You can get a mortgage on maternity or parental leave (mateřská / rodičovská dovolená), but banks treat this income more differently than any other. Some count parental allowance (rodičovský příspěvek) in full, some in part and some not at all, and almost all of them want to see a job you will go back to. Maternity benefit (peněžitá pomoc v mateřství, PPM), paid for the first 28 weeks, is practically never accepted because it is temporary.
In practice the partner's income carries the mortgage, and the parent on leave either strengthens the application or adds nothing, depending on the bank.
The difference in crowns is large. A partner with a net income of CZK 48,000 gets roughly CZK 4.0 million on their own at 5.00 % over 30 years. If the bank adds parental allowance drawn at CZK 12,000 a month, the cap rises to CZK 5.0 million. A child pulls the other way: the bank deducts living costs for each household member, so the same income supports a smaller loan after the birth. Timing therefore matters as much as the choice of bank: before maternity leave, during it, or after you return.
Which income on maternity or parental leave do banks count?
| Income | How banks count it in 2026 | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Salary before starting maternity leave | in full | employment continues, you are not in a probation period; the bank also assesses whether the payment is sustainable once you go on maternity leave |
| Maternity benefit (PPM) | almost no bank | a sickness insurance benefit for 28 weeks – temporary income for the bank |
| Parental allowance | some banks in full, some in part, some not at all | labour office decision, continuing employment with confirmation of return, a sufficiently long remaining period of payment |
| Income from an agreement-based job or business during parental leave | yes, often reduced | documentable with payslips or a tax return, a history of at least a few months |
| Child maintenance | some banks | set by a court and paid regularly, documented by statements |
| Child benefit, birth grant, housing allowance | no | banks do not count social benefits tied to low income |
| Partner's (co-applicant's) income | in full | standard documentation; the partner becomes a co-borrower |
Banks treat parental allowance as a special case because the parent chooses the monthly amount within legal limits while the total is fixed, so the allowance runs out at some point, at the latest when the child turns three for children born from 2024. Banks that accept it therefore want to see what comes next: the employment contract and the employer's confirmation that the job continues and when you are due back. Parental leave after the job has ended (by agreement, notice or a fixed-term contract that was not renewed) is, for most banks, income with no future.
It depends on when you apply
1. You apply before going on maternity leave
This is the simplest case: the bank counts both applicants' full salaries. Pregnancy and plans for a family are not grounds for rejection and you do not have to mention them, but the bank assesses your ability to repay years ahead, and you should too. Work out the payment against the budget you will have on parental leave, one full income plus the allowance, and borrow according to that rather than today's cap. At banks' usual internal threshold of 45 % of income, two full salaries will get you more than a family budget with a child can carry.
2. You are on maternity leave (receiving PPM)
This is the hardest moment. Banks do not accept PPM, and you have not yet been granted parental allowance. If the mortgage cannot wait, your partner carries it alone. If it can, apply once parental allowance has been granted and you have the labour office decision and the first payments on your statements. In the meantime, get a pre-approval from banks that accept the allowance, so you know what you can borrow after the switch.
3. You are on parental leave
Choose the bank by how it counts the allowance, not by its price-list rate: a CZK 1 million difference in the loan cap is worth more than 0.3 pp on the rate. Your partner will be the main applicant and you the co-applicant, with the allowance and your employment contract documented. A 30-year term lets the payment come out of one income; once you are back at work you can shorten it or make extra payments, up to 25 % of the loan amount a year free of charge in the month before the contract anniversary. If at least one of you is under 36, LTV of 90 % applies and some banks give young clients a rate discount.
Who carries the mortgage, legally
To the bank, a co-applicant is a co-borrower (spoludlužník), jointly and severally liable for the whole debt, so the bank can claim the payment from either of you. For married couples that is a given, because the loan and the property fall into community property. Unmarried partners should agree on their shares in the property, and on what happens if they split up, at the same time as the mortgage; see our article Joint mortgage with an unmarried partner.
If your partner's income is not enough, parents can join as co-applicants. The bank adds their income but limits the term by their age, since banks want the loan repaid by a certain age of the oldest borrower, 70 at mBank for example, and a shorter term raises the payment. Once you are back at work, your parents can be released from the contract: the bank reassesses the creditworthiness of the remaining borrowers and charges for the contract change according to its fee schedule. A guarantor (ručitel) is rarely used for mortgages; banks prefer a co-borrower or additional collateral with another property.
