Mortgage requirements – what the NBS sets and what the bank decides

Mortgage requirements come in two layers. The first is the limits set by the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS), which every bank must follow. The second is each bank’s own rules, such as the age at the end of the term, the types of income it accepts or how it assesses your credit history.

The NBS limits can be calculated precisely in advance. Banks’ rules differ, are often not fully published, and the bank applies them case by case. Even if you meet the NBS limits, a bank doesn’t have to approve your mortgage.

NBS limits that apply at every bank

The limits are set by NBS Decree No. 10/2016. As at 19 October 2026:

Limit	Rule	Exception a bank can use
DSTI – payments to income	all debt payments at most 60% of the difference between average net income over the last 6 months and the subsistence minimum	a 30 to 40% reserve instead of 40% for at most 5% of lending volume per half-year (7% per quarter)
Stress test	the bank also calculates the payment at a rate at least 2 pp higher, capped at 6%, over 30 years	–
DTI – debt to income	total debt at most 8 times annual net income	at most 5% of volume per half-year; young people eligible for the tax bonus up to 9 times within a further 5%
LTV – loan to value	80% of the property value as standard	up to 90% for at most 20% of volume per half-year (22% per quarter)
Term	at most 30 years	longer for at most 10% of volume per quarter

The exception quotas apply to the bank’s total lending volume. The bank decides who gets an exception. If it has used up its quota, it doesn’t have to grant one to anyone.

DSTI and the subsistence minimum

The subsistence minimum for you and the people you support, including children, is deducted from your average net income. At most 60% of what remains can go on payments for all your debts. The subsistence minimum valid from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027:

Person	Per month
first adult	€295.22
each additional adult	€205.96
dependent child	€134.80

Existing debts count towards your payments too. For a credit card or overdraft, at least 3% of the approved limit counts as a monthly payment, even if you don’t use it. For another mortgage with more than 8 years left and no fixed rate for the whole term, the higher of the actual payment and the payment at a rate 2 pp higher is counted.

The stress test

The bank compares your actual payment with the payment at a rate at least 2 percentage points higher over 30 years. The increased rate is capped at 6%. For a fixation longer than 10 years, an increase of 1 point is enough. The test doesn’t apply to a loan with a rate fixed for the whole term. The higher of the two payments counts towards the DSTI limit.

DTI and age

Total debt includes the new loan, the balances of existing mortgages and consumer loans, the used part of credit cards and overdrafts, and 20% of their unused limits. Loans repaid with the new loan aren’t counted.

If you’re 41 or over and the loan ends after your 65th birthday, the limit of 8 times is reduced using the formula 8 − 0.25 × (age − 40), down to a minimum of 3 times. At age 50 that’s 5.5 times annual income. With several applicants, the income-weighted average of their limits is used.

Income verification

A sworn statement of income isn’t enough. The bank must verify your income, for example with an employer’s certificate no more than 3 months old, a bank statement, an employment contract or a tax return together with proof of income since it was filed.

Property value for LTV

LTV is calculated from the lowest of these values: the purchase price, the expert valuation and the bank’s internal valuation. For construction, the basis is the future value after completion or the contract price.

Note: for refinancing, the DSTI, DTI and LTV limits don’t apply if the new loan exceeds the old balance by no more than the lower of €2,000 or 5%. Repeated top-ups within 12 months are added together.

What changes from 2027

From 1 January 2027, NBS Decree No. 3/2026 changes the LTV limits by applicant category:

Period	First home, all applicants aged up to 35	Third residential property	Others
1 Jan – 30 Jun 2027	90%	80%	80%
From 1 Jul 2027	90%	70%	80%

The DTI exception for young people eligible for the tax bonus rises from 9 to 10 times annual income from January 2027. The DSTI limit doesn’t change. Details of the categories and exception quotas are on the 90% mortgage page.

What the bank decides

The following conditions aren’t set by law or by the NBS. Each bank sets them itself and publishes them to a different extent. The information comes from the banks’ public websites as at 19 October 2026. If a bank doesn’t publish something, that doesn’t mean it has no such condition.

Age

Bank	Published age condition
VÚB	from 18; the applicant shouldn’t be over 71 by the end of the term
Fio banka	at most 70 at the end of the term
365.bank	at most 70 for the applicant and 75 for a co-borrower; non-purpose mortgage repaid by the 65th birthday
Slovenská sporiteľňa	its conditions overview gives 70 at repayment as a guideline
Tatra banka, ČSOB, UniCredit Bank, Prima banka, mBank	don’t publish a fixed end-of-term age limit for the product

The NBS DTI rule described above also applies at older ages. A shorter term at an older age increases the payment, which can reduce the loan available under DSTI.

Income and employment

Banks publish different conditions for the length and type of income. Examples:

• Tatra banka: employment income over the last 12 months, but at least 6 months. For employment abroad, only employment income paid into an account for at least 6 months. Sole traders need at least one completed tax period, companies at least 24 months.
• Fio banka: for business income, usually two completed tax periods, in some cases one. It may accept employment income from abroad for work at an international institution or daily cross-border commuting, if paid in euros.
• Slovenská sporiteľňa: for business income, at least six months of activity in the previous tax period.

VÚB, Tatra banka, Prima banka, Slovenská sporiteľňa and 365.bank can verify employment income with the Social Insurance Agency, so you often don’t need an employer’s certificate. How individual banks calculate business income and which other income they accept is explained in the guide what income banks accept.

Credit history

Before approval, the bank checks the credit registers. The Joint Register of Banking Information (SRBI) contains data from banks, and the Non-Banking Register of Client Information (NRKI) from leasing and non-bank lenders. The register isn’t a blacklist – it also contains loans repaid on time, loan applications, co-applicants and guarantors.

SRBI keeps loan data for the life of the loan and five years after all obligations under the agreement end. An application that didn’t lead to an agreement is kept for 12 months from submission. How a bank assesses a particular arrears record isn’t public. None of the banks we checked publishes a threshold at which it rejects an application.

Before you apply, you can request your own register report. If you find an error, you can ask the register operator or the bank that supplied the data to correct it.

The property as collateral

A mortgage is secured by a charge over the property. The bank has it valued and decides whether to accept it as collateral. VÚB, Tatra banka and Prima banka, for example, require property insurance under their terms. VÚB requires insurance against damage and destruction up to at least the general value for the whole term, with any insurer. Tatra banka and Prima banka don’t require it if the collateral is only land. More in the guide home insurance for a mortgage.

Citizenship and residence

Only some banks publish residence conditions. Prima banka lends to individuals who are EU citizens with permanent residence in Slovakia. Tatra banka states that EU citizens with income from Slovakia can apply. We couldn’t establish other banks’ conditions from public sources.

Term

Most banks offer terms of up to 30 years. Some also state longer terms, for example 365.bank 40 years subject to separate age and income conditions, and mBank up to 40 years for a purpose mortgage. However, loans with a term over 30 years may make up at most 10% of a bank’s quarterly lending volume.

What to do

1. Work out how much a bank could lend you under the NBS limits with the income-based calculator.
2. Check that you meet the bank’s age limit for the term you want.
3. Have your own funds ready for at least 20% of the property value plus fees.
4. Check your credit register record before you apply.
5. The process from application to drawdown is described in the guide how to get a mortgage.