New program to help tenants in expensive rentals get mortgages

Banks and several other parties are launching an experiment on Thursday to help tenants with high rents in the free sector get a mortgage, the National Morgage Guarantee (NHG) announced. They want to help people who earn too much for social housing but can't get a mortgage due to strict lending conditions. Even if the mortgage repayment would be lower than their rent, NU.nl reports.

This involves mortgages for homes up to the NHG limit of 355,00 euros. To qualify for the program, tenants must have paid their rent for at least three years without incurring arrears. The household's income must also be high enough to cover the housing costs without dipping into savings.

Up to a thousand households can participate in the trial by ING, BLG Wonen, ABN Amro subsidiary Florius, Aegon, homeowners' association VEH, and the NHG. The trial will last for two years, but the number of mortgages may be expanded sooner if the experiment proves to be working well.