If the bank does not accept the allowance, you are a borrower with no income counted. Your cap is the same as if your partner applied alone, but you are fully liable for the debt.
How does a child change the mortgage calculation?
DSTI and DTI have not been binding since 2023 and 2024 respectively. The ČNB (Czech National Bank) deactivated them, and banks apply internal thresholds of their own, most often DSTI 45 % (50 % for applicants under 36) and DTI of 8–9.5 times annual income. The only binding ČNB limit is still LTV 80 % (90 % under 36). Alongside DSTI, most banks also use a budget method: from the household's net income they deduct the subsistence minimum (životní minimum) for every member, payments on other loans and a reserve, and what is left must cover the mortgage payment.
A child enters both calculations. In the budget method it is another household member with its own subsistence minimum; in DSTI the effect is indirect, because the income of the parent on leave is lower than their salary. Either way, a household with the same total income supports a smaller loan after the child is born than before.
Bank A does not accept the allowance: 45 % of CZK 48,000 = a maximum payment of CZK 21,600, so a loan of roughly CZK 4.0 million.
Half the allowance counts at bank B: 45 % of CZK 54,000 = CZK 24,300, roughly CZK 4.5 million.
Bank C accepts it in full: 45 % of CZK 60,000 = CZK 27,000, roughly CZK 5.0 million.
If both are under 36 and bank A uses the 50 % threshold, the payment comes to CZK 24,000 even without the allowance, and the loan to about CZK 4.47 million. The payment on CZK 4 million over 30 years is CZK 21,473, which leaves the household roughly CZK 38,500 of its CZK 60,000 for everything else. That is the figure that should decide, not the bank's cap.
Recalculate your own figures in the How much can I borrow calculator. The long-term effect of a child on the budget and the payment is covered in our article Mortgages and children.
Documents for a parent on parental leave
- The labour office decision granting parental allowance, with the amount and payment period; the bank reads from it how long the income will last.
- Bank statements showing the benefit coming in over the last 3 months.
- The employer's confirmation that your employment continues and has not been terminated, with your return date; for a fixed-term contract, its extension.
- Your employment contract and the last payslips before maternity leave. Some banks count the original salary if you return within a year.
- The child's birth certificate, because the bank needs the household composition for the subsistence minimum.
- Your partner's documents as for any applicant: an income confirmation (potvrzení o příjmu) no older than 30 days, payslips and statements, or 1–2 tax returns if self-employed (OSVČ).
- If you run a business during parental leave, a tax return and statements showing the activity continues.
Everything else (identity documents, overview of commitments, proof of own funds, property documents) is the same as for any mortgage; the full list is in our article Documents for a mortgage.
Mistakes that sink an application on parental leave
- Applying while on PPM. The bank sees a temporary benefit and no allowance. Wait for the parental allowance decision, or let your partner apply alone.
- Ending your employment before applying. Agreeing with your employer to leave “because I won't be going back anyway” strips the allowance of the future the bank wants to see. Deal with a job change only after the loan agreement is signed and the money drawn.
- Concealing parental leave. Your statements show benefits, not a salary. The bank will find out, and a mismatch between the application and the statements looks worse than the parental leave itself.
- Choosing the bank by its price-list rate. In the example above, the gap between a bank that ignores the allowance and one that counts it is CZK 1 million, and no rate discount makes up for that.
- Borrowing the maximum. The allowance will end, the return to work may be part-time, and expenses grow. The payment should come out of one income with a buffer; a 30-year term gives you room, and extra payments in the month before the contract anniversary let you use it.
Sources
- Act No. 117/1995 Coll., on state social support, § 30 et seq. (parental allowance)
- Act No. 187/2006 Coll., on sickness insurance (maternity benefit)
- Act No. 110/2006 Coll., on the subsistence and existence minimum
- Act No. 257/2016 Coll., on consumer credit, § 86 (creditworthiness assessment) and § 117 (early repayment, amendment from 1 Sept 2024)
- ČNB – deactivation of the upper DSTI limit (1 July 2023) and DTI (1 January 2024), applicable LTV limit 80 % / 90 %