Managing Your Mortgage

The mainstream banks and building societies remain fully committed to working constructively with those of their customers who are experiencing genuine difficulty with their mortgage repayments.

For details on managing other debt problems, please visit the Debt Management page here.

On this page, find out more about:

  • Your Guide to Dealing with Mortgage Repayment Difficulties
  • Central Bank of Ireland's statutory Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears
  • IBF/IMC Code of Conduct on Pre-Contractual Information for Home Loans

Dealing with Mortgage Repayment Difficulties

Your Guide to Dealing with Mortgage Repayment Difficulties

 

IBF and its members developed the consumer guide, Your Guide to Dealing with Mortgage Repayment Difficulties, in consultation with the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS). This straightforward consumer guide provides clear four-step advice as to what the borrower should do and also spells out what the lender will do in accordance with the IBF Pledge on Home Repossessions to Homeowners and the statutory Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears.

It is important for a borrower to get in touch with his/her lender in order to work together to find a mutually acceptable, sustainable solution. The importance of that early engagement is reflected in the four key action steps as follows that a borrower is advised to take:

  • Contact your mortgage lender as soon as possible if you're having trouble with your mortgage repayments or you are concerned that this might be likely to happen.
  • Look at your financial situation to make sure that you're maximising your income and draw up a budget based on your most important spending commitments.
  • Respond to letters or phone calls from your mortgage lender or their legal representative.
  • If you are genuinely unable to make your mortgage repayments, ask your mortgage lender to explore with you one or more of the options available under the statutory Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (which are listed on the website).
  • In addition to providing details of the Statutory Code, the website also provides information on the IBF/MABS Protocol on Debt Management, which afford further assurance to borrowers facing difficulty with their repayments. Links are also provided to other useful sites - such as the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS), the Citizens Information Board, the Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC) and the National Consumer Agency – as are contact details for the mortgage lenders who are the site partners.

Mortgage Lender Contact Details

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Codes

Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears - Central Bank
(link to Central Bank of Ireland website)
The Central Bank of Ireland's statutory Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears came into effect on 27 February 2009. It was revised in February 2010 and January 2011. This Code builds on IBF's voluntary Code of Practice but it applies to all mortgage lenders, whether or not they are credit institutions, providing mortgage borrowers with added reassurance.

IBF/IMC Code of Conduct on Pre-Contractual Information for Home Loans (PDF - 99KB download)
This Code has been negotiated and adopted by European associations of consumers and the European Credit Sector Associations offering home loans. The aim of the Code is to ensure transparency of information and comparability.

Note: IBF works with its member financial institutions to develop voluntary codes that set standards of good conduct and practice to follow when they are dealing with personal or business customers in Ireland. These voluntary codes complement statutory codes and enable financial institutions to compete freely on the services they offer, encouraging further innovation and higher standards to the benefit of customers.