By Andrea Hargraves 
The new decree-law provides for the renegotiation of housing loans When the effort rate reaches 36% or when it gets worse by five percentage points.
It is important to emphasize that, in order to To measure the effort rate for each household, all fees related to various loans, not just the housing loan, are calculated.
If the effort rate exceeds 50 per cent, the banks must submit a renegotiation proposal.
João Nuno Mendes, Secretary of State for the Treasury, explained that this renegotiation could mean, as a solution, Extending the credit period, consolidating credits, requesting new credit or even lowering the interest rate for a certain period of time.
He stressed that “there will be a clear condition: there can be no increase in the interest rate.”
With this measure, valid until the end of 2023, The government intends to “give some arms to people who want to change institutions, renegotiate or be able to use their savings, thus reducing their indebtedness.”
The measures announced today target only loans intended for permanent housing and at a variable rate, in the form of loans of up to 300,000 euros.
With these measures, the government intends to “cover as many cases as possible”. At the press conference Secretary of State for the Treasury He also took the opportunity to appeal to the “banks’ proactiveness and their sense of responsibility,” stressing that defaulting and putting on debts does not benefit anyone.
to me report Cabinet this Thursday, It is up to financial institutions to “monitor the effort rate of clients with credit contracts for permanent housing in the amount due up to 300,000 euros”.