The CSOK Plus programme, which is set to start on 1 January 2024, will provide greater support than ever before for couples who have children and want to create a home, Ministry of Culture and Innovation State Secretary Eszter Vitályos announced in Szentendre on Tuesday.

Eszter Vitályos, who is the Fidesz member of parliament for the region, pointed out that next year, additional home creation support will be available for couples who have children.

CSOK Plus is an extremely favourable, state-supported loan for families planning to have children or for those who are adding more children to their family. It can be used for the purchase of their first common home, the expansion, or the purchase of a larger common home. It is available in amounts of 15, 30, or even 50 million forints with a fixed 3 per cent interest rate.

The government aims to support families in which the wife has not reached the age of 41, but until the end of 2025, even women in the 41 plus age group may avail themselves of the programme if their pregnancy has passed the 12th week.

The parents can suspend loan repayments for one year when their first child arrives, and for each subsequent child, the loan debt will decrease by 10 million forints.

The loan programme aims to facilitate the achievement of realistic housing goals. Therefore, the first common home acquisition is supported up to 80 million forints, while moving into a larger property or expanding is supported up to 150 million forints, according to the state secretary.

State Secretary Vitályos pointed out that the advantageous loan scheme can be accessed throughout the entire country, not only in settlements with more than 5,000 inhabitants, but also in smaller villages. In the latter, couples planning to have children can also combine the CSOK Plus with the traditional CSOK and the associated tax refund support.

Eszter Vitályos said that from 1 January 2024, the amount of the Child Rearing Support and of the Rural CSOK will increase. She explained that the government is significantly increasing the amount of the Rural CSOK. For the purchase and simultaneous expansion or modernization of a used residential property, from 1 January, the support for one child will increase from the previous 600,000 forints to 1 million forints, for two children, it will increase from 2.6 million to 4 million forints, while for three or more children, from 10 million to 15 million forints. The possibility of applying for the Rural CSOK in a designated small settlement for building or buying a new family home will also be available in 2024, at the amounts valid in 2023. For one child, it will be 600,000, for two children, 2.6 million, and for three or more children, 10 million forints.

The state secretary also drew attention to the fact that from 1 January, the Child Rearing Support will increase to 11 million forints for women under 30, and it will remain interest-free. ‘We will continue to do everything possible to remove as many financial barriers as possible for families who want to have children,’ she emphasized.

Vitályos reminded that the difficulties in recent years caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the ‘poorly conceived Brussels sanctions’ the adverse economic effects have not spared the real estate market either. Construction costs and property prices have significantly increased, primarily in Budapest and larger provincial cities, such as Szentendre and the entire Budapest agglomeration, and to a lesser extent in villages. In addition, lending conditions have tightened, making it more challenging for families to realize their housing goals.

Despite the challenges in recent years, the Hungarian government’s determined goal is to ensure that every desired child can be born in Hungary. Therefore, it wants to seize any opportunity that promotes support for families, the state secretary noted.

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