Disabled individuals: How does subsidized housing credit work?

Do you already know how this loan works? Go ahead and hire it now, with the help of Poupança no Minuto. To find out more about how it works, what different conditions are, and the requirements to fulfill for this type of housing loan, read on.

People with disabilities have access to a bonus on home credit.

People with disabilities, due to special needs, are entitled to different housing credit access conditions. In this sense, if they meet the requirements, they may have access to a discounted interest rate. For this, the disability must correspond to or be greater than 60%.

In order to prove disability, the client must present a multi-purpose medical certificate of disability. This is an official document that disabled individuals must carry with them, where the degree of disability is determined through the National Disability Table.

To determine the bonus, the difference between the reference rate for the calculation of bonuses (TRCB) and 65% of the European Central Bank reference rate (REPO) is calculated. And if the contracted interest rate is lower than the TRCB, it is calculated by the difference between the contracted interest rate and 65% of the REPO rate.

What are the necessary requirements to access this credit?

It is important to note that, in order to access the discounted regime of home loan, besides having 60% proven disability by medical certificate, other requirements are also on the table. Such as:

• The loan amount, that is, the LTV (loan-to-value), cannot exceed 90% of the lesser of two values: the appraisal value or the acquisition, construction, or renovation value.
• This financing amount cannot exceed 222,998.31 euros;
• The property cannot be owned by the borrower's ancestors or descendants;
• A mortgage must be constituted on the property, and it cannot be alienated in the following 5 years (except in cases of unemployment, death, change in the household or workplace location);
• The credit must be used for one of the following purposes:

Acquisition, expansion, construction, and execution of works for the conservation or improvement of permanent own housing (with the acquisition of an individual garage or parking space in a collective garage).

- Acquisition of land and construction of property for permanent own housing (with the construction of individual garage);

Works of ordinary, extraordinary or improvement conservation in common parts of buildings aimed at complying with the technical standards required by law, in order to improve the accessibility of residential buildings, by owners of autonomous fractions who own their permanent residence, with responsibility falling on the condominium owners.

Can I convert my home credit to a subsidized one?

First, it should be noted that banks are not required by law to grant this type of credit upfront. Although certain Portuguese banks approve these loans.

However, know that, if you already have a housing credit contracted and incapacity occurs after that contract, the bank cannot deny the conversion of your credit to the subsidized one.

Therefore, yes: it is possible to transfer your housing credit to the subsidized interest rate regime if you have a disability degree equal to or greater than 60% after contracting.

Why not ask for help from a credit intermediary?

If you are looking to get a home loan for people with disabilities, the credit intermediaries Poupança no Minuto can guide you directly to banks that approve this type of credit. In addition to handling all the paperwork and documents, they are responsible for communication with the banks and negotiation of terms.

Also, if you wish to convert your existing housing credit to the subsidized scheme, credit intermediaries can intervene. With a fast and cost-free service, the conversion becomes simple. Contact Poupança no Minuto to proceed with the process.