Borrowing capacity, income and budget
How much can I borrow alone with €2,500 per month?
Alone with €2,500 of income per month: what determines your borrowing capacity, the constraint that decides, and where to find room if the calculation stalls.
When borrowing alone, the borrowable capital is that which the maximum loan burden produces, once converted by the term and the interest rate. This burden has two limits, which apply to a single income: the debt-to-income ratio ceiling set by the High Council of Financial Stability, a percentage of income, and the disposable income, an amount that each lender sets for itself without publishing it. No amount can therefore be announced in advance.
By Sandy MASCART, mandataire d'intermédiaire en opérations de banque et en services de paiement ORIAS 26000541 sous le mandat de CDV PATRIMOINE & ASSURANCE (ORIAS 14005573)
The update date is the date the content was last checked against its sources.
Key points
- For a sole borrower, the debt-to-income ratio ceiling applies to a single income: no second salary compensates for a line that the bank rejects.
- The ceiling is a percentage, the disposable income an amount: it is the lender’s grid, not published, that determines which of the two decides.
- The debt-to-income ratio is measured over the year in which the loan charges are heaviest, including all ongoing credits.
- A sole borrower bears the entire insured share: the threshold for exemption from the health questionnaire is assessed on their single head.
- No credit rate is published here: the only rate that bounds the file is the usury threshold, a ceiling on the annual percentage rate of charge and not a price.
On your own, at this income level, everything rests on a single income: a salary in the denominator, one head under the insurance, one adult in the remaining disposable income. This is where the margin lies (the borrowing capacity file). Basic method: the €2,000 page; for a couple, the couple's capacity; for a second purchase, the €3,000 page.
How much can you borrow on your own with €2,500 of income per month?
The capital that your maximum payment generates, converted by the term and the rate. Two limits: the debt-to-income ratio and the remaining disposable income of each lender, both based on a single income.
Plafond fixé par le Haut Conseil de stabilité financière. Il porte sur toutes les charges d'emprunt de l'emprunteur, crédits en cours compris.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Décision D-HCSF-2021-7, art. 1er — Légifrance
- At the bottom, your net income before tax, on your own: nothing compensates for an excluded line (the retained income).
- Exceptional income is excluded from the calculation.
- At the top, all your debts, including insurance.
- Take the retained income, not the bank transfer.
- Apply the limit: this is the maximum payment.
- Deduct the current instalments.
- Convert the remainder into capital (the monthly payment).
Alone with €2,500: what capital, in figures?
Approximately €155,500 over twenty years, with no other credit, insurance not deducted. Over fifteen years, approximately €125,700; over twenty-five years, approximately €179,400.
Average rates for July 2026 used: 3,11 % () over fifteen years, 3,16 % () over twenty years; the longest term uses the average published for it.
| Net monthly income | Over fifteen years | Over twenty years | Over twenty-five years |
|---|---|---|---|
| €2,500 | approximately €125,700 | approximately €155,500 | approximately €179,400 |
Estimate, without the value of a loan offer (29/10/2026). Assumption: one applicant, no ongoing debt, insurance left in the instalment.
Alone, only one applicant is insured: the insurance weighs on a single income. What remains after the instalment: the remaining living budget.
Lending budget or remaining living budget: which decides?
Without the lender's grid, no one can say. But the higher the income, the more likely the lending budget is to set the instalment before the remaining living budget.
A single parent counts an additional flat-rate amount. Hence two banks that respond differently (the rule of the High Council). Beyond the lending budget, the derogation is the bank's lending budget, not a right:
Enveloppe de l'établissement, jamais droit individuel. Une partie en est réservée aux acquéreurs de leur résidence principale, dont une part aux primo-accédants.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Décision D-HCSF-2021-7, art. 2 — Légifrance
Example, without the value of a loan offer: a bank that sets up €100 million of residential loans in a civil quarter can derogate up to €20 million. The lending budget is measured in amount, not in number of files: a large file beyond the lending budget consumes more than a small one. Example established on 01/11/2026 based solely on the High Council's lending budget.
Term and interest rate
Le texte parle de maturité, différé compris. Une durée supplémentaire existe pour certaines opérations comportant un différé, dans le neuf notamment.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Décision D-HCSF-2021-7, art. 1er — Légifrance
On your own, extending the term is your direct lever, at the cost of interest (choosing the term). The APR, including insurance, cannot exceed the usury threshold:
Plafond du taux effectif global. Ce n'est pas un taux proposé.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Légifrance
Plafond du taux effectif global. Ce n'est pas un taux proposé.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Légifrance
The rate of the month: the barometer.
A single insured head
If the entire capital must be covered, it rests on you alone. And it is your insured share that determines whether a health questionnaire may be requested.
See the health questionnaire, the excess and changing insurance.
The PTZ on its own?
It is assessed on the annual reference income, the zone and the number of occupants, not on the monthly salary (the PTZ in Lyon).
Is the calculation just short?
- Settle a liability before submission (car loan or LOA).
- Put the insurance out to tender.
- Extend the term slightly.
- Change the lender: same ceiling, different remaining income grid.
The equity increases the lending budget, not the borrowing capacity (the equity).
Before looking for a property
See what the bank looks at, the borrowing capacity, the purchase costs, the day of signature and the prices in Lyon. Submit your payslip by telephone.
This prohibition applies to me, as a mandate holder for an intermediary in banking operations and payment services, as it does to any intermediary.
Create your file: a single income, presented to the right lender.
Sources
- Décision D-HCSF-2021-7 — Légifrance
- Article L. 113-2-1 du code des assurances — Légifrance
- Article D. 31-10-3-1 du code de la construction et de l’habitation — Légifrance
- Article D. 31-10-3-2 du code de la construction et de l’habitation — Légifrance
- Article L. 519-6 du code monétaire et financier — Légifrance
- Article R. 314-4 du code de la consommation — Légifrance
Read next
- How much can I borrow? Mortgage capacity in Lyon
- How much can I borrow with €2,000 per month? With €2,000 in monthly income: a step-by-step calculation of your borrowing capacity, the bank’s three constraints and five levers to increase it.
- Debt-to-income ratio: the HCSF rule, its derogation margin and how the bank applies it Calculate your debt-to-income ratio as an analyst would: retained charges, residual income, HCSF derogation, and the levers to get back under the cap.
- Health questionnaire: when it truly disappears, and when it returns The exemption is calculated per insured person, on their share of the cumulative outstanding balance: the table that tells you, person by person, if exempt.
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Passer au calcul : Borrowing capacity