Borrowing capacity, income and budget
What salary do you need to borrow €200,000 in Lyon?
What salary to borrow €200,000: calculating the minimum income, and why disposable income, term and insurance can weigh as heavily as the cap.
The minimum salary to borrow this amount is derived from the loan instalment, including insurance and existing credits, divided by the debt-to-income ratio cap set by the High Council of Financial Stability. This is a floor, which varies with the rate and the term, not an agreement: the disposable income, assessed by each lender on a grid they do not publish, may be the deciding factor before the cap.
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
- The minimum income is derived from the instalment, including insurance and existing credits, divided by the debt-to-income ratio cap: it is a floor, not an agreement.
- The lower the target income, the more likely the disposable income required by the lender, which is not published, is to be the deciding factor before the cap.
- An existing credit instalment raises the floor by the same number of euros regardless of the amount requested: on a small loan, it weighs more proportionally.
- For a sole borrower, insured on the full capital, the insured portion equals the amount borrowed; the portion of their other existing credits is added to it.
- If the loan also finances the acquisition costs, the price of the property accessible is lower than the amount borrowed.
To borrow €200,000, a division yields your minimum income. Calculate it before the first visit, and monitor your disposable income and insurance: what your income allows you to borrow.
What salary is required to borrow €200,000?
Divide the instalment, including insurance, and your other loans by the debt-to-income ratio: this is the minimum income. Below this, only the lender’s derogation margin remains, never a right.
35,00 % ()See the ceiling set by the High Council.
Enveloppe de l'établissement prêteur, jamais droit individuel de l'emprunteur.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Décision D-HCSF-2021-7, art. 2 — Légifrance
Your minimum income in three lines
- The instalment excluding insurance: principal, rate and term.
- The outgoings: add the insurance and your current loans.
- The minimum income: divide by the ceiling. The income is understood as net before tax, stable resources only: the income the bank takes into account.
What income for €200,000, in figures?
Approximately €3,220 of net monthly income over twenty years, without any other loan and excluding insurance. Over fifteen years, approximately €3,980; over twenty-five years, approximately €2,790.
Average rates for July 2026 taken into account: 3,11 % () over fifteen years, 3,16 % () over twenty years. For the current maximum term, the dashboard provides the average for the same month.
| Principal borrowed | Over fifteen years | Over twenty years | Over twenty-five years |
|---|---|---|---|
| €200,000 | approximately €3,980 of income | approximately €3,220 of income | approximately €2,790 of income |
Estimate, without the value of an offer, as of 29/10/2026; minimum income excluding insurance and excluding other debt.
Add the insurance: the required income increases accordingly. For two people, the incomes are added together: a couple’s borrowing capacity.
Remaining balance: often the first criterion
At the floor, there is less remaining in euros after the 200,000 € maturity than for 300,000 €. However, the bank also assesses this remaining amount in euros.
Each bank has its own grid, either a flat rate per person or a proportion of income. Near the floor, the household counts as much as the salary. For two people: the capacity of a couple.
Term and usury: the two limits
Extending the term lowers the minimum income, but incurs interest costs and remains capped. Usury limits the total cost.
Le texte parle de maturité : la durée initiale du crédit, période de différé et période d'amortissement additionnées.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Décision D-HCSF-2021-7, art. 1er — Légifrance
Vente en l'état futur d'achèvement, construction de maison individuelle, contrat de promotion immobilière, ou achat dans l'ancien avec des travaux qui atteignent la part du coût total fixée par la décision et entrent dans la liste qu'elle dresse : un différé d'amortissement est admis, dans cette limite.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Décision D-HCSF-2021-7, art. 1er — Légifrance
Rapportée au coût total de l'opération. Seuil abaissé par la décision du Haut Conseil de stabilité financière du 18 décembre 2023.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Décision D-HCSF-2023-6, art. 1er — Légifrance
Choosing the term. On a small capital, fixed fees weigh more heavily on the APR: a file may hit the usury limit. To get back under it: usury that blocks a file.
Health questionnaire: knowing whether you are exempt
Yes, if your insured share, on the outstanding balance of your loans, remains below a per-insured limit and if the final instalment falls before a given birthday.
An ongoing loan may cause you to exceed the limit. As a couple, each of you counts their share: capital multiplied by their proportion. See the end of the medical questionnaire and proportions for couples.
200,000 € borrowed, what property price?
Less than 200,000 €, if the loan also covers the fees. Add the loan and the down payment, then deduct the acquisition and loan fees: that is your price.
The line-by-line calculation: the 300,000 € case.
- A down payment that covers the fees brings the loan back to the property price: the personal down payment.
- The PTZ replaces part of the loan: with the down payment, in Lyon.
What property to target in Lyon with €200,000?
Start with the net price including fees and the price per square metre of the district, with a date.
Prices by district, The western Lyon area, commune by commune, The budget of a first-time buyer.
Slightly insufficient income: the levers
Existing loans first: each one raises the floor by the same number of euros, regardless of the capital.
- Settle a car loan or a LOA. Term, insurance, assisted loan, joint borrowing: The case of €2,000 of income.
- Target a slightly lower amount to retain a margin.
Crossing the floor does not constitute an agreement: each bank adds its own criteria. See the order of the lender's review.
Payslips in hand? Create your file or have your floor calculated by telephone.
Sources
Read next
- How much can I borrow? Mortgage capacity in Lyon
- What salary do you need to borrow €300,000 in Lyon? The income you require, calculated from the loan amount, including the full cost of the transaction — notary, guarantee, fees — that no one counts.
- Calculating the monthly repayment on a mortgage: the formula in six steps, and its blind spots Calculate the monthly repayment on your mortgage in six steps, then see what the formula omits: insurance, guarantee, fees, APR and usury.
- 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.
- What term should you choose for your mortgage: fifteen years, twenty years, or longer? Paying the least interest without strangling your budget: what each term changes, how far the lender can extend it, and the method for choosing.
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