Housing Savings Plan (PEL)

Anyone can open a PEL, there is no age, residence or nationality requirement.

But if you are under legal protection (guardianship or trusteeship for example), this is your legal representative who has to open the account for you.

The ELP is reserved for natural persons. It is therefore not possible to open a PEL for an association or a business.

You can open a PEL in all banks that have signed an agreement with the government.

These banks undertake to respect the operating rules of the ELP.

But if you already have a home savings account (CEL), you must subscribe to the PEL in the bank where you already have the CEL.

To open the PEL, you must sign a written contract with the bank and pay a minimum amount of €225 on the account.

You have the right to only one PEL. It is prohibited to hold several PELs at the same time.

There can be multiple PELs in your tax household, but up to one PEL per household member.

Yes, you can accumulate PEL with other regulated savings products (booklet A, sustainable and inclusive development booklet, popular savings book, etc.).

Initial payment

When opening the account, you must make a payment for a minimum amount of €225.

You can pay this amount to the account by wire transfer, check, or cash if your bank accepts the cash deposit.

Other payments

You must pay a minimum of €540.

You can make a one-time annual payment, but you can also make periodic payments (monthly, quarterly, or half-yearly). That is specified in the contract.

In general, the amounts of periodic payments are as follows:

• €45 per month
• or €135 by Quarter
• or €270 by semester

You can also make other payments in addition to periodic payments, but not exceeding the ELP ceiling.

Payment can be made by wire transfer, check or cash if your bank accepts the cash deposit.

The maximum amount you can contribute to the ELP is €61,200.

The balance of the ELP may exceed this ceiling following the addition of interest.

The interest rate of the PEL is fixed at the opening of the account.

It is:

• 2% for ELPs open from 1^er january 2023
• 1% for ELPs open between 1^er August 2016 and December 31, 2022.

That's the gross rate, before the bank charges it.

The interest is capitalizable. This means that as of December 31 of each year, interest is added to the capital already saved to generate additional interest the following year.

It is forbidden to withdraw money from the PEL before the contract's due date.

The contract due date can be the original due date or the due date set after the contract extension.

The original ELP maturity date is 4^e anniversary of account opening.

In case of extension of the contract after 4^e birthday on account opening, the new due date is the anniversary date of the next account opening. Thus, the new due date can be the 5^e, on 6^e, on 7^e, on 8^e, on 9^e or 10^e anniversary of account opening.

In case of withdrawal on the PEL before the original due date or the due date fixed after extension, the account is automatically closed.

The early withdrawal is that which is made before the expiry of the ELP.

It results in the closing of the account.

Other negative consequences of early withdrawal may include the abolition of the right to borrow, a reduction in the amount of the loan and a reduction in the interest rate. The situation varies depending on when the withdrawal is made.

Interest received from the ELP opened from 2018 onwards is subject to income tax and social security contributions.

When interest is paid, the banking institution must first make a single lump sum payment of 30%.

This levy corresponds to income tax, up to 12.8%and social security contributions, up to 17.20%.

The one-time flat-rate levy is then taken into account when processing your tax return for the calculation of your final tax.

Without any action on your part, the single lump sum levy corresponds to the amount of your final tax.

But you can choose not to keep the flat rate and opt for the progressive income tax schedule.

In this case, depending on your family situation, your income tax rate may be lower or higher than the flat-rate levy.

You will then be able to pay additional taxes or, on the contrary, receive a refund from the administration.

Your PEL can help you get a loan at a favorable rate under certain conditions.

Loan saves housing can be used to do any of the following:

• Purchase of the main residence (new or old)
• Construction of the main residence (land purchase and construction work)
• Expansion, repair or improvement of the main residence (elevation, energy saving, facade renovation of a condominium building...)
• Acquisition of shares in residential civil real estate investment businesses (CREPS)

To be eligible for this loan, you must have a PEL open for at least 4 years.

The amount of the loan varies depending on the duration of the plan and the interest you have earned.

The maximum loan amount is €92,000.

The loan rate shall be fixed as soon as the plan is opened.

It is:

• 3.2% for ELPs open from 1^er january 2023,
• 2.2% for ELPs open between 1^er August 2016 and December 31, 2022.

You can give in your loan entitlements to a member of your family, but on condition that he or she has held a PEL open for at least 3 years.

Also, a family member can give you loan entitlements generated by its PEL. You can combine his rights with your own rights and get a larger loan.

The members of your family to whom you can assign your loan rights or receive loan rights are:

• Your spouse
• Your children or your spouse's children
• Your grandchildren or your spouse's grandchildren
• Your parents or your spouse's parents
• Your grandparents or your spouse's grandparents
• Your siblings and their spouses or your husband/wife's siblings
• Your nephews and nieces or your spouse's nephews and nieces
• Your uncles and aunts or your husband's uncles and aunts

The ELP is concluded for a minimum duration of 4 years.

After 4 years, the ELP may be extended from year to year until the maximum duration of 10 years.

After 10 years, you can no longer make payments on the ELP, but it will continue to generate interest for 5 years.

It is possible to transfer your PEL to another bank while retaining the advantages acquired in the old bank: the age of the plan, interest rates and loan entitlements.

The new bank will ask your old bank to make the transfer, but you can also inform them directly.

The old bank may charge you a transfer fee. These fees vary from one establishment to another.

The situation varies depending on whether or not the ELP has expired.

The ELP has expired if it has reached the 4-year duration and has not been extended, or if it has passed the end date set after the extension (maximum 10 years).

The ELP has not expired if it has not yet reached the original 4-year end, or if it has been extended after 4 years but has not yet reached the new end date set after the extension.

The ELP may be subject to a administrative seizure by third party holders.

If you no longer pay into your ELP, it may be closed for non-compliance with the annual payment amount or be considered as an inactive account.

A savings account is considered inactive if no transactions have been carried out for 5 consecutive years.

Each year, the institution managing the account must inform the holder accordingly.

If, after 20 years, the holder or one of his rights holders has not come forward, the funds from this account are obligatorily transferred to the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC). It keeps them for 20 years. If, at the end of those 20 years, the holder or one of his successors in title has not claimed them, the funds shall be definitively retained by the State.

Find out if you have an inactive account (Ciclade)

The procedure to recover the money is also presented on the online service Ciclade.

Find out if you have an inactive account (Ciclade)