‘Chaos’ if banks repossess more

A call from the head of the Central Bank for banks to repossess more buy-to-let properties would cause “chaos” in the market, according to a national housing charity.

Addressing the Limerick Law Society on Wednesday, Patrick Honohan said that in cases of “loan delinquency”, it is “past time for the banks to be dealing more proactively with the situation of over-indebted, buy-to-let borrowers no longer able to service the debts they assumed in order to take investment positions — now loss-making — in property”.

He said there are many circumstances in which there is less reason to be inhibited about repossessing buy-to-let properties.