Belgian banks have issued more than 5,000 payment deferrals on mortgages since the introduction of support measures on 1 October, Febelfin said on Thursday.
These measures were implemented in response to Belgian households struggling to meet their monthly instalments as a result of rising energy prices and record inflation. Customers who qualify for the support are able to demand up to 12 months of deferral on their repayments. The affected borrowers do not need to repay the capital of their mortgage, only interest during this period.
This government support measure is set to run until the end of March 2023. To be eligible, households must possess less than €10,000 of movable property at the time the request was made to avoid being registered as having defaulted on the loan.
A similar support mechanism was also introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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In just one month, 5,000 home loans benefited from this payment deferral. Of these, 4,239 deferrals were granted within the framework provided by Febelfin; 967 where tailor-made solutions proposed by banks.
