According to CAFPI, the French mortgage broker, the usury rate ceiling for loans of 20 years and more rose from 5,19% to 5,29% on 1 July 2026. The broker notes that the rise in average rates recorded in May, at 3,48% over 25 years, together with the ECB rate hike in June, mechanically pushed the usury rate higher at the start of the third quarter. According to CAFPI, this shift helps loosen credit access constraints for some loan files, particularly those still under negotiation.
The usury rate, known in France as the taux d'usure, is the maximum annual percentage rate a bank is legally allowed to charge, combining interest, borrower insurance and administrative fees. A separate CAFPI publication on the same increase explains that when lending rates climb quickly, the usury ceiling lags behind, producing what the broker calls the scissor effect (effet ciseaux): financially sound borrowers get turned down not because of their risk profile but because their all-in rate mechanically exceeds the legal cap. The new quarterly ceilings, published in the Official Journal on 26 June for application from 1 July, also rose for shorter maturities, from 4,00% to 4,07% for loans under 10 years and from 4,48% to 4,57% for loans of 10 to under 20 years.
The adjustment comes despite the European Central Bank raising its three key rates by 25 basis points on 11 June, lifting the deposit rate to 2,25%, a move CAFPI attributes to rising euro-area inflation driven largely by energy prices. Even so, CAFPI reports that average rates obtained for its clients in July stood at 3,17% over 15 years, 3,31% over 20 years and 3,42% over 25 years, with the best borrower profiles securing 3,00%, 3,10% and 3,20% respectively over the same maturities.
CAFPI illustrates the practical effect with a simulation: a couple with net monthly income of 4.300€ seeking to buy a property could borrow up to 250.000€ at a rate of 3,31% over 20 years, with a monthly payment of 1.500€ including insurance.