Since Saturday, families who have a credit for the acquisition or construction of their own permanent home of up to 300 thousand euros can renegotiate the contract with the banks free of charge. The new rule, which states that “no commissions may be charged for renegotiating contracts and interest rates cannot be increased” to customers, is part of the package of measures the government has taken to mitigate the impact of the rapid increase of the Euribor on the portfolio of Portuguese with loans related to that rate.
The Decree, published in Diary of the Republic, on November 25, also makes it possible to extend the repayment period of the credit agreement, “with the possibility of resuming the contractual period before the extension provided for in this issue”, whereby the banks will present to consumers “a proposal for an adjusted amortization , accompanied by the financial consequences of this enlargement”. The support measures also include the temporary suspension of the early repayment provision of 0.5% on home loans with variable interest rates.
According to the executive, the new diploma stems from the need to “strengthen the preventive mechanisms of the institutions for the situation of rising interest rates that are verified, to anticipate any risk or default situation that may arise from the deterioration of the rate of effort”. Financial institutions are now required to implement a “specific routine” to assess this effect.
The measures, which will remain in force until December next year, therefore apply to customers with mortgage loans up to 300 thousand euros, who register a “significant increase in the effort ratio or a significant effort ratio of borrowers on credit”, as a result of the variation of the reference index (three, six or two months).
It should be remembered that the effort rate corresponds to the ratio of the amount of the monthly installment calculated with all the customer’s loans and their monthly income.
Under the provisions, the government considers situations of “significant deterioration in the effort rate” when it: reaches 36% “after an increase of five percentage points compared to the effort rate over the same period, or for contracts contracted in the last 12 months, compared to the closing date” or “as a result of an equal or greater increase in the reference index of the contract in question”; was already higher than 36% in the same period last year and there is an increase in the effort rate or the contract reference index of the same five percentage points.
In turn, the customer is considered to have a “significant effort percentage” when their effort percentage corresponds to at least 50% of their income.
In order to monitor the evolution of this rate, the institutions must verify the existence of “evidence of a significant deterioration in the effort rate or verification of a significant effort rate at least 60 days before the next interest rate reset”, the debtor may request to provide necessary and adequate information and documents, namely the income statement, and “use the most up-to-date information available in the central credit responsibilities”. The deadline for submitting the documentation is ten days.
Finally, with effect from December 31, 2023, Decree-Law No. 80-A/2022 stipulates that banks have 45 days from November 26 to review their customer portfolio and identify cases that indicate a deterioration or significant evolution of the effort rate.
Mariana Coelho Dias is a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
Source: DN
