The Central Bank and Financial Regulator has published new proposals aimed at protecting people who fall into arrears on their mortgage payments.
Under the proposed rules, banks or building societies would still have to wait 12 months before applying to the courts for repossession of someone's home, if the person in arrears is co-operating with the bank.
In addition, if home-owners agree to a new repayment arrangement, the 12-month period would start only when they fall into arrears under the new scheme.
Lenders must also wait for the outcome of any complaint or appeals process before applying for repossession of a home.
The regulator's proposals for the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA) include some recommendations made by a Government-appointed expert group which reported last month.
Among these are a requirement for financial institutions to set up a Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP), a framework for handling cases where home-owners are struggling with repayments.
The new code would also require lenders to explore 'all viable options' and alternative repayment measures with home-owners.
It would also stop lenders from forcing people to change from a tracker mortgage to another type of mortgage.
The regulator is also seeking views from interested parties about what constitutes arrears, as it says some financial institutions are using different criteria.
The regulator also proposes that mortgage lenders must set up an appeals process for home-owners.
Bank group 'committed to working with customers'
The Irish Banking Federation (IBF) said it welcomed the consultation process announced today, adding that its members remained fully committed to working with customers who were experiencing problems with their mortgage repayments.
The PIBA, which represents independent mortgage and insurance brokers, said it would be responding to a number of issues raised by the regulator.
Rachel Doyle, director of PIBA mortgage services said: 'We would like to see that arrears would begin to be counted only after the first 30 days from the missed payment has elapsed. Equally, we do not believe that the definition of arrears should include the period in which partial payments are being made, provided the borrower is making a genuine effort to pay.'
