Is There Any Penalty If You Foreclose or Prepay Your Home Loan?

Did you know nearly 40% of home loan borrowers in India prefer prepaying their loans partially or fully within the first 10 years to save on interest costs? With rising financial awareness and better income visibility, prepaying a housing loan has become a go-to strategy for faster debt freedom.

But there’s one important detail many overlook—prepayment and foreclosure charges. If not carefully understood, these can eat into the very savings you’re trying to achieve.
 

In this guide, we’ll break down what is prepayment vs. part payment, charges involved in foreclosing a home loan, key things to consider before prepaying, and more. Let’s dive in!

What is Home Loan Prepayment?

Home loan prepayment or foreclosure refers to repaying your loan amount before the originally agreed tenure—either in full or in part. It comes in two forms:

1. Full Prepayment (Foreclosure)

This means closing your housing loan entirely before the tenure ends. It could be from your own savings or by transferring the loan to another bank, also known as balance transfer.

2. Part Payment

Here, you repay a portion of the outstanding loan, reducing the principal and, hence, the total interest burden. Your EMI may remain the same, but your loan tenure will reduce.

Home Loan Prepayment or Foreclosure Charges

Most banks levy a penalty fee if you choose to foreclose or prepay your loan. This is applicable only for fixed rate loans, where the interest rate remains fixed throughout the home loan tenure. As per RBI (Reserve Bank of India) mandate, banks cannot impose any loan prepayment penalty fee for floating rate loans. Same rule is applicable for home loan part payments. 

What are the Charges for Home Loan Prepayment?

Let’s take Ujjivan SFB as an example. Here are the applicable charges for home loan prepayment:

1. For Fixed rate loans: 

• Zero, if the customer is closing the Home Loan with his/her own money. This “own money” can be obtained in any mode – retirement funds, own savings, Deposits, sale of property etc. In this case, the cheque/DD for the closure amount shall be obtained in the name of the applicant/co-applicant.

• 3% - if the customer is going to transfer the loan to some other bank/FI/HFC/NBFC etc. In this case, the cheque might come from the name of other bank. 

   

2. For all Floating rate loans: No charges applicable as per RBI mandate

3. For home loan part-payment: No charges applicable

Key Things to Remember Before Prepaying or Foreclosing a Home Loan

1. Check your interest rate type

Charges apply only if your loan is under a fixed rate of interest. Floating rate home loans generally have zero foreclosure charges.

2. Source of funds matters

No penalty is charged if you use your own funds to repay. But if the repayment comes from another lender (like a balance transfer), a fee is applicable under fixed-rate loans.

3. Documentation is key

Always retain the foreclosure letter, NOC, and updated CIBIL report as proof that your housing loan is officially closed.

4. Consider the timing

If you're close to the end of your tenure, the interest savings from prepayment may be minimal—especially after accounting for foreclosure charges.

5. Reinvestment check

If you're withdrawing investments or FDs to repay a low-interest home loan, consider if the reinvestment returns could outweigh the savings on interest.

Does Prepaying Your Home Loan Improve Your CIBIL Score?

Prepaying a loan can help you reduce your debt and shorten the repayment tenure, but it doesn’t always lead to a higher credit score. Credit bureaus value a consistent track record of timely payments over time. When you pre-close a loan, it alters your credit mix and significantly reduces your outstanding debt, which may impact your score in unexpected ways. Before making a prepayment, it’s wise to evaluate how it could affect your credit profile.