# Mortgage and Divorce: Help in Tilburg

> Divorcing while the mortgage is still in both names? Learn how taking over the loan, the income test and selling work, and what NHG can mean for you.

https://www.belderbrandt.nl/en/mortgage-advice/mortgage-and-divorce · English

When you divorce or separate, the mortgage is often one of the hardest pieces of the puzzle. You signed for it together, but soon you may no longer be living together. Can one of you take over the home and the mortgage? Does the house have to be sold? And what if you have an NHG mortgage? Here is how it all works, under the rules as they apply in 2026.

## What happens to the mortgage when you separate

As long as both your names are on the mortgage deed, you both remain liable for the full debt, even if one of you has moved out and no longer contributes. The bank looks at who signed, not at who still lives there. That is why it pays to sort this out as early as possible, whether that means one of you takes over the home or the house goes up for sale.

## Putting the mortgage in one name: the takeover and the income test

If one of you wants to stay in the home, that person has to take over the mortgage. The other partner then comes off the mortgage deed and is no longer liable. The bank reassesses whether the remaining partner's income alone is enough to carry the full mortgage payments, including any alimony paid or received. That income test is often the hardest part: an income that was comfortably sufficient for two is not always enough on its own. We run the numbers for you, using the bank's lending criteria, so you know exactly where you stand before you sit down at the notary.

## If taking over is not an option: selling the home

If a takeover is not feasible, selling is what remains. In a region like Tilburg, where the housing market has picked up strongly in recent years, homes are often still worth more than the mortgage on them. That home equity can then be divided between you. If the home is worth less than the mortgage, you are left with a shared residual debt, which each of you continues to carry for your share, even after the divorce. We can help you think this through too: what selling means for your mortgage interest deduction, and how to avoid staying financially tied to each other longer than necessary through a joint loan.

## NHG and divorce: a safety net many people overlook

If you originally took out your mortgage with the Dutch National Mortgage Guarantee (NHG), NHG can, under certain conditions, help with any residual debt if you are forced to sell. In a divorce, that can be relevant if the home is no longer affordable. NHG looks, among other things, at the reason for the sale and whether you fully cooperated in limiting the loss. Whether the scheme applies in your situation depends on the exact conditions. For new NHG mortgages, the 2026 limit is €470,000, or €498,200 if you also finance energy-saving measures. The NHG guarantee fee is 0.4% of the loan amount.

## The practical side: how to handle this smartly

Try to sort out the mortgage as early in the divorce process as you can, before the settlement is signed. An appraisal report, a calculation of your takeover options and a conversation with the bank all take time, and you don't want to lose that time when there is already plenty going on. If you live in Tilburg, Berkel-Enschot, Goirle or elsewhere in the region, we know the local housing market well enough to give you a quick, realistic estimate of what your home is worth and what is financially feasible, whether you take over or sell.

**From our experience: Clarity about the divorce first, an offer later**

One of our clients was getting divorced and wanted to buy a new home straight away, to have everything settled for her new situation. We talked through what was possible and, more importantly, what was not. Too much was still unresolved about the divorce and the former home. In the end she decided not to make an offer yet, but to get clarity about the divorce first. That saved a lot of unnecessary stress. Once it became clear exactly how the divorce would work out, far more turned out to be possible than she had initially thought. As a result, she ended up choosing a much nicer home than the one she had originally set her sights on.

A divorce is complicated enough as it is; the mortgage should not make it any harder. Want to know what is possible in your situation, with or without NHG? Get in touch for a no-obligation consultation. Call us on 06 52 69 88 22 or email Martin@belderbrandt.nl, we are happy to talk it through with you.