Cabinet approves tighter youth home loan program

Taipei, July 16 (CNA) The Cabinet on Thursday approved a new version of its subsidized mortgage program for first-time homebuyers, tightening age, income and property value eligibility while raising loan ceilings for newly married couples and families with children.

The "Youth Housing Loan 3.0" program will take effect on Aug. 1 and run for six years, replacing the current version, which expires at the end of July.

The program retains a maximum five-year grace period and 40-year loan term but adds a new requirement that borrowers be under 50, with their age plus the loan term capped at 80 years. For example, a 49-year-old applicant could receive a loan with a maximum repayment period of 31 years.

The Ministry of Finance said the measure is intended to strengthen risk management and ensure repayment capacity.

The program also sets regional caps on eligible home prices, ranging from NT$20 million (US$621,100) to NT$35 million. The limit is NT$35 million in Taipei, NT$25 million in New Taipei and Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City, and NT$20 million elsewhere.

To prevent the subsidy from benefiting wealthier borrowers, the program sets an income threshold of NT$2 million in annual personal income as a condition for eligibility, marking the first time the program has included such a threshold.

The standard loan cap will remain NT$10 million but will increase to NT$12 million for couples married within the past two years and NT$15 million for families with children, as part of the government's efforts to encourage marriage and childbirth.

Interest subsidies will be phased out gradually. Borrowers will pay the current minimum rate of 1.775 percent for the first three years, before it rises to 1.9 percent, 2.025 percent and 2.15 percent in the following three years.

Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said after the Cabinet meeting that Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) instructed the Ministry of Finance to maintain anti-speculation measures, including limiting borrowers to one subsidized mortgage per lifetime, requiring owner occupancy, strengthening pre-loan screening and tightening post-loan oversight.

Deputy Finance Minister Juan Ching-hwa (阮清華) said the revised program is designed to direct government resources to those with genuine housing needs while strengthening risk controls.

Based on participation in the current program, he estimated that between 157,000 and 160,000 people could qualify for the new scheme.

According to ministry data, the youth home loan program has supported more than 510,000 households with total lending of about NT$2.7 trillion since its launch in late 2010. The current "Youth Housing Loan 2.0" program alone has benefited more than 170,000 households with loans totaling about NT$1.3 trillion.