Vulture fund interest rates may be unenforceable, says former High Court master

Some mortgages bought by vulture funds cannot arbitrarily have their rates increased as to do so would be contrary to the 1993 EU Directive on Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts, says Edmund Honohan. Picture: Denis Minihane

A former master of the High Court has said he believes the imposition of heavy interest rates by some vulture funds on already distressed mortgages may be contrary to EU law and thus “unenforceable”.

Edmund Honohan, a Dublin barrister who served as master from 2001 to 2022, said that in his opinion some mortgages bought over by vulture funds cannot arbitrarily have their rates increased as to do so would be contrary to the 1993 EU Directive on Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts.