Banks who have not availed of the Government Guarantee are not obliged to follow the MARP guidelines.QUOTE]
That is not true. The Central Bank's Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears states:
This Code applies to the mortgage lending activities of all regulated entities, except credit unions, operating in the State, including:
- a financial services provider authorised, registered or licensed by the Central Bank of Ireland; and
- a financial services provider authorised, registered or licensed in another EU or EEA Member State and which has provided, or is providing, mortgage lending activities in the State.
The full doc is available at [broken link removed]
This doc is also good - [broken link removed]
It says:
If the lender agrees a new arrangement and I keep up repayments can they repossess?
If the lender agrees a new arrangement and you keep up repayments, the lender cannot start legal action to seek repossession.
Where you do not keep up repayments under the new arrangement, the lender must review your case immediately and try to agree an alternative repayment arrangement with you. If a new alternative repayment arrangement is put in place, the lender cannot begin legal proceedings while you keep to the terms of the new agreement.
If a new arrangement is not put in place, the lender cannot apply to the courts to start legal action for repossession until a 12-month period has passed. However, the calculation of the 12 month waiting period can be complicated as, for example, the time taken by your lender’s Appeals Board to consider your appeal is not included in the 12-month waiting period. If you request it, the lender has to tell you how much time is remaining during which the lender may not commence legal action for repossession of your home.