Affordability
In one sentence
The bank’s test: your theoretical housing costs must not exceed a third of gross income.
What it changes for you
Costs are computed with a theoretical interest rate of around 5 %, well above the real one, plus 1 % maintenance and amortisation. This explains a refusal even when the actual instalment would be comfortable: the bank is not testing today’s situation but your resilience to a rate shock. Our calculator reproduces that test.