PTZ 2026: France's zero-interest loan, caps and amounts

Who can get a PTZ?

Four conditions must be met:

1. Be a first-time buyer. Neither you nor the other occupants may have owned your main residence during the two years before the loan offer (CCH, code de la construction et de l’habitation (Construction and Housing Code), art. L31-10-3, I). The condition is waived in cases of disability (carte mobilité inclusion (disability mobility card) marked “invalidité”, category 2 or 3 invalidity pension), for recipients of the AAH (adult disability allowance) or AEEH (disabled child education allowance), or if a disaster has made your home permanently uninhabitable.
2. Buy your main residence. The home must be occupied for at least 8 months a year, no later than one year after the purchase or the completion of works, or on retirement if this occurs within 6 years.
3. Stay within an income cap, which depends on the zone and the number of occupants (see below).
4. Top up another loan. A PTZ never finances a transaction on its own, and there can only be one per transaction (art. L31-10-2).

A PTZ carries no interest, no arrangement fees and no valuation fees (art. L31-10-2). It is distributed only by banks that have signed an agreement with the State, and each remains free to turn down an application.

New build, existing property: eligible homes in 2026

• New build, all zones: since 1 April 2025, the zone tendue (high-demand housing area) condition no longer applies to new builds (Law no. 2025-127, art. 90, I). The apartment-building condition has also been lifted, but a detached house has reduced lending shares (D31-10-9, II bis).
• Existing property with works: only in zones B2 and C. Works must account for at least 25% of the total cost and be completed within 3 years. After the works, the DPE (energy performance certificate) must reach at least class D (service-public.gouv.fr).
• Social housing sold to its occupant, PSLA (social lease-to-buy scheme) and bail réel solidaire (solidarity-based land lease): these follow their own rules. For an HLM (social housing) home sold to its occupant, the lending share is set at 20% (D31-10-9, III).

What the Finance Act for 2026 changed. Its article 122 repealed sections II and III of article 90 of the Finance Act for 2025, which contained only budgetary clauses (offsetting against tax and funding provision). Section I, which opens new builds in all zones up to 31 December 2027, is unchanged. In the version consulted on Légifrance, the list of provisions amended by this law cites no article L31-10-x of the Construction and Housing Code. The legal analysis of the Finance Act for 2026 published by the ANIL (national housing information agency) does not deal with the PTZ either.

2026 income caps

The income taken into account is the higher of these two amounts: the sum of all occupants’ revenu fiscal de référence (reference taxable income) for year N-2, or the total cost of the transaction divided by 9.

Source: service-public.gouv.fr, checked on 15 September 2026.

How much is lent? Transaction cap × lending share

1. The eligible cost is capped (D31-10-10):

2. The income band is read from income divided by the household coefficient (D31-10-9, I):

3. The lending share depends on the band (D31-10-9, II and II bis):

4. Two further caps. The PTZ may not exceed the amount of the other loans with a term of more than 2 years. In band 1, it may exceed it by 25% at most.

Repayment: deferral and term

Source: D31-10-11. During a full deferral, no monthly payment is due on the PTZ. After that, it is repaid in constant monthly instalments (L31-10-11).

Example. A couple buy a new apartment in zone B1 for €250,000. Their reference taxable income for N-2 is €40,000.

• Income taken into account: max(40,000; 250,000 / 9 ≈ 27,778) = €40,000.
• 40,000 / 1.5 ≈ €26,667: this is band 3.
• Eligible cost: €202,500. PTZ: 40% × 202,500 = €81,000.
• Repayment: 2 years with no monthly payment, then 13 years at 81,000 / 156 ≈ €519 a month.

For a new house in the same situation, the PTZ would be 20%, i.e. €40,500.