The law from 1986 concerning mortgage loans for disabled people says that citizens with a degree of disability equal or higher than 60% can benefit from subsidised credit to purchase or build their own house.
However, it is not always easy to receive this special subsidised credit if the individual had already secured a mortgage before the disability occurred.
The lack of legislation concerning this situation is the reason for the banks’ stance.
Although changing a credit plan is not a risk for banks, the lack of applicable laws leaves disabled citizens in something of a quandary. Therefore, banks should no longer be the authorities that decide whether or not a credit plan should be changed. We believe that banks should be obliged to provide subsidised credit and inform the individual of the changes – such as new interest rates and instalments – as long as the individual is proven to be at least 60% disabled and had already agreed upon a mortgage deal before their disability occurred.
Consequently, DECO has forwarded a letter to Parliament in which it stresses its concerns regarding this subject.
In this column, Portuguese consumer watchdog DECO informs readers of various interesting issues and laws affecting consumer decisions.
