Crowe Welcomes Bill to Protect Family Homes From Repossession

Dublin South West representative Seán Crowe TD has welcomed the production of a new Bill which will enhance protection of the family home from repossession.

Crowe said that the new ‘The Land and Conveyancing Law Reform (Amendment) Bill 2013’ produced by Sinn Féin would reverse the worst aspects of the Government’s removal of the so called Dunne judgment which previously prevented repossession of family homes in many cases.

Deputy Seán Crowe said:

“This Bill produced by Sinn Féin will if accepted by the Oireachtas give greater protection to families from the banks and would reinstate much of the legal protection which the government inexplicably removed earlier this year.”

“In the context of a potential repossession a judge would be given more powers to decide if the bank had acted reasonably and exhausted all other potential options. In other words it shifts the burden of proof onto the bank and off the homeowner. It would also make a Personal Insolvency Practitioner available to anybody whose home was threatened with the bank footing the bill and other costs such as the residual debts.

“As a result of this measure banks would be forced into making reasonable and more realistic arrangements with struggling homeowners. Our Bill will shift the power balance that lies overwhelmingly with the banks.

“They will no longer be able to proceed straight to repossession or threat of repossession, without first making a very real effort to meet the distressed homeowner halfway. Surely this solution is more reasonable, reflects better the views of society and those hard pressed taxpayers who bailed out and supported the banks after their years of excesses.

“Unfortunately we have seen this Government act time and time again in the interest of the banks. They revised the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears in favour of the banks. The current Personal Insolvency Act is inadequate to many people and equally important it gives the banks a veto.

“In our view the biggest error the Government has made is its reversal of the Dunne Judgment without putting any safeguards in its place. This has left family homes open to the threat of repossession. The result, as we have seen, is that almost 15,000 letters threatening repossession have been sent out in the past few months.

“This Bill is a reasonable proposal and gives added protection against banks to families whose home is in real danger of repossession.”