The NHG limit has been raised. Last year you could take out a mortgage with National Mortgage Guarantee for homes up to 450,000 euros, this year (2026) you can do so for homes up to 470,000 euros. The NHG provides a safety net through which your mortgage is repaid (subject to conditions) if you can no longer do so due to drastic changes. For example, due to unemployment or disability. By the way, more has changed in the mortgage rules.
Similarly, the NHG limit for energy-saving measures has been raised. If you buy a house and immediately want to make it more sustainable, from now on the mortgage may be a maximum of 498,200 euros to qualify for the guarantee. In 2025, this was still 477,000 euros. A condition is that you must spend the additional amount entirely on energy-saving measures.
The NHG not only provides security, it also gives you a slightly lower interest rate. The cost of this insurance remains the same: 0.4 percent of the mortgage amount. These costs are deductible.
Another change in mortgage rules is in the amounts you can borrow extra for the most energy-efficient (new construction) homes. This "extra borrowing space" has shrunk a bit for those homes. These are the new maximum amounts:
For (new construction) homes with energy label A+ and A++, the additional loan space remains the same: 20,000 euros.
The logic behind the extra borrowing space is simple. In an energy-efficient home, you normally have fewer energy costs. So you have money left over and can therefore repay (and therefore borrow) more. For the bank, an energy-efficient house also offers a lower risk, because the value is more stable and the house is easier to sell. Encouraging sustainability also plays a role. The fact that the extra lending space for the most sustainable homes is limited is because solar panels are less profitable than they used to be. And that in turn has to do with the introduction of feed-in tariffs and (soon) the abolition of the balancing scheme.
Another change in the mortgage rules: the starter exemption for the transfer tax has been broadened. Are you a starter, younger than 35 and buying your first home? Then you do not have to pay transfer tax for a home up to 555,000 euros. In 2025, this amount was 525,000 euros. By the way, the transfer tax only applies to existing construction. Not for new construction.
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