Non-standard profiles
Mortgage without a permanent contract: fixed-term contracts, temporary work, probationary period – what the banks accept
No permanent contract? The bank assesses income continuity: length in the trade, multi-year average, temp work, end of probation, documents that unlock it.
Yes, a mortgage can be obtained without a permanent contract: no legislation mandates it. The bank assesses the continuity of income, proven by the length of service in the profession, the average over several complete tax years and the number of months actually paid each year. During a probationary period, the income is generally disregarded, until a written confirmation from the employer.
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)
Key points
- No legislation mandates a permanent contract: the bank assesses the continuity of income, not the type of contract.
- Length of service in the profession often counts for more than length of service with the most recent employer: the file tells the story of the profession, not the employer.
- The number of months actually paid each year carries as much weight as the average income over several complete tax years.
- During the probationary period, the income is generally disregarded: a written confirmation of the end of probation or a well-timed schedule often removes this obstacle.
- A transfer formalised by an amendment with the same employer preserves the length of service; a new hire opens a new probationary period.
Yes, you can purchase a property without a permanent contract: the lender assesses the continuity of income, not the contract. Demonstrate this whether you are on a fixed-term contract, on temporary agency work, in a probationary period, working on an intermittent basis, or in a seasonal role, just like other atypical profiles. Are you self-employed? See the length of your business activity. Are you a tenured civil servant? Bonuses and on-call duties.
Can you obtain a mortgage without a permanent contract?
Yes. No law requires a permanent contract: the lender must simply establish that the income will continue. A series of short-term contracts over several years sometimes proves this better than a brand-new permanent contract.
Prepare the file before submitting it: an initial assessment is difficult to reopen.
What the lender really looks at: continuity, not the contract
Your seniority in the profession, the average income over complete years, and above all the number of months paid each year.
- The profession, not the employer: successive contracts, work certificates, letter from the most recent employer.
- The average over complete tax years, supported by tax notices. Never the best year alone.
- The months worked over the last three years: create a table based on the contracts.
The details: the income considered by the lender.
Renewed fixed-term contract, public sector contract: proving renewal
A fixed-term contract renewed for years is a regular income with the wrong label. Prove the renewal in writing.
In the private sector, demonstrate continuity and a sector that is hiring. In the public sector, a permanent contract follows a legal period of service: verify it on service-public.fr. Are you approaching that stage? State it.
Temporary work: mission history and the permanent temporary work contract
The application relies on the mission history and the months worked. A certificate from the agency carries more weight than an isolated contract.
Explain your sector and your employment area. A permanent temporary work contract, with its guaranteed minimum remuneration between missions, changes everything: place it at the forefront.
- mission records over several years;
- work certificates and agency certificate;
- tax notices.
The probationary period: the real issue in professional changes
During the probationary period, income is generally excluded. A written document unlocks the application.
- The written confirmation of the end of the probationary period.
- The employer's waiver of the probationary period, or its shortening.
- A suspensive clause that expires after the end of the probationary period. Too short? Loan refused after a preliminary sale agreement.
Transferred to Lyon: keep your seniority
With the same employer, an amendment is sufficient: no new probationary period. A different company within the group is a different employer: require a written agreement that retains your seniority and excludes the probationary period. A mobility bonus can contribute to the down payment.
The case of intermittent and seasonal workers
Intermittency is a status, not a form of precarity. What counts is the seniority within the status and the renewal of rights.
Banks either include or exclude allowances: the difference can be total. Show certificates of rights and tax notices. Seasonal worker? A written renewal clause and a loyal employer.
The levers that offset a non-permanent contract
The choice of bank carries the most weight: why two banks respond differently, the specialised lenders.
- The contribution: the personal contribution.
- The remaining savings after the purchase, often decisive.
- A co-borrower on a permanent contract.
- The guarantee: compare them.
- A short term and a comfortable residual income.
Cette marge est contingentée et suivie. Un dossier atypique la consomme : c'est précisément pour cela qu'il doit être irréprochable sur tous les autres points.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Décision D-HCSF-2021-7, art. 2 — Légifrance
This derogation must be earned: a bank overdraft or a superfluous loan is enough to lose it.
The mistakes not to make during the assessment
- Changing your situation before the funds are released: the agreement may fall through.
- Taking out a loan, even an instalment payment.
- Allowing a bank overdraft to occur.
- Concealing a contract that is ending.
- Depositing twice in the same place.
Already received a refusal? The refused loan.
The budget first, the visits second
Start from the average of your complete years, not the current contract, and calculate using the formula for the instalment.
Contracts and opinions gathered? Create your file or present your history by telephone.
Sources
Read next
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- Net take-home, net payable, gross: which income does the bank actually use? Net payable, gross, taxable, bonuses, dividends, rents: what the bank actually uses to calculate your borrowing capacity, before you start house-hunting.
- Mortgage for self-employed professionals or micro-entrepreneurs: two or three financial statements to borrow? Years in business, micro-business deduction, salary or dividends, irregular income: what the bank actually considers, and how to prepare your file.
- Mortgage for civil servants: making your bonuses, on-call shifts and overtime count Salary, bonuses, on-call and night shifts, overtime: what the lender retains from a public-sector payslip, and the documents that validate all your income.
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