Assistance schemes, PTZ and local schemes
Does the PTZ count towards your debt-to-income ratio? Can it be used as a down payment?
Yes, the PTZ counts in your debt-to-income ratio from the end of the deferral; no, it does not replace a down payment. What the lender calculates.
Yes, the zero-interest loan counts towards your debt-to-income ratio: it is a loan, the burden of which is nil during the repayment holiday and then appears all at once, and each lender treats this repayment holiday according to its lending policy. No, it does not replace a down payment: its amount is capped relative to the other loans in the transaction and it does not finance the acquisition costs, which the lender generally expects to be covered outside of the credit.
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
- The PTZ is a loan: its burden is included in your debt-to-income ratio, nil during the repayment holiday, then full all at once.
- The PTZ never replaces a down payment: its amount is capped relative to the other loans in the transaction.
- The PTZ does not finance the acquisition costs: a down payment remains expected to cover them outside of the credit.
- The end of the repayment holiday causes the PTZ burden to appear all at once: check the loan schedules before signing.
- Repaying a PTZ early saves no interest: it only serves to free up your debt-to-income ratio.
Does the PTZ count towards the debt-to-income ratio? Yes, but its cost only appears at the end of the repayment holiday. Can it be used as a down payment? No: it does not finance the acquisition costs. Build your plan with the zero-interest loan; zoning and caps are in the PTZ in Lyon.
Does the PTZ count towards the calculation of the debt-to-income ratio?
Yes, like any loan. Its cost is nil during the repayment holiday, then arrives all at once.
Critère d'octroi opposable aux établissements, avec une marge de flexibilité encadrée.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Décision D-HCSF-2021-7, art. 1er — Légifrance
What the bank does with the repayment holiday
The standard does not specify how to treat a loan whose cost starts after the repayment holiday: each bank makes the decision.
La maturité s'entend comme la somme de la période de différé et de la période d'amortissement.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Décision D-HCSF-2021-7, art. 1er — Légifrance
- Some smooth out all loans, including the PTZ, over the total duration.
- Others retain the cost after the repayment holiday, which is stricter: it often decides a borderline application.
Un seul PTZ par opération ; aucun frais de dossier, frais d’expertise, intérêt ni intérêt intercalaire ne peut être perçu
Aucun intérêt, aucun intérêt intercalaire, aucun frais de dossier ni d'expertise. C'est cette règle qui rend le calcul ci-dessous exact : il n'y a aucun taux à supposer.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Article L. 31-10-2 du code de la construction et de l’habitation — Légifrance
| Period | Monthly cost of the PTZ | What the bank does with it |
|---|---|---|
| Period 1 — repayment holiday | Nil | Either ignored, or smoothed over the total duration, depending on the lending policy |
| Period 2 — amortisation | Borrowed capital divided by the number of months in the period | Integrated into the debt-to-income ratio, in full |
The total duration of the PTZ cannot exceed 300 mois (), and the repayment holiday, when it exists, does not go below 24 mois ().
Can the PTZ replace a personal contribution?
No. Capped in relation to other loans, it cannot exist on its own: it complements a financing.
The PTZ is compared to the sum of the other loans in the transaction whose term exceeds 24 mois ().
Le PTZ ne peut pas dépasser ce pourcentage du total des autres prêts de l'opération dont la durée dépasse le seuil rappelé plus haut.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Article L. 31-10-8 du code de la construction et de l’habitation — Service-Public.fr
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Article L. 31-10-8 du code de la construction et de l’habitation — Légifrance
- A small main loan reduces the PTZ.
- A long-term supplementary loan (employer, local aid) raises its cap.
The PTZ also excludes deed fees and registration duties, paid at the signature: see the PTZ in zone A.
Is a contribution still required when obtaining a PTZ?
Almost always: the bank expects acquisition costs to be covered outside of credit.
Savings built up regularly carry more weight than savings that appeared last month: the personal contribution.
What the PTZ adds to your borrowing capacity
The interest-free portion frees up capacity for the main loan: much during the deferral period, less afterwards.
To absorb the step: loan smoothing.
End of the deferral period: prepare the transition before the loan offer
The PTZ repayment burden is added to that of the main loan all at once: the most tense moment in the structuring.
- Align the schedules: a main loan that ends before the end of the deferral period avoids the peak.
- Simulate the transition year, not just the first one.
- Retain a capacity for early repayment for another project.
Can a PTZ be repaid in advance?
Yes, but an interest-free loan costs nothing to hold. Do so only to free up debt-to-income ratio or before a sale.
Otherwise, place the money on the main loan or in savings. The case of a new project is calculated on the overall debt-to-income ratio.
Do all banks handle the PTZ in the same way?
No. The PTZ follows a public scale, but the agreement and the interpretation of the deferral period vary from one bank to another.
A file rejected for a strictly interpreted deferral period may be accepted elsewhere. Ask the advisor:
- Smoothing or maximum burden during the deferral period?
- A minimum down payment with a PTZ?
- A main loan aligned with the end of the deferral period?
A peak at the end of the deferral period? Create your file or have the transition year reviewed by telephone.
Sources
Read next
- Mortgage in Lyon: one file, several banks
- PTZ 2026 in Lyon: what you can actually finance in Zone A In Lyon, the PTZ finances new-build properties, not existing ones. Retained income, basis, proportion, deferral: what you can actually finance in Zone A.
- Down payment for a mortgage: how much is actually required, and how to prove it No minimum down payment threshold is imposed: what the down payment actually covers, what counts as a down payment, and how to prove its origin to the bank.
- 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.
- First-time buyer in Lyon: the real budget of a first purchase, line by line Transfer duties, notary fees, guarantee, down payment, works: the full cost of a first purchase in Lyon, item by item, with the cash flow schedule.
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