Anyone buying a home in the Netherlands will sooner or later be asked by their mortgage adviser: do you want NHG? The Nationale Hypotheek Garantie (National Mortgage Guarantee) is a safety net for when bad luck means you can no longer pay your mortgage. You pay a one-off fee, and in return you usually get a lower interest rate. For many buyers it is one of the best deals in the whole buying process. But it is not available for every home. Here is how it works in 2026.
What is NHG?
NHG is a guarantee provided by the Waarborgfonds Eigen Woningen, a Dutch homeownership guarantee fund. If a divorce, unemployment, disability or the death of your partner means you can no longer afford your home and you have to sell, you may be left with residual debt. With NHG, the fund can take over and write off that debt, provided you met the conditions and did your best to limit the loss. NHG also helps before it gets that far, for example with a payment arrangement.
For the bank, a mortgage with NHG carries less risk. That is why almost every lender offers an interest discount. It is often a few tenths of a percentage point, which adds up to a lot of money over thirty years.
The NHG limit in 2026
NHG is only possible if your mortgage does not exceed the cost limit. In 2026 that limit is €470,000, €20,000 more than in 2025. If you include energy-saving measures in your mortgage, such as insulation or a heat pump, it can be 6 percent higher: €498,200. You can always find the current conditions on nhg.nl.
Note that the limit applies to the amount you borrow, not to the asking price. And you can never borrow more than the value of the home. The kosten koper (buyer's costs such as transfer tax and notary fees) therefore come out of your own savings. Buying a €470,000 home with NHG is possible, but you will need to bring the extra costs yourself.
How many homes qualify?
A fair caveat first: the asking price is not the sale price. Many homes sell above asking, and a home listed just under the limit can still end up above it. With that in mind: in our own listings of privately sold homes, about 49 percent have an asking price of up to €470,000. The median asking price of €475,000 sits just above it. So NHG is no longer only for the cheapest homes, but in cities like Amsterdam and Utrecht a large share of the listings falls outside it. In Groningen or Almere, far more homes fit within the limit.
What does NHG cost?
You pay a one-off guarantee fee of 0.4 percent of your mortgage amount. On a €400,000 mortgage that is €1,600. The fee is tax deductible in the year you pay it.
Weigh that against the interest discount. Suppose NHG gets you 0.3 percent less interest on €400,000. That is around €1,200 gross in the first year alone. After a year and a half to two years you have earned back the fee, and the rest of the fixed-rate period is pure gain. Run the numbers for your own situation with the mortgage calculator, and ask your adviser to compare quotes with and without NHG side by side.
The conditions in short
- You live in it yourself. NHG is only for your own home, not for letting.
- You repay. The mortgage must be fully repaid within 30 years, on an annuity or linear basis.
- Your income fits. The lender checks whether you can carry the costs, using the same standards that determine how much you can borrow.
- For apartments, the VvE counts. A dormant owners' association (VvE) can be a problem. Read how to check it in our blog on assessing the VvE.
Include NHG in your purchase agreement
If you are going for NHG, add it as a condition in your preliminary purchase agreement. If you unexpectedly cannot get the mortgage with NHG, you can then cancel the purchase at no cost. Our blog on the preliminary purchase agreement explains how that works.
When does NHG not pay off?
If you borrow well below the value of the home, for example because you put in a lot of your own money, many banks already offer a low rate without NHG. The interest advantage is then smaller, and the safety net less necessary. But for most first-time buyers and young families the rule is simple: if your mortgage fits under the limit, NHG is almost always worth it.
Curious which homes fit your budget? On Buurtje.nl you can filter listings by price and see for every neighbourhood how residents rate it, what homes cost and how it scores on amenities and safety.
Source: Buurtje.nl's own listings of privately sold homes (asking prices, not sale prices). NHG limit and fee according to the Waarborgfonds Eigen Woningen for 2026.
