20,000 LOSING FAMILIES FACE THEIR HOMES
Banks ‘using Covid as excuse’ mortgage charity chief claims
HOMELESS figures could DOUBLE to nearly 17,000 as a “tsunami of evictions” looms in 2021, the Government has been warned.
And Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation chief David Hall claimed the number of homes at risk of repossession will almost double due to Covid-19.
The “home loan hero”, who also founded the icare service that provides social housing, told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “There’s going to be a tsunami of evictions over the next number of years.
“There’s 24,000 households in long- term mortgage arrears – that’s where we’re starting before we even consider Covid. “I think it’ll be a very difficult year – I believe a further 20,000 will unfortunately be at risk of losing their home. It is a phenomenal figure.”
Asked where he got the figures from, he explained: “There were originally 150,000 looking for a payment break for both commercial mortgages and for family homes. The family homes figure was about 80,000.
“And I think some predictions might say 25,000 or 30,000. But I’m going down a bit lower – I’m going on the lower side of 20,000 that are still in difficulty because of Covid.”
Mr Hall told how he fears an increase in the homeless figures as a staggering 11,551 out of the original 24,000 not paying their mortgages have been unable to come to an agreement with lenders.
He added: “We’re fooling ourselves if we think we’re in a crisis with 8,000 or 9,000 people homeless. We haven’t a f****** clue.”
The Dubliner agreed with Sinn Fein’s estimation of the current homeless figure – 8,484 in emergency accommodation – being underestimated by at least 20%.
Mr Hall said: “They’re right, but that’s only a quarter of what the actual figure is. I’m talking about 80 per cent higher because you’ve got 11,551 households that the banks have told: ‘ We can’t help you’. “Where are they going to go? “The vulture funds and the banks have told the Central Bank they believe that two-thirds of those in long-term mortgage arrears will lose their home – two-thirds of the 24,000.
“The banks and the vulture funds – not David Hall – are saying 50 per cent [of them] will be by repossession.”
Asked why the banks and vulture funds haven’t acted yet, he said: “The reason there
WARNING IMHO’S David Hall
CRISIS Queue at soup kitchen in Dublin hasn’t been a tsunami is the tap has been turned off by the banks.
“The banks are doing a bit of a favour to the politicians by not pressing the button. They have decided to save the Government’s blushes. The real danger here is the banks are now ‘ready’.
“What I mean is, they’ve cut back their staff 24K households are in longterm mortgage arrears, said David Hall
I think it’ll be a very difficult year for households DAVID HALL YESTERDAY
and they’re more likely to sell the stuff on to vulture funds than they ever were in the early days of the last recession.
“Their movement has advanced to get this stuff off their books – they can’t take a second hit and have capital tied up with a second bunch of non-performing loans.
“The danger is you’ll be moved to a vulture
One family was asked to move out before Christmas DAVID HALL YESTERDAY
fund, which is the worst place for you. If you are a shareholder of a bank or a vulture fund you’d be saying, ‘ What the f***’s going on here, lads? You’re telling me that 11,000 people can’t pay their mortgage and you’ve seen this firsthand and you’ve done nothing about it?”
“Because the next question that will come out is, ‘How many people are going to get free houses from the banks and vulture funds?’ How likely is that? That’s the only alternative.” Mr Hall, who is the owner of Lifeline Ambulance Service, said some vulture funds have been trying to turf out struggling homeowners during the pandemic.
He added: “I’ve seen a letter from a solicitor’s firm on behalf of one asking the family to leave the house on December 21, before Christmas.
“And we’re supposed all be Covid compliant and here they are looking for them to leave their family home.” The businessman believes the Government will end up using the pandemic as an excuse.
He said: “Covid is going to cover up for the failures in the system. Everything will just be Covid, Covid, Covid. Every f*****g excuse in the world will be Covid.
“The Housing Minister should be sending all the banks a bouquet of flowers and a crate of
wine, saying, ‘ Thank you all for preventing the tsunami for the last number of years – and hopefully I’ll get in and out of the ministerial job before it happens’.
“Certain commentators and the politicians keep saying, ‘ There’s no tsunami coming, David’.
“No, sorry – mathematically speaking there will be a tsunami. It’s only a matter of when.”
Mr Hall, who ran unsuccessfully as an independent candidate in the 2014 by-election in Dublin West, is now publicly ruling out running again for the Dail.
He added: “No, I won’t. My view is that I think politics is toxic and unfortunately it’s a dirty world.
“I think helping people in debt and on a voluntary basis with icare – we’ve 721 tenants who were all saved from homelessness – is far more productive than being a backbencher.”