Buy a house? Still a challenge for people with disabilities

To the disabled people assume, nowadays, an increasingly active role in society. As a result of several inclusion policies, they now have easier access to education, the job market, culture and leisure, among several areas. If, in the past, people with disabilities could not be financially independent (as a result of the isolation they were forced to and the lack of equal opportunities), currently, and mainly due to access to the labor market, they manage to have an income that allow them to have life goals, including buying their own home. But such access is not synonymous with ease. In fact, there is still a long way to go for people with disabilities to be able to have fair conditions for their reality.

Disabled people can have differentiated credit… but only if the bank agrees

People with a degree of disability equal to or greater than 60% have a process that aims to protect and facilitate access to housing credit, the so-called subsidized housing credit regime. It has several access rules and conditions but, in general, it is a starting point for adjusting to the conditions of people with motor disabilities. To exemplify the difference, we performed a quick simulation to analyze how much the commercial regime and subsidized regime.Commercial regime: €200,000 for 30 years with spread 1.75 = €1145.01 installmentSubsidized regime: €200,000 for 30 years with spread 0.00 = €797.54.10 installmentNote: simulations carried out on July 6, 2023 and with insurance included (life and multi-risk housing). Under the commercial regime, it is considered a contract with a variable rate, indexed to the 6-month Euribor. It is a considerable difference in the monthly installment. But what appears to be a great advantage can prove to be deceiving. As always, we have to be mindful of the fine print in the conditions. We now explain, very briefly and succinctly, what can impact the value of the installments:Access to subsidized credit: Law No. 64/2014 approves the granting of subsidized credit for people with disabilities. Establishes the rules for access to credit, but always with a caveat “contractual freedom”, that is, the law establishes the rules, but the banking institution within this contractual freedom can adjust as it wishes. Thus, although the law may be created, in our opinion, even more serious is the credit institution being able to refuse credit to people with motor disabilitiesconstituting, in our view, a clearly discriminatory practice.Access to life insurance: This is the point that can make all the difference with regard to the monthly installment. Similar to what happens in the general housing credit regime, contracting life insurance is not mandatory by law, falling once again into the so-called contractual freedom. Persons with disabilities have two options:- Not concluding the life insurance contract with all the risks and uncertainties that this entails (eg in the case of the holder’s death, the legal heirs inherit the bank debt) – but we remind you that the institution bank can refuse to grant credit without life insurance and, therefore, it may not be an option; – The second option is to try to subscribe to a life insurance product associated with housing credit. It sounds simple, but it’s not! The life insurance in this credit usually covers absolute and definitive disability or disability for the profession, which normally varies between 60% and 66% of disability. But if a person with a disability to access subsidized credit already has a minimum of 60% disability, access to this modality is not accepted. In the case of a quadriplegic who has 95% disability, can life insurance be taken out? You can get it, but with an increase in the price to pay so great that it can annul the benefit of the subsidized regime. When we try to take out life insurance, the insurer can accept, accept with aggravation or refuse. In the case of people with disabilities, it is more likely that the insurer will accept an aggravation, or even refuse the request to take out the insurance.Also read: Disabled people with life on pause for AMIM delays

How the inclusion of people with disabilities can (and should) be done

A long journey has been made on the way to inclusion of people with disabilitiesa path driven by public policies, by associations/organizations and by people with disabilities themselves, but society has to follow this path. Banking and insurance institutions must update their offerings to become more inclusive and equal.Although there are no official figures, studies and surveys indicate that the percentage of people with disabilities is around 15% of the population. It is a “great minority” that should ultimately be seen as a contributing factor to the economy. What is asked is not charity, but justice and equality.Also read: Podcast: “People with disabilities seize opportunities in a different way” Associação Salvador, founded by Salvador Mendes de Almeida in 2003, is a Social Solidarity Institution that works in the area of ​​motor disability. Over time, it has developed different and ambitious projects that have had excellent results and a demonstrated impact on improving the integration and quality of life of countless people with disabilities, enhancing their talents and raising awareness of equal opportunities. The information contained in the article is not binding and does not invalidate the full reading of documents that support the matter in question.