Key eligibility criteria include being over 18, having two years of continuous income and social insurance contributions, which may include employment in a neighboring country for Hungarian commuters. Applicants must not have held full ownership of an urban residential property in the past ten years, with partial ownership capped at 50% or HUF 15 million in property value.
The loan is capped at HUF 50 million with a fixed 3% interest rate over a maximum of 25 years. It may be used for buying or building new or used homes, including farmhouses. Price limits are set at HUF 100 million for apartments and HUF 150 million for detached homes or rural properties. A 10% down payment is required, and although beneficiaries must reside in Hungary, permanent residence at the purchased property is not mandatory. Usage rights may not be transferred, but rental is permitted.
In addition, the government has introduced an annual HUF 1 million housing support for public service employees—such as teachers, doctors, police officers, and soldiers—which can be applied to mortgage payments or down payments. The benefit will be tax-advantaged, aligned with existing cafeteria rules, and final regulations will be determined at next week’s cabinet meeting.
The cabinet also extended the rural grocery store support program to settlements with under 5,000 residents. All eligible applicants will receive their requested funding, despite demand exceeding available funds by over HUF 6 billion.
Addressing international affairs, Minister Gulyás strongly criticized the recently announced EU-U.S. customs agreement. He argued the deal contradicts Europe’s strategic and economic interests, stating that if Hungary had negotiated independently, it would have secured better terms. He criticized the European Commission for overstepping its mandate by committing to investment concessions without proper authorization and labeled the agreement as an example of “unauthorized administration of power” that also binds the EU to obligations it cannot fulfill.
