There are only a few days left until a very important deadline, anyone who doesn’t act could lose a million forints

Those who would like to use the public housing subsidy available in 2026 to repay their existing housing loan have three working days left to register their claim with their employer. Special attention should be paid to the January 20 deadline, because it is forfeited, meaning that there is no possibility of subsequent replacement – warns Péter Gergely, financial expert at BiztosDöntés.hu.

The non-refundable public service housing subsidy, available from January, can primarily provide assistance to those who work in healthcare, education, social care, public administration or law enforcement. It is important, however, that the financial expert of BiztosDöntés.hu emphasizes that the subsidy can only be used by employees of employers who are registered with the Hungarian State Treasury.

It is also very important to note that public housing support can only be used for financial constructions specifically aimed at housing purposes (such as housing loans, housing leasing): thus, it cannot be used to repay a free-use loan even if it was otherwise used exclusively for housing purposes.

Péter Gergely also draws attention to the fact that the amount of support that can be claimed is not the amount of annual repayment installments, but the total outstanding debt (calculated from the amount of remaining repayments): therefore, if the latter reaches one million forints, the claimant is entitled to the maximum amount of support.

Public service workers eligible for support and repaying their existing loans must submit the declaration required to apply for support to their employer by the aforementioned Tuesday deadline: this must include several basic details of the loan agreement – such as the loan agreement number, the name of the financing bank, the term of the loan, and the amount of the repayment installment. The employer forwards the received claim notifications to the Hungarian State Treasury, and the treasury then provides coverage for the requested amount based on these. After this,the employer will transfer the 2026 subsidy to the employee in a lump sum by February 27. However, for applications submitted after January 20, the subsidy will be paid in monthly installments. If the eligible person uses the amount for newly built real estate or to generate income, the data on the loan agreement is not required, but it must be submitted retrospectively within six months – after the conclusion of the contract.

The public service housing support can also provide significant help to those eligible for the Otthon Start loan, largely because it can also be used as self-financing. “Since the subsidized housing loan can be applied for with a 10 percent down payment, the one million forint subsidy cannot be neglected when creating the own part, especially if both members of a married couple are eligible for the subsidy and use it to purchase a joint property,” argues Péter Gergely.

Of course, not only the up to 10 percent down payment, but also the maximum three percent annual interest rate are also serious arguments in favor of the Otthon Start loan, while apparently the banks also use this cons