How to get a mortgage in Slovakia – step by step

You get a mortgage in several steps: you check how much you can borrow, compare offers, apply with your documents, have the property valued, sign the contracts, file the application with the cadastre and, once the drawdown conditions are met, the bank releases the money. The National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) sets the lending limits for all banks alike. Document lists, fees and drawdown conditions differ from bank to bank.

Below is the usual order of steps when buying a flat or a house. It’s a general overview, not any bank’s binding procedure. The exact order of signatures, payments and cadastre filings is always set by your contracts and your bank’s written instructions.

The process in 10 steps

1. Work out how much you can borrow. The bank must comply with the NBS limits: payments on all debts of at most 60% of income after deducting the subsistence minimum, total debt of at most 8 times annual net income, and a term of usually at most 30 years. The income-based mortgage calculator gives you an indicative result.
2. Prepare your own funds. As standard, a bank lends at most 80% of the property value. Loans up to 90% are possible, but only for a limited share of a bank’s lending. You pay the rest of the price and the side costs from your own money.
3. Compare offers. Look at the interest rate, the fixation period, the APRC and the conditions for discounts, such as holding an account or taking insurance. The guide to interest rates explains how to read the rate and the APRC. You can work out the payment with the mortgage calculator.
4. Choose the property and agree terms with the seller. Check the owner and any registered charges on the title deed. Make sure the contract with the seller says part of the price will come from a loan and what happens if the loan isn’t approved.
5. Apply and prove your income. The bank needs documents on your identity, income, the property and the purpose of the loan. The bank sets the exact list.
6. Have the property valued. You usually pay the valuer directly. Some banks have their own valuation or don’t require a report for selected developer projects.
7. Wait for approval and check the offer. Before signing you receive pre-contract information (the ESIS). It also lists any mandatory additional services, such as insurance, and what happens if you cancel them.
8. Sign the loan contract and the lien agreement. A lien in the bank’s favour secures the loan. Some banks charge an arrangement fee, others don’t.
9. Insure the property and file the registration application. The cadastre registers both your ownership and the bank’s lien. Property insurance is usually assigned (vinkulácia) to the bank.
10. Meet the drawdown conditions. The bank releases the money according to the contract and its written instructions. Then you start repaying.

How much you can borrow

The limits are in NBS Decree No. 10/2016 and apply to every bank:

Limit	Rule until 31 December 2026
DSTI	Payments on all loans of at most 60% of average net income after deducting the subsistence minimum for you and the people you support
Interest stress test	The new payment is also assessed at a rate at least 2 percentage points higher and a 30-year term, but at no more than 6%
DTI	Total debt of at most 8 times annual net income; from age 41 the limit falls if the loan runs past your 65th birthday
LTV	At most 90%, with loans above 80% capped at 20% of a bank’s lending per half-year
Term	At most 30 years; longer only for 10% of quarterly lending

Existing debts count too. For a credit card or an overdraft, at least 3% of the approved limit is counted as a monthly payment even if you don’t use it. 20% of the unused limit counts towards total debt.

From 1 January 2027 the new NBS Decree No. 3/2026 applies. Applicants aged 35 or under who are buying or building their first home and own no other residential property can borrow up to 90% of the value. Other borrowers can borrow up to 80% as standard. From 1 July 2027 the standard limit will be 70% for people who already jointly own two residential properties, or where the number can’t be established. See the guide to mortgage requirements and the page on the 90% mortgage.

Application documents

Under Section 3 of the NBS decree, a bank may not rely only on your sworn statement of income. Accepted proof of income includes:

• an employer’s certificate no older than 3 months,
• a bank statement,
• an employment contract,
• a tax return together with proof of income since it was filed.

Which document the bank wants and which income it accepts is its decision. Tatra banka, for example, says it verifies income with the Social Insurance Agency and asks for documents only for business or foreign income. The guide to what income banks accept covers this in detail.

The bank decides which documents it needs on the property and the purpose of the loan, such as the contract with the seller and the valuation report. At some banks you can apply before you’ve chosen a property. Slovenská sporiteľňa explicitly allows this. Security over a property will still be a condition of the contract.

Valuation and property value

To calculate the LTV, the bank uses the lowest of three values: the purchase price, the expert valuation and its own valuation. If the valuer puts the flat below the purchase price, you need more of your own money.

No national average price for a valuation is published. As a guide:

Item	Flat	House	What it is
Banks’ indicative amount	€150	€250	ČSOB’s indicative cost and an assumption in several banks’ examples, not a valuer’s price list
Ing. Peter Novák, valuer	from €200	from €300	Published starting price
Dominik Ilavský, valuer (Bratislava)	from €180	from €400	Published starting price; unclear whether VAT is included
Tatra banka internal assessment	€150	–	Only for selected flats; for the bank’s use only

We checked the valuers’ prices on 19 October 2026. They are not maximums or a representative market survey.

Contracts, insurance and fees

Before you sign, the bank gives you the ESIS form. Its section on additional obligations states which services the bank requires, what features they must have and what happens if you cancel them. Under Section 4 of Act No. 90/2016, the bank may require appropriate insurance. However, it must also accept a policy from another insurer with an equivalent level of cover. The bank assesses whether your policy is equivalent.

• Property insurance protects the building, and the bank usually requires it, assigned in its favour, when a flat or house secures the loan. More in the guide to home insurance for a mortgage.
• Payment protection insurance covers specified events such as death, incapacity for work or job loss. Banks often link it to a rate discount. More in the guide to mortgage payment protection insurance.

The arrangement fee differs from bank to bank. ČSOB’s price list from 1 July 2026, for example, charges €300 on signing the contract, while mBank and Fio banka don’t charge one under their price lists. When comparing, look at the APRC and the discount conditions, not just the rate.

Cadastre and drawdown

You become the owner only when the cadastre approves the registration, not when you sign the purchase contract. Under the Administrative Fees Act as in force from 1 September 2026, the registration application costs:

Registration application	Electronic	Paper
Standard procedure	€50	€100
Expedited decision within 15 days	€150	€300

According to the slovensko.sk portal (updated 7 October 2026), the cadastre usually decides within 30 days, or 20 days for documents drawn up by a notary or lawyer. These periods apply to the cadastre procedure; the whole mortgage purchase can take longer.

Your loan contract sets when the bank releases the money. Examples from banks’ published terms:

• Fio banka and mBank allow drawdown once the application to register the lien has been filed.
• 365.bank’s terms effective from 15 October 2026 provide for a single drawdown within two months of signing, unless agreed otherwise in writing.
• VÚB states, for construction and renovation, a first drawdown within six months of signing and full drawdown within 18 months of the first drawdown.

For construction, the loan can be drawn in stages. The second and later drawdowns are often charged, for example €25 at Tatra banka and €50 at ČSOB and VÚB.

Note: don’t send the seller the full purchase price before it’s clear how and when the loan will be paid out and ownership registered. If the seller is still repaying a mortgage on the property, their bank must also agree the procedure.

After drawdown

• At handover, record the meter readings and collect the keys.
• Transfer the utilities and notify the building administrator.
• File the property tax return by 31 January of the following year.
• If you were 18 to 35 when you applied for the loan, check whether you qualify for the tax bonus on interest paid.

You can also repay the mortgage early later on. The guide to early mortgage repayment explains when it’s free.