From your 60th birthday, a French lifetime mortgage (prêt viager hypothécaire) lets you borrow part of your home's value without paying anything each month. Capital and interest, compounded annually, are repaid only when the last borrower dies or the property is sold. At that point the debt can never be greater than what the home is worth.
Governed by articles L315-1 and following of the French Consumer Code, this credit is still rare. In 2026 the main offer is Foncier Reversimmo, granted by the Crédit Foncier, part of the BPCE group, and sold through Banques Populaires and Caisses d'Épargne where available locally. The broker Arrago also arranges a Prêt 60 funded by other lenders. This page concentrates on what the product really costs and how it compares with other ways of releasing equity, a question English-speaking owners in France often ask after hearing about equity release at home.
How Foncier Reversimmo works
You remain the owner and keep living in the home, or let it. The property, in mainland France, can be a main, second or rental residence, though not one held through an SCI according to the Caisse d'Épargne Bretagne-Pays de Loire. An expert from BPCE Expertise Immobilière values it at the lender's expense, and the minimum loan is €50,000.
You may spend the funds freely, with one exception: financing a business. Borrowers use them to top up a small pension, clear an existing loan, adapt the home for reduced mobility, help a child buy or pay for a stay in a serviced residence for older people. No life cover is required and your health is not examined.
- Explain your project to an adviser at a Banque Populaire or Caisse d'Épargne branch.
- Arrange the visit of the property valuer, who sets the value of the home.
- Obtain the maximum amount, calculated from your age and that value.
- Wait at least ten days after receiving the offer before accepting it.
- Sign the deed at the notaire's office, where the mortgage is registered.
The real cost, based on published examples
Banque Populaire publishes two examples on the scale of 1 October 2026, with a fixed borrowing rate of 6.75 % and a €1,000 entry fee. For a couple aged 75 owning a property worth €330,000, the maximum loan is 28.7 % of its value, €94,710, with about €1,581 of security costs.
| Actual length of the loan | Total cost of credit | APR | Estimated total debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 years | €39,162 | 7.34 % | About €134,000 |
| 10 years | €89,872 | 7.05 % | About €185,000 |
| 15 years | €160,169 | 6.95 % | About €255,000 |
| 20 years | €237,871 | 6.59 % | About €333,000 |
Reading this table with care
After twenty years the debt is close to the original value of the home, €330,000. That is compound interest at work: at 6.75 %, a debt roughly doubles every eleven years. The cap protects heirs from owing more than the home is worth, but very little may be left for them if the couple lives a long time and prices stand still.
A single borrower aged 75
In Banque Populaire's second example, François, 75, owns a property valued at €450,000. He can borrow up to 36.3 %, €163,350, over a projected sixteen years based on life expectancy. The share that can be lent increases with age, because the probable length of the loan shortens.
Arrago's Prêt 60, another way in
Arrago, an intermediary registered with the ORIAS (France's register of financial intermediaries), refers clients to lenders such as CFCAL Banque or the Crédit municipal de Nantes. Its Prêt 60 is aimed at owners aged 60 and over whose property is worth at least €150,000, for 10 to 60 % of its value depending on age. There is no health questionnaire, only a medical certificate confirming mental capacity.
What sets it apart
Partial early repayment is free, and the penalty on full repayment is limited to roughly four months of interest. Funds arrive two to three months after the request. The displayed cost is higher: the published example shows an APR of 9.26 % over five years and 8.11 % over ten, fees included.
Comparing it with neighbouring solutions
A lifetime mortgage is only one way of drawing on your wealth. A viager sale (selling the home for a lump sum plus a life annuity) raises more capital and an income, but transfers ownership. A conventional secured loan costs much less, yet requires monthly repayments and therefore enough income. Selling and moving somewhere smaller is often the cheapest solution of all.
Newer formulas have appeared too: some companies buy a 10 to 50 % share of the home in exchange for capital, with an option to buy it back later. Selling the bare ownership while keeping the life interest also provides immediate capital. Each has its own fees and tax treatment, best compared with the help of an independent notaire.
A worked trade-off
Monique, 68, widowed, on a €1,700 pension and owning a €280,000 house, wants €60,000 to help her daughter and adapt her bathroom. A €60,000 amortising secured loan over twelve years at 4 % would cost her about €525 a month, 31 % of her pension. The lifetime mortgage, with no repayments, protects her budget but will sharply reduce what her daughter inherits.
For readers who know the UK market: a British lifetime mortgage usually lets you draw funds in stages through a drawdown facility, which limits rolled-up interest. Foncier Reversimmo, as published, pays the sum in one go, so the cost question in France is sharper.
Mistakes to avoid
This credit commits a family for decades. The problems seen in practice usually come from a decision made too quickly or without measuring its effect on the estate.
- Signing without telling your children, who discover on your death that little net value remains.
- Borrowing the maximum when a smaller sum would do: interest runs on the whole capital.
- Neglecting maintenance and insurance of the property, both contractual obligations.
- Using the money for a business, which is excluded.
- Assuming the offer is available everywhere: it depends on each regional bank.
Refusal is still possible. It may happen when the property is judged hard to resell, for instance an isolated rural house in a weak market, when the valuation leads to a loan below the €50,000 minimum, or when the home already carries a large mortgage. In that last case the new loan can first be used to clear the existing debt.
Frequently asked questions
Can I take one out at 62 while still working? Yes. Neither your income nor your job is examined; only the minimum age of 60 counts. But at that age the percentage lent is low and the probable term very long.
What happens to my heirs if the debt exceeds the home's value? They owe nothing beyond it: the bank absorbs the gap. If a surplus remains after the sale, it is theirs.
Do I need life insurance? No. Health is not taken into account and no borrower insurance is required.
Is the money taxable? As a loan, it is not taxable income.
Can I repay early? Yes, at any time, for example after selling another property or receiving an inheritance.
Organisations and offers to contact
- Banque Populaire – Foncier Reversimmo : Banque Populaire page on Foncier Reversimmo, with eligibility, uses of funds and representative cost examples over several durations.
- Arrago : Arrago, an ORIAS-registered broker, presents its Prêt 60 lifetime mortgage for owners aged 60 and over, with costs and conditions.