Mortgage loan

What is a mortgage loan?

A mortgage loan (hypotekárny úver) is a bank loan for a home that a lien (záložné právo) over the property secures. A written contract creates the lien and names the secured claim and the pledged property (Civil Code § 151b ods. 1 and 2). If the borrower does not repay properly and on time, the creditor may start enforcement of the lien (§ 151j ods. 1). The creditor then satisfies the claim in the way the contract names or by a sale of the property at auction.

Slovak consumer law uses a wider label for this product. Act 90/2016 Z. z. on housing loans (zákon o úveroch na bývanie) defines a housing loan as money that a creditor provides to a consumer for a limited time. The loan counts as a housing loan in one of three cases. A lien secures it over real estate, a flat or a non-residential space. This includes a building that is still under construction (§ 1 ods. 2 písm. a). Or its purpose is to acquire a home or to build one (písm. b). Or it repays such a loan (písm. c). The act also says that a mortgage loan under a special rule is a housing loan when a bank gives it to a consumer (§ 1 ods. 3). A mortgage on a family house that is being built therefore falls under the housing loan rules, even though banks usually call it a mortgage. Read the loan contract for the exact product name and terms.

Which laws and rules govern a mortgage for a family house?

Three sources matter most for a mortgage on a family house, and each answers a different question. The housing loan act defines the loan. The National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) sets lending limits for banks in a measure that it issues under § 8 ods. 16 of that act. The Building Act governs the building. Keep them apart when you read a loan contract and a building file, because a term in one does not change the other.

This article describes the Building Act as it reads in the version in force from 1 November 2025 to 31 December 2026. It describes the NBS measure as it applies until 31 December 2026, and it names the changes that apply from 1 January 2027. Later amendments take effect on a different date and are not described here as current.

Can a mortgage pay for a house that is still under construction?

Yes. The housing loan definition covers a lien over a building still under construction and a loan whose purpose is to build a home. A construction mortgage therefore fits the same legal frame as a loan for a finished house. The NBS measure also accepts a residential building under construction as security if the cadastre lists it (§ 6 ods. 2 písm. a). The bank then pays the money out over time, not in one sum, which is the subject of staged loan drawdown.

The NBS measure sets how the bank values security that is still being built. It takes the lower of two values. One is the bank's internal estimate of the general value of the property after completion. The other is the price of the property under the construction financing contract, if such a contract exists (§ 7 ods. 8). The stages, the evidence the bank requires for each stage and the valuation it uses are set in the loan contract. Compare them with your building schedule and your budget before you sign. A delay on site can hold up the next payment.

How does the loan-to-value limit affect how much I can borrow?

The loan-to-value ratio (LTV) compares the loan with the value of the property that secures it. The NBS measure sets the limit for banks. Until 31 December 2026 the ratio may not exceed 90 percent. A bank may lend above 80 percent only for a limited share of its new mortgage lending. The share is 22 percent for the previous quarter and 20 percent for the previous half-year (§ 7 ods. 1 and 2). The measure also limits the maturity of a mortgage to 30 years. A bank may exceed 30 years only for up to 10 percent of its new mortgage volume (§ 6 ods. 1).

The NBS changes these limits from 1 January 2027 with measure 3/2026 (notice 251/2026 Z. z.). The full text of the measure sets different limits for different borrower groups.

A limited share of loans above the base limit stays possible, up to a ceiling of 90 percent. The loan-to-value entry gives the figures and the transition rules. For a family house, the rule that applies on the day of your application decides how much you can borrow. Read the entry on the loan-to-value ratio for how the ratio is calculated, and ask the bank for the limit it applies to your case.

Why does the final inspection matter for a mortgage?

A finished building may be put into permanent use only after its final inspection (kolaudácia). The inspection applies to a new building that needed a building intent decision. It does not apply to a building that only needed a notification (ohlásenie) (Building Act § 66 ods. 1). Under the Building Act, the authority issues a final inspection certificate (kolaudačné osvedčenie) that confirms the building is technically fit for its projected purpose, and the certificate attaches the as-built documentation (§ 67 ods. 2). The certificate does not replace an operating permit that another rule may require (§ 67 ods. 3), so check those rules separately for a building with a special use.

The terms have changed. Before the new act, the procedure was called final inspection proceedings. Since 1 April 2025 the Building Act reads the old term as kolaudácia (§ 84 ods. 11 písm. c). The table shows the mapping, which matters because older documents and some lender templates still use the old wording.

A completed house is therefore a different legal object from a house still in the works. Treat the occupancy approval as the step that confirms the building can be used, and check the wording of the loan contract to see which document the bank counts.

What do people most often get wrong about a mortgage?

• A lien hands the house to the bank. It does not. The lien secures the debt. The creditor may start enforcement only after the debt is not repaid properly and on time.
• A verified project means the bank will pay. The project is a step under public building law. The payout is a private obligation under the loan contract, and the two run on different tracks.
• A published change is already a rule. NBS measure 3/2026 applies only from 1 January 2027. Until then the limits in force apply, and the bank confirms in writing which one it uses for you.

The Building Act sets how the house is approved and finished, and the loan sets how the money arrives. A good mortgage plan follows both, because a bank can only pay out against what the building process has actually delivered.