The 0.5 points increase in interest rates undertaken by the European Central Bank (ECB) on 15 December was a new setback for mortgages, which saw how the Euribor went from being at negative rates to touch 3% in 2022, such as already reported this newspaper.
Although – looking towards 2023 and taking into account that the ECB will, in principle, ease the interest rate up because inflation is now more moderate – organizations like Funcas are already forecasting a much more stable Euribor, there is a series of aids from which holders of a variable rate mortgage can benefit.
On its website the ECB explains that “The royal decree-law 19/2022 provides for measures to lighten the burden of the mortgage in the presence of certain requirements». To this he adds that these measures concern only mortgages on habitual residence and that it applies in two cases.
The first case it occurs when the price of the home on which the mortgage is charged is no more than 300,000 euros; the income of the owner is less than three and a half times the Public Indicator of Multiple Effects Income (IPREM), or 29,400 euros per year expected for 2023; as well as that the mortgage burden is more than 30% of the income and that, moreover, it has increased by at least 20%. Once these three requirements have been met, it is possible, for a period of two years, to freeze the mortgage payment for twelve months, to change the variable rate to a fixed rate, or to obtain an extension of the mortgage term up to seven years.
The second hypothesis It occurs when the income is less than three times the IPREM, i.e. 25,200 euros a year and more than 50% is used to pay the mortgage. If these conditions are met, you can apply for a two-year grace period, pay a lower interest rate during the grace period, or get an extension of up to seven years.
