The Hungarian government announced today CSOK PLUS initiative which aims to offer financial support to families based on the number of children they have. Minister of Culture and Innovation János Csák emphasized at a press conference that Hungary aims to become the most family-friendly country in Europe.
Photo by Virvoreanu Laurentiu/Pixabay
According to János Csák families can now avail loans ranging from 15 million to 50 million forints. The scheme offers a loan of 15 million forints (EUR 39,000, USD 41,200) for families raising one child, 30 million forints for couples with two kids and 50 million for families with three children. These loans come with a modest 3% interest rate.
The loan can be tailored to a range of durations, varying from 10 to 25 years. Women up to 41 years of age are eligible to apply for this loan, minister Csák said.
In order to prevent steep price increases, the government is implementing a price ceiling on the real estate properties that qualify for home purchase subsidies. First homes cannot cost more than 80 million forints. For properties purchased to accomodate a growing family, the cap is at 150 million forints.
Once a family welcomes a new member, they can request a year-long moratorium on their loan. The famillies will hame 10 million forints deducted from the loan after the second and every subsequent child, minister Csák announced.
Minister Csák underscored that the fundamental aim of this initiative is to guarantee that "every prospective child can be welcomed into the world."
The new iteration of the CSOK program (preferential fixed-rate housing loans for young parents) represents an expansion of financial assistance for families, which was first introduced by the government in Budapest in 2015. Since 2020, the program has not only been available to families buying new properties but also to those in need of financing for home and apartment renovations.
Since its launch in 2015, some 233,000 families have received home purchase subsidies and the government spent 700 billion forints on it.
(J)