The Ministry of Finance has limited the number of loans for family mortgages. What will change from 2026

Starting from February 1, 2026, the conditions for granting a family mortgage will change significantly. This is reported by the press service of the Ministry of Finance of Russia. The innovations will affect the number of preferential loans that can be issued by one family, as well as the rules for refinancing a combined mortgage. For more information, see the Izvestia article.

Family mortgage in 2026 — what will change

The main innovation concerns the limitation of the number of preferential loans — now each family will be able to apply for only one mortgage on special terms. To implement this rule, the spouses will necessarily act as co-borrowers. At the same time, if the family income is not enough to approve the loan, the possibility of attracting third parties as additional borrowers will remain.

The "one preferential mortgage in one hand" rule has been in effect since December 2023 for all programs, including family mortgages. However, previously it applied only to an individual borrower, whereas from February 2026, "one-handed" will mean the family as a whole. This eliminates the possibility of obtaining two loans at a reduced rate, issued separately for husband and wife.

The sum is worth it: Russians owe a record 20 trillion for a mortgage

Why did banks approve twice as many housing loans in August as in January

Another important change will affect the refinancing procedure for combo mortgages. This is the name of a loan consisting of two parts: preferential at a reduced rate (according to the current conditions, it cannot exceed 12 million rubles for metropolitan regions and 6 million rubles for other regions) and exceeding the limit set by the program, which is calculated at the market rate.

This measure is aimed at supporting borrowers who want to refinance a combo mortgage due to a reduction in the key interest rate. Now such a step is considered by banks as the issuance of a new loan with the recalculation of the rate according to market conditions. But from February 2026, the preferential part of the loan will also be taken into account when refinancing. The amount of possible rate reduction will depend on the key rate and the cost of funding.

Family mortgage in 2025 — what is it, the main conditions

A family mortgage is a government housing loan program to support families with children. It allows you to purchase an apartment or a house at a reduced rate of up to 6%.

The program provides the following basic parameters:

• initial payment — at least 20% of the cost of housing;
• The maximum loan amount is 12 million rubles for Moscow, St. Petersburg, Moscow and Leningrad regions and 6 million rubles for other regions.

Russian citizens with minor children can participate in the program under the following conditions::

• age of children up to and including 6 years old;
• having two or more minor children;
• a child with a disability.

The age of the children is taken into account at the time of the conclusion of the loan agreement. At the same time, the right to a preferential mortgage also applies to parents of adopted children.

My housing: Gosuslugi wants to introduce additional verification for real estate transactions

The State Duma suggests uploading a cadastral number to the service and indicating the proportion of children.

The borrower can also apply for a portion of the loan at a discounted rate of 6%, and the remaining amount on market terms or under regional programs. At the same time, there are general restrictions on the size of the loan.:

• 30 million rubles — for metropolitan regions;
• 15 million rubles — for all other regions.

What kind of housing can I buy with a family mortgage?

According to the current conditions of the family mortgage, a preferential loan can be used for the following real estate objects:

• an apartment or a house from the developer under a purchase and sale agreement or a lease agreement;
• purchase of real estate from a mutual investment fund or a Territorial Development Fund;
• purchase of an apartment from the Moscow Renovation Fund (for families with children under 6 years old or children with disabilities);
• construction of an apartment building using an escrow account (including purchase of a land plot);
• purchase of secondary housing in regions with no apartment buildings under construction (only for families with disabled children);
• purchase of secondary housing in cities with less than two apartment buildings under construction (for families with children under 6 years old).

What documents are needed to apply for a family mortgage?

To get a family mortgage, you will need to collect a package of documents confirming the right to benefits. Banks can independently set the list of necessary papers and certificates, but the approximate list is as follows:

• passports of all borrowers;
• birth certificates of children;
• SNILS of each family member;
• marriage/divorce certificate;
• certificates of borrowers' income.

Earlier, analysts of URBAN real estate projects told us what percentage of salaries are spent on mortgage loans by residents of cities with millions of residents.