The municipality of Almere has not had its own starter loan (starterslening) for years. The Almere starter loan ordinance of 2014 lapsed on 1 May 2015, and the municipality's housing pages mention no new scheme. If you want to be sure nothing new has been added, check the loan finder of SVn, the organisation that runs starter loans for Dutch municipalities.
What is a starter loan?
The SVn Starterslening is a second loan next to your mortgage with a bank. It covers the difference between the maximum you can borrow from the bank and the price of your first home. A municipality or province makes money available and SVn provides the loan.
For the first three years you pay no interest and no repayment. The interest is paid by the municipality, the province or a housing association. The repayment is added to a second part, the combination loan, which grows as a result. After three years you start paying interest and repayment, unless you apply for a reassessment. SVn then looks at your income again. That is possible after the third, sixth, tenth and fifteenth year, and you pay a fee for it.
Both parts run for 30 years. The interest rate is fixed for 15 years and then set again for another 15. If a debt remains after 30 years because your income stayed too low, you have to repay it in one go, for example from savings or by refinancing.
Which conditions apply?
According to SVn, a starter loan is only for your very first home, and you must live in it yourself. Your bank mortgage must come with the Dutch National Mortgage Guarantee (NHG) and an interest rate fixed for at least ten years. The NHG limit in 2026 is € 470,000, or € 498,200 if you also finance energy-saving measures. More about NHG in The NHG limit in 2026 and what NHG gives you.
The starter loan is at most 20 percent of the purchase price or of the valued amount. For an existing home the lower of the two applies. It is never higher than the amount set by the municipality or province, and the minimum is € 2,500. You cannot use it to pay for a bid above the valuation.
SVn only provides the loan if your income is too low for a regular mortgage of the full amount. If you have assets above the box 3 tax-free allowance, the loan is reduced. Before you apply at SVn, you need an allocation letter (toewijzingsbrief) from the municipality or province. SVn gives no advice itself. You pay the notary, the valuation and any advice yourself.
How did it work in Almere before?
Until 2015 Almere did have a starter loan, run by SVn. The municipality and the national government each paid half of the budget. In the version of the ordinance that applied in early 2014, the home could not cost more than the NHG limit at that time, and the loan was at most 20 percent of the costs, with a cap of € 35,000. The scheme was set to end once the budget ran out, and it lapsed on 1 May 2015.
How to check what is available
Go to the loan finder (leningzoeker) on svn.nl, enter the municipality where you want to buy and choose "Eerste huis kopen" (buying a first home). You will see which loans that municipality offers through SVn. If in doubt, call the municipality. For Almere the number is 14 036.
An example from Almere
This example is indicative. A 27-year-old starter wants to buy a flat in Almere Buiten for € 330,000, and the valuation matches the purchase price. Suppose that based on her income she can borrow € 295,000. She is then € 35,000 short.
In a municipality with a starter loan, SVn could look at whether part of that gap can be covered with a starter loan. In Almere she has to find the money another way, and the buyer's costs come on top. Because she is under 35, she may be able to use the starter exemption, in which case she pays no transfer tax.
What can you do in Almere?
Start with a realistic picture of what you can borrow. That depends on your income, the interest rate and the 2026 lending standards, as explained in How much can I borrow for a mortgage in 2026?. Our mortgage calculator gives a first indication.
Then work out how much of your own money you need, both for the gap with the purchase price and for the buyer's costs. That is covered in How much of your own money do you need to buy a house?. If your parents help with a gift or a loan, check what that means for tax and for your mortgage.
If it still does not fit, the room is often in the home itself: a smaller flat or a different part of Almere. Our page for first-time buyers has more on buying your first home.
Would you like to know how large the gap is in your case and how you might bridge it? Book a free introductory meeting with one of our mortgage advisors in Almere, at our office on Schoutstraat or via Teams.