90% mortgage – who can borrow 90% of the property value

You can already get a mortgage for 90% of the property value, but only as an exception. Until 31 December 2026 a standard 80% limit applies to all applicants, and banks may go above it only for a limited volume of loans. You aren’t entitled to such an exception.

From 1 January 2027, the National Bank of Slovakia’s Decree No. 3/2026 introduces different limits. Young applicants buying or building their first home will have a standard limit of 90%. For everyone else the limit stays at 80%, and from 1 July 2027 it falls to 70% for those who already own two residential properties.

What LTV is and what value it’s based on

LTV (loan to value) is the ratio of the loan to the value of the property securing it. At 90% LTV the bank lends you at most 90% of the value and you pay the remaining 10% from your own funds.

Under the NBS decree, the property value is the lowest of:

• the purchase price,
• the expert valuation,
• the internal value set by the bank.

For construction, the basis is the future value after completion or the contract price. If the valuer values a flat below the purchase price, the bank calculates LTV from the lower value. You then have to cover the difference yourself.

Rules until 31 December 2026

Rule	Applies today
Standard LTV limit	80%
Maximum LTV with an exception	90%
Quota for loans with LTV above 80%	at most 20% of new lending volume per half-year and 22% per quarter

The quota applies to the bank’s total lending volume, not to an individual client. The bank decides who gets an exception. If it has used up its quota for the period, it can turn you down even if your finances are otherwise sound.

Note: when a bank advertises “financing up to 90%”, that’s an upper limit, not automatic approval.

What changes from 1 January 2027

NBS Decree No. 3/2026 was adopted on 28 September 2026 and introduces the limits in three steps:

Period	First home, applicants aged up to 35	Third residential property	Other applicants	Exception quota up to 90%
1 Jan – 30 Jun 2027	90%	80%	80%	20% of volume per quarter
1 Jul – 31 Dec 2027	90%	70%	80%	10% of volume per quarter
From 1 Jan 2028	90%	70%	80%	9% per quarter and 7% per half-year

Exception quotas are based on the volume of new loans. Refinancing that meets the decree’s conditions isn’t counted. A bank can also use exceptions from the quota for loans in the 70% category.

Who counts as a first-home applicant

From 1 January 2027 the standard 90% limit applies if all of these conditions are met:

• the loan is for buying or building a home,
• the applicant is aged 35 or under,
• the applicant owns no residential property,
• with a joint loan, every co-borrower meets both the age and the ownership condition.

If a couple applies and one partner is 36 or already owns a flat, they don’t fall into this category. Unless they own two residential properties, the 80% limit applies to them, and anything above it is only possible as an exception from the bank’s quota.

Who counts as a third-property applicant

From 1 July 2027 the limit is 70% for applicants who already own two residential properties between them. Property in Slovakia counts if at least half of it is owned, including by combining co-borrowers’ shares. The 70% limit also applies when the number of properties owned can’t be established.

How much of your own money you need

At a 90% limit you need at least 10% of the property value, and at 80% at least 20%. This is a percentage of the value the bank uses for LTV, which isn’t necessarily the purchase price.

€200,000 flat	Maximum loan	Own funds
80% LTV	€160,000	€40,000
90% LTV	€180,000	€20,000

The example assumes the valuation and the bank’s internal value both equal the purchase price. If the valuer put the flat at €190,000, the maximum loan at a 90% limit would be €171,000 and your own funds €29,000.

Add the cost of the valuation and the land registry application to your own funds. Under the Administrative Fees Act as worded from 1 September 2026, the registration fee is €100 on paper and €50 electronically.

Note: a higher LTV doesn’t mean you can borrow more. Your income also limits the loan through the DSTI and DTI limits. To see how much a bank could lend you, use the income-based mortgage calculator.

If you fund the missing deposit with a consumer loan, it counts towards your debts under the DSTI and DTI limits. For example, Tatra banka offers an unsecured loan at 5.49% for the remaining 10% with its HypotékaTB pre mladých, up to €40,000 over at most 8 years.

What banks say about 90% mortgages

Based on the banks’ public websites as at 19 October 2026. These are the banks’ upper limits, not binding offers.

Bank	What it publishes
VÚB	financing up to 90% of the pledged property’s value; offers a supplementary loan for the part above 90%
Slovenská sporiteľňa	at most 90%; its campaign for applicants aged up to 35 also goes up to 90%
ČSOB	loans up to 90% in a limited volume, regardless of age; for your own home, and a house must have energy class A0, A1, A or B
UniCredit Bank	80% as standard, 80 to 90% for at most 20% of quarterly volume; Hypotéka pre mladých for LTV above 80% up to 90%
mBank	up to 90%; applications above 80% must be discussed with a mortgage specialist; higher rate above 80%
365.bank	80% as standard, up to 90% in individual cases; rate 0.40 pp higher above 80%
Tatra banka	HypotékaTB pre mladých up to 90%; doesn’t publish a limit for its standard mortgage
Prima banka	Hypotéka pre mladých up to 90%; doesn’t publish its standard limit
Fio banka	at most 85%; published rates apply only up to 80%

As at 19 October 2026, none of these banks had published how it will apply the new 90% first-home limit from 1 January 2027.

What to do

1. Check which category you fall into based on the age and property ownership of all applicants. If you’ll be arranging your mortgage around 1 January 2027 or 1 July 2027, ask the bank which rules it will assess your application under.
2. Have your own funds ready for at least the gap between the purchase price and the limit, plus a reserve in case the valuation comes in lower.
3. Check how much you could borrow on your income with the income-based calculator and the payment with the mortgage calculator.
4. For LTV above 80%, ask the bank directly whether it will grant you an exception and what rate it offers at your LTV.

If you’re 35 or under, see the other benefits on the mortgages for young borrowers page. All NBS limits in one place are in the mortgage requirements guide.