 - Communication
Step 2- Financial Information
Step 3- Assessment
Step 4 - Resolution
Step 5 – Appeal
In compliance with the MARP requirements, South Dublin County Council has a Dedicated Mortgage Arrears Management Team, as follows, in place
- Arrears Support Officers: experienced and dedicated loan staff
- Appeals Panel: Senior Housing personnel including staff member independent of any previous dealings with the borrower
- Appeals Officer : Named individual as Point of Contact for borrower in appeals process
Full details of the Council's Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process are available on the Council website, click here for the link.
The table below sets out the number of demands for possession served; the number of decrees for possession granted by the courts; and the number of repossessions from 2008 to date:
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | |
| Demand For Repossession served | 16 | 17 | 50 | 46 | 30 | 19 | 1 |
| Decree for Possession awarded by District Court | 2 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| Repossessions | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| Surrenders | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Below is a breakdown of the accounts by length of time in arrears in excess of one month as at the end of December 2013:
| Months in arrears | No. of accounts |
| 1 but less than 2 months | 64 |
| 2 but less than 3 months | 27 |
| 3 but less than 4 months | 20 |
| 4 but less than 5 months | 15 |
| 5 but less than 6 months | 19 |
| 6 but less than 7 months | 15 |
| 7 but less than 8 months | 9 |
| 8 but less than 9 months | 7 |
| 9 but less than 10 months | 7 |
| 10 but less than 11 months | 7 |
| 11 but less than 12 months | 7 |
| 12 or more months | 65 |
| Total | 262 |
The Council does not hold in a retrievable format records requested in relation to the family composition of persons who have Council loans.