Can a government-guarantee loan have instalment-free periods?

The maximum loan period of a government-guaranteed loan is 25 years from the date that the loan or its first instalment is withdrawn. The duration of instalment-free periods for a government-guaranteed loan is not limited as long as the total loan period is no more than 25 years. Within the total loan period, the bank and the borrower may freely agree on instalment-free periods. However, the instalment plan must be realistic.

At the borrower’s request during the loan period, the bank may also extend the loan period to a maximum of 27 years if the borrower’s ability to manage the loan has significantly deteriorated due to illness, unemployment or other comparable reasons.

If the total amount of the borrower’s housing loan is greater than the share of the home ownership loan covered by the government liability, i.e., they have an additional loan, the government-guaranteed loan must be repaid first. Therefore, instalment-free periods cannot be granted for government-guaranteed loans in such a way that only the “additional loan” (which does not involve a government guarantee) is repaid.

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