A mortgage for under-36s saves you cash, not money

If at least one of the applicants is under 36 and you are buying a home to live in, the bank may lend you up to 90 % of the property's value rather than 80 %. On a flat for CZK 4,800,000 that means CZK 480,000 of your own funds instead of CZK 960,000. It is the only concession the ČNB (Czech National Bank) gives younger buyers, and it binds every bank.

Any other perks are up to the banks: a higher internal DSTI threshold, typically 50 % instead of 45 %, and at some banks a rate discount. The exception saves you cash, not money. A smaller deposit means a bigger loan, a higher repayment and more interest, and it pays to count on that from the start.

What do under-36s get, and from whom?

So there is no separate “young people's mortgage” product. It is an ordinary mortgage where the bank is allowed to go higher on LTV and tends to be more generous on repayments relative to income. Why DSTI and DTI are only the banks' own rules is explained in DSTI, DTI and LTV explained.

The opposite end, the upper age limit, is covered in our article on the mortgage age limit.

There is no state mortgage for young people either. As of 10 October 2026 the State Investment Support Fund (SFPI) offers no loan for young people buying their own home; its current programmes fund apartment-building repairs, rental housing and homes damaged by the 2024 floods. Anyone with an older loan from the fund under Government Regulation No. 616/2004, 136/2018 or 1/2021 Coll. can apply for a subsidy in the form of a principal reduction when a child is born.

Who qualifies for LTV 90 %?

The ČNB ties LTV 90 % to applicants under 36 who are buying their own home. Three practical rules follow from that.

• One applicant is enough. A couple where she is 33 and he is 38 gets the exception. Both become borrowers for the whole mortgage, though, so the older partner is not just adding a signature.
• It applies to your own home only. The exception does not cover a flat to let, and for investment mortgages the ČNB has in fact recommended LTV of at most 70 % since 1 April 2026.
• Which date counts is up to the bank. The ČNB does not say whether age is judged at application, at approval or when the loan agreement is signed. If your 36th birthday is coming up, ask before you apply.

Unmarried partners should agree before taking a joint mortgage who will own the flat and how they will settle up if they split. The steps are described in Joint mortgage for an unmarried couple.

Two routes to a CZK 4.8 million flat

Which route comes out better also depends on what prices do in those two years. Older flats rose 14 % year on year in Q2 2026 according to ČBA, but past growth promises nothing. How to put a value on waiting is discussed in Buy a flat now or wait.

What LTV 90 % costs you on top

The cheapest advertised rates are usually tied to LTV of up to 80 %. In September 2026 Moneta, for instance, offered 4.59 % with a one-year fixation on exactly that condition. At LTV 90 % expect an offer above the “from” rate in the price list, unless the bank makes up the difference with a discount for young clients.

Nor will you drop below 80 % quickly. Klára and Ondřej's loan will still have CZK 3,967,001 outstanding after five years, which is 82.6 % of the flat's price if that stays the same. They cross the 80 % line only after seven years. An extra repayment can speed this up: the law lets you repay up to 25 % of the original loan amount each year free of charge, in the month before the contract anniversary.

A higher DSTI threshold is not a target either. On net income of CZK 72,000 a bank allowing 50 % could lend around CZK 6.7 million over 30 years. Work out the repayment at a higher rate as well, because you will be agreeing a new one when the fixed period ends: at 5.80 % a loan of CZK 4,320,000 would cost CZK 25,348, at 6.00 % CZK 25,901.

When your 36th birthday is close

The deadline should not push you into buying a flat you don't want. But if you are going to buy anyway, get your income documents ready before you find the flat and have the mortgage pre-approved. Pre-approval takes days; full approval usually 2–4 weeks once the documents are complete.

Be careful with new builds. The developer wants instalments during construction, and you often arrange the mortgage only for the final payment at handover, which can be a year or two away. If you sign with a developer at 35, find out whether the bank will sign the loan agreement now with a later drawdown and how long a drawdown period it will accept. Otherwise you could lose the exception before the first payment is drawn.