Russians were told about the new rules for obtaining a family mortgage

Starting from February 1, 2026, the Family Mortgage program will operate under updated rules that limit the use of some previously available options. On January 30, Artur Akhmetov, head of the Mortgage, Insurance and Transaction Services business at Avito, told Izvestia what the updates are and how they will be applied in special cases.

"In the last months of 2025, the reduction in the key rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and the upcoming changes on the "Family Mortgage" significantly stimulated activity in the primary housing market. In December, the Russians signed 83.5 thousand. This is a record for the last two years (+75% year-on-year, +32% by November). This was partly a response to the upcoming update of the terms of the program," he said.

According to the expert, there are two key changes in the "Family Mortgage". Firstly, previously there was the concept of a so-called donor mortgage. The main buyer could attract a co-borrower with a child who meets the requirements of the program and receive a reduced rate. In order to approve the loan in some banks, it was enough to allocate a 1/10 share in the apartment to the "donor". At the same time, monthly payments are paid by the main borrower, that is, the one who initially might not meet the conditions of the "Family Mortgage" program.

The program changes are designed to eliminate such scenarios. Since February, the participant who meets the program conditions must be a full-fledged borrower, that is, the actual main owner of the property. Monthly payments will be deducted from it first of all. The bank may not approve a loan to such a borrower due to a bad credit history, insufficient income, or a large debt burden due to other loans.

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"The second mechanism that was possible before the innovations was the issuance of two loans under the Family Mortgage program at once, one for each parent. It worked like this: the husband took out a mortgage on one apartment, and formally refused to participate in the second transaction (through a prenuptial agreement or the consent of the spouse) so that the wife could take out a second loan only for herself. She previously refused to participate in the first contract," Akhmetov explained.

Now the conditions are changing: if a person is married, he is automatically included in the number of co-borrowers and must be reflected in the loan agreement.

It is important to note that all the innovations described above apply only to loans issued under the Family Mortgage program after February 1, 2026. Previously signed contracts retain all the conditions: the rate and parameters are valid until full repayment. Banks cannot retroactively change the terms, except in cases expressly provided for in the loan agreement.

"Renegotiation of the terms is possible only when the rules of participation in the program are violated, but this is discovered after the loan is issued. For example, in the last days before February 1, 2026, a family issued a second family mortgage and did not take into account that the same borrower appears in both loans — special attention should be paid to this point," the specialist warned.

One family — one mortgage: family mortgage rules will change from February 1

Starting from February 1, 2026, the spouses will be considered a single borrower on a family mortgage.

In this case, he noted, after about 1.5 months, the bank may receive a refusal from the program operator to compensate for interest at a preferential rate. Then the bank acts according to the agreement: it transfers the rate on the last loan to the market rate.

Despite the innovations since February 1, 2026, the Family Mortgage program provides ample opportunities to purchase housing at a lower-than-market rate. For example, if a family previously issued a mortgage on a new building at a market rate, and then the borrower had a child, the loan can be refinanced under the program. If the limit is exceeded (up to 6 million rubles for the regions and up to 12 million rubles for Moscow and the region, St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region), the amount on top is credited at the market rate as part of a combo mortgage.

"Divorced parents also have the opportunity to apply for a loan under the program separately for themselves. Separately, the expert analyzed the case when people get married after each couple had previously issued a "Family mortgage" (for example, both were divorced, each has a child). In such a case, the conditions for both existing loans are preserved: the bank does not have the right to review their parameters only because of a change in marital status, and the second spouse does not automatically "connect" to existing loans. So there are no grounds to transfer the rate to the market rate," Akhmetov concluded.

Natalia Shipilova, Sales Director of the Belye Peski residential complex, told Izvestia on January 28 that the Family Mortgage program was becoming more targeted and losing its versatility as a tool for solving several housing problems at once.

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