What to do if you have difficulty paying monthly mortgage payments?

Verified 09 September 2022 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

If you have temporary difficulties repaying your mortgage, you can take several steps to find a solution.

You can ask your creditor (e.g. the bank) to grant you payment terms.

To do this, you must send a request for payment periods, preferably by registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt.

FYI  

The creditor is not obliged to accept your request.

You can use this letter template:

Request payment periods from your bank to repay your loans

You can use mortgage insurance (borrower insurance).

Your insurance contract (death, disability, incapacity guarantee or job loss guarantee) may provide for the payment of monthly installments of your credit. If this is the case, you can avoid having to pay penalties for unpaid monthly payments. Such penalties are usually provided for in mortgage contracts.

You can ask the court to suspend the repayment of your mortgage during a grace period up to 2 years, and without any increase or penalty for delay. The court can grant you this suspension, especially when you have been fired.

To do this, you must to bring proceedings before the court of justice and provide him with documents proving your difficulties (proof of resources, expenses and reimbursements in progress...).

FYI  

Monthly payments owing to the suspension will not be claimed at the end of the grace period. Their payment may be deferred until the end of your credit or rescheduled over the remaining term of your credit.

If you can't keep up with your debts, or if you know you can't keep up, you can file a debt distress report.

This is the case, for example, when the suspension of monthly payments granted by the court did not solve your problems.

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