{ "table": "balloon-payment-calculator-rules", "schema": 1, "version": "2026-11-11.2", "title": "Balloon loan rules: France (usury thresholds by loan category, 4th quarter 2026) and United Kingdom (voluntary termination of hire purchase)", "doc": "Rule table read by the balloon-payment-calculator handler (ctx.data['balloon-payment-calculator-rules']). Rates are percentage points (8.56 means 8,56 %); amounts are in major units of the country's currency; durations in months. Table-level valid_from/valid_until bound the period during which this version may be relied on: the French usury thresholds below apply to loans granted from 1 October to 31 December 2026, and the Banque de France publishes the next quarter's thresholds at the end of December, so the table must be reviewed before valid_until passes. Each value carries its legal basis, the official page it was read on (source_url), that page's own date (source_date), the day it was read for this table (retrieved), and its own validity window (valid_from, valid_until; null valid_until means in force until changed). The APR method is a formula, not a rate; it is recorded with its sources so the page can cite them.", "reviewed_on": "2026-11-11", "reviewed_by": "apps-calculators agent (automated research against official sources, 2026-11-11), then an independent verifier the same day (Banque de France table, Légifrance articles, legislation.gov.uk sections re-read); owner review pending", "valid_from": "2026-10-01", "valid_until": "2026-12-31", "locale_country": { "fr-FR": "FR", "en-GB": "GB" }, "apr_method": { "rule": "The APR (TAEG) is the annual rate X that makes the credit made available equal to the present value of every repayment and charge, the times being in years with a month of 1/12 year: Σ C_k (1 + X)^(−t_k) = Σ D_l (1 + X)^(−s_l). The result is expressed to at least one decimal place, a following figure of 5 or more rounding up; this table shows it to two.", "decimals": 2, "fees_paid_at": "start", "sources": [ { "label": "Code de la consommation, annexe à l’article R314-3 (version en vigueur depuis le 20 décembre 2021)", "url": "https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000044536833", "source_date": "2021-12-20", "retrieved": "2026-11-11" }, { "label": "Consumer Credit (Total Charge for Credit) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/1011), Schedule: the APR equation (paras 1-2), a year of 12 equal months (para 3(d)-(e)), at least one decimal place, 5 rounding up (para 3(f)); version of 26 July 2013, superseded on 1 April 2014 and the Regulations revoked since", "url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/1011/schedule/2013-07-26", "source_date": "2013-07-26", "retrieved": "2026-11-11" } ], "uk_rule_now": { "rule": "United Kingdom since the 2010 Regulations: the APR is calculated by the method set out in CONC App 1.2 of the FCA Handbook. The Handbook site renders with JavaScript only, so CONC App 1.2 itself was not opened; the FCA research note below states it.", "label": "FCA Research Note, “Navigating the Disclosure Trade-off: Balancing Flexibility and Standardisation in Cost-of-Credit Information”, 29 April 2026: “APR is calculated to the method set out in CONC App 1.2 of the FCA Handbook.”", "url": "https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/research-notes/navigating-disclosure-trade-off-balancing-flexibility-standardisation-cost-credit-information.pdf", "source_date": "2026-04-29", "retrieved": "2026-11-11" } }, "countries": { "FR": { "name": { "fr-FR": "France", "en-GB": "France" }, "currency": "EUR", "usury": { "compares": "the TAEG of the loan when it is granted: a loan whose rate exceeds the threshold of its category is usurious (equal is allowed)", "legal_basis": "Code de la consommