A parent can agree to pay every mortgage instalment and still have only half their disposable income counted by the bank. That is the point of a Bank of Israel clarification affecting families buying a home with help from a parent who will not own rights in the property.
The clarification is dated 1 November 2026 and received fresh coverage on 3 November in Nadlan Center. It addresses how banks apply an existing income rule. Here is what it means for a family’s purchase budget.
What the November clarification says
Question 4.11 in the Banking Supervision Department’s signed November 1 questions-and-answers document asks whether a bank can recognize all of a relative’s disposable income when that person joins as an additional borrower, or is the sole borrower and pays the entire monthly instalment.
The answer is no where the relative has no ownership rights in the property: the existing limit of half their disposable monthly income still applies. Signing the loan agreement or paying the whole instalment does not remove that limit.
Globes reported the Bank of Israel’s explanation that this is a clarification of existing regulation. Parents can still help through the relevant borrowing arrangement, subject to its conditions.
A simple example: ₪10,000 of parental income adds up to ₪5,000
Consider a hypothetical application in which the bank has already established these disposable monthly income figures:
- The buyer: ₪12,000.
- An eligible parent who will not own rights in the home: ₪10,000.
- The parent’s contribution to the income calculation at the half-income limit: ₪5,000.
The combined figure would be ₪17,000. A family spreadsheet that added the parent’s full income would show ₪22,000, overstating that figure by ₪5,000 a month.
This is an arithmetic illustration. It assumes the parent meets the relevant conditions and the bank accepts the stated income. It is not an approved loan amount or a promised monthly repayment.
Which conditions must the parent meet?
Appendix A, section 1.3 of Directive 329 sets conditions for recognizing a non-owner relative’s income. The relative must be a first-degree relative, act as a guarantor, undergo the bank’s repayment-capacity assessment, and pay at least 20% of the monthly instalment from their own bank account.
The directive also provides a separate route for recognizing a spouse’s full income when the spouse lives with the borrower in the property and all the conditions above are met.
“Disposable income” has a specific meaning here. The directive starts with qualifying net monthly income and deducts specified fixed commitments. A salary figure alone therefore does not establish the amount the bank will recognize.
Two different calculations use 50%
The parental-income limit determines how much income can enter the calculation. Separately, section 5 of Directive 329 generally caps the mortgage repayment-to-income ratio at 50%, subject to the directive’s applicability rules. A regulatory ceiling does not oblige a bank to lend at that ceiling.
Your deposit, the property’s accepted valuation and the bank’s credit assessment still need their own checks. Our guide to borrowing limits and down payments explains how those parts fit together.
Before relying on family help, get the bank’s calculation
The practical issue is the gap between what a family expects to contribute and what a lender will recognize. If your proposed purchase depends on parental income, ask the bank to put these four points in writing:
- The recognized income: what disposable income has it accepted for each person, and what commitments has it deducted?
- The parent’s role: who is borrowing, guaranteeing and owning the property, and how has the half-income rule been applied?
- The payment arrangement: what must come from the parent’s own account, and how will that be documented?
- The actual approval: what loan amount and repayment has the bank approved for the proposed purchase, and which conditions remain outstanding?
Use those figures to set the search budget. A verbal family commitment and a bank’s written credit decision answer different questions. Parents should also read the obligations they are taking on; our guide to guaranteeing a bank loan in Israel explains the documents to check.
Earlier coverage
Our 3 November report on Gindi’s deferred-payment offer explains why an advertised price can exclude a loan that remains payable later.
Looking for a home with family support? Tell Semerenko Group your preferred area and the purchase budget confirmed with your lender so the search starts with a workable financing plan.
Reporting note: Published 4 November 2026. AI-assisted research and writing based on the linked regulatory documents and dated reporting. The November Q&A is a Bank of Israel document hosted by Nadlan Center; the underlying directive is linked directly from the Bank of Israel. The example is hypothetical. Semerenko Group is a real estate business; this article is general information and does not establish an individual’s mortgage eligibility.
