The mortgage moratorium it is a temporary measure provided for all those who, for economic or financial reasons, are unable to pay the installments of the loan contracted for their first home.
The possibilities of access are bound to the legal requirements and, no less importantly, to the signed contract. For this reason, before requesting financing, it is useful to use an online tool to find the best mortgage for your needs.
What does it mean to ask for a mortgage moratorium
The term mortgage moratorium refers to a measure of temporary block on the payment of installments of housing financing, decided at government level to help the population in difficulty during periods of economic crisis or pandemic. This is what happened, for example, with the Cura Italia Decree of March 2020, when it was decided to broaden the range of beneficiaries of the more classic mortgage suspension, with the aim of facilitating recovery from the Covid 19 pandemic.
Although this measure is no longer extended today, given the end of the critical issues related to the pandemic, in common parlance the meaning of moratorium on the mortgage remained associated with the more classic suspension. Consequently, informally we speak of a moratorium to indicate:
- and government measures in times of economic crisis;
- be the Gasparrini Consap. Fundestablished with the 2008 Budget Law, which allows the mortgage installments to be temporarily suspended in the presence of demonstrated economic or financial difficulties of the borrower.
The suspension of the mortgage, as mentioned established with the Law 244/2007allows you to obtain a freeze on mortgage payments for a maximum period of 18 months. During this period of time, the aforementioned Gasparrini Fund will take care of the payment of up to 50% of the interest on the loan instalments.
It is therefore useful to reiterate that, precisely due to the common practice of using the term for both alternatives, for the purposes of this discussion we will speak indifferently of moratorium or suspension.
How the mortgage moratorium works
But how does mortgage suspension work or, more precisely, access to Solidarity Fund for the Purchase of the First Home? As already explained, the measure was created to support those who, finding themselves in serious economic difficulty, are unable to pay their mortgage instalments.
In the presence of specific requirements, access to the Gasparrini Fund allows you to:
- temporarily suspend mortgage payments, for a maximum period of 18 monthsas already mentioned;
- enjoy the payment from the same Fund until 50% on the interest on the installments during the suspension period.
In other words, during the suspension period the borrower will not be required to pay any sum linked to the loan contracted. Once you have returned from the moment of difficulty, the installments to be recovered are normally added to the end of the repayment plan, while the other 50% of the interest is divided over all the remaining installments. In this way, the borrower will not have to take on excessively burdensome installments, which could lead to new payment problems.
Mortgage suspension: the requirements
In order to access the suspension of the Consap mortgage in 2024it is necessary to respect some precise requirements. In general:
- the property for which a mortgage has been taken out must be the first houseprovided that it does not belong to the cadastral categories A/1, A/8 and A/9;
- the mortgage amount must not exceed 250.000 euro;
- the mortgage must have been repaying for at least one year;
- the borrower must have a ISEE income not exceeding 30,000 euros per year;
- there must be a justified cause for the request for suspension.
It is useful to specify that you can access the suspension only if you have not already benefited from other suspensions, always for a maximum period of 18 consecutive months. Furthermore, compared to the extensions previously introduced with the Cura Italia Decree, it is good to know that the moratorium measure is no longer accessible to self-employed workers, freelancers or individual businesses, as well as to undivided ownership building cooperatives.
What does moratorium period mean
With the deadline moratorium period it simply indicates the period of time in which you enjoy the suspension of mortgage repayments. The duration is variable – as already explained, it is limited to a maximum of 18 months – and, for the mortgage moratorium 2024linked to the actual causes underlying the suspension request:
- up to 6 months for the suspension or reduction of salary of at least 20%, for a period of between 30 and 150 consecutive days;
- up to 12 months for the suspension or reduction of salary by at least 20%, for a period between 151 and 302 consecutive days;
- up to 18 months for dismissal, death of the borrower and transfer of the loan to the heirs, onset of serious disability, suspension or reduction of salary of at least 20% for a period exceeding 303 consecutive days.
So, for illustrative purposes, it can be argued that the mortgage can be suspended for a yearonly in the presence of a suspension or reduction in salary of at least 20%, provided that the duration of the limitation is equal to or greater than 151 days.
How to apply for mortgage suspension
Having verified the requirements and timing for granting the suspension, based on the causes that led to the economic difficulties, how do you physically proceed with the request for a moratorium?
First of all, you need to have all the information available documentation necessary, which may include:
- il identity document and the tax code;
- the ISEE certification for income certification;
- the documentation certifying the difficult conditionsuch as the dismissal letter, the unemployment certificate, valid medical certifications for disability and much more;
- the copy of the mortgage contract signed with the bank.
At this point, it is necessary to go to the bank that granted the loan and fill in the appropriate form mortgage suspension form. And PDF sample of the suspension form it is available on the Consap website, however each credit institution may have specific needs, so it is advisable to ask the bank in advance for a copy of the document to be filled out.
Once the request has been submitted:
- the bank evaluates it to understand whether the requirements are met. Typically, this step can take approximately a month;
- if the suspension is approved, the relevant moratorium period begins.
What can I do if I can no longer pay the mortgage
Mortgage suspension or moratorium is one of several alternatives that a borrower in difficulty can access. However, this path is not always viable, for example when your ISEE income is higher than the maximum requirements or, again, if you have already requested suspension until the time available to you has been exhausted.
In these cases, it may be useful to evaluate other options, such as:
- the mortgage renegotiation at the bank, for example by requesting that the monthly installment be reduced, in exchange for an extension of the repayment plan;
- mortgage subrogation, which allows you to transfer your loan without additional costs to a new credit institution, which could offer more favorable conditions.
In very serious cases, one can think of sell the property through a sale, to pay off the remaining mortgage with what is earned. In this way, you will avoid losing the value of the house due to a possible forced sale, such as an auction, due to non-payment of installments. Obviously, each situation is different and, for this reason, it is a good idea to obtain information both from your credit institution and by asking an expert lawyer for advice.
