What NHG is
Nationale Hypotheek Garantie, the national mortgage guarantee, is an optional safety net on Dutch mortgages. It does two things: it lowers your interest rate, and it protects you against residual debt if you are forced to sell at a loss.
It is not insurance you claim on lightly, and it is not a subsidy. It is a guarantee fund that stands behind the lender, which is why lenders price NHG mortgages lower: their risk is smaller.
The 2026 numbers
| Maximum mortgage with NHG | 470,000 euro |
| Maximum when financing energy-saving measures | 498,200 euro |
| One-off premium | 0.4 percent of the mortgage amount |
| Premium tax treatment | Generally deductible as a financing cost in the year of purchase |
On a 400,000 euro mortgage the premium is 1,600 euro, paid once at the notary. Because the interest discount applies for as long as you hold the mortgage, the premium is usually recovered within a few years.
The NHG ceiling is revised annually in line with average house prices, and the premium percentage has moved several times over the past decade. Confirm the current figures before you rely on them.
What it actually protects you against
If you have to sell your home for less than the outstanding mortgage, you would normally be left owing the difference. With NHG that residual debt can be written off, provided the sale was forced by circumstances outside your control.
The recognised situations are broadly:
- Involuntary unemployment
- Divorce or the end of a registered partnership
- Disability or long-term incapacity for work
- Death of a partner
You are also expected to have cooperated in limiting the loss, so this is a genuine safety net rather than a free option to walk away from a bad purchase.
What it means for expats specifically
NHG is not restricted by nationality. What matters is whether you meet the lender's criteria and whether the mortgage falls under the limit.
Two points worth thinking through:
- The ceiling shapes where you can buy. At 470,000 euro, NHG covers most of the Netherlands comfortably but excludes a large part of the Amsterdam market. In Almere, Eindhoven, or Rotterdam it is realistic for many buyers, in central Amsterdam often not.
- Mobility cuts both ways. Expats move more often than average, and NHG protects against forced sales for specified reasons rather than against a voluntary relocation. If your assignment ends and you sell into a weak market by choice, that is not what the guarantee is for.
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Compare advisor feesFrequently asked questions
NHG, the Nationale Hypotheek Garantie, is an optional Dutch national mortgage guarantee. It lowers the interest rate a lender charges and can result in residual debt being written off if the borrower is forced to sell at a loss due to circumstances such as unemployment, divorce, disability, or the death of a partner.
The NHG limit in 2026 is 470,000 euro, rising to 498,200 euro when energy-saving measures are financed as part of the mortgage. The one-off premium is 0.4 percent of the mortgage amount.
For most buyers under the limit, yes. The premium is a one-off 0.4 percent of the mortgage, while the interest discount applies for as long as the mortgage runs, so the cost is typically recovered within a few years, in addition to the protection against residual debt.
Yes. NHG is not restricted by nationality or residency status. What matters is meeting the lender's criteria and keeping the mortgage within the NHG limit, which in central Amsterdam is often not possible but elsewhere in the Netherlands usually is.
The premium is generally treated as a financing cost and is deductible in the year of purchase, alongside mortgage advice, the lender's valuation, and the mortgage deed. Confirm your own position with a tax advisor.
Generally not. The guarantee covers forced sales caused by specified circumstances such as involuntary unemployment, divorce, disability, or bereavement. A voluntary relocation is not one of them, which matters for expats who may leave when an assignment ends.
Written and maintained by Robbert Winnemuller, founder of DutchKey. He works in Dutch residential property in Flevoland and built DutchKey after seeing how often international buyers signed Dutch contracts nobody had explained to them. He is not the agent you are matched with: DutchKey introduces you to independent, buyer-only agents, and these pages exist to make you a harder client to mislead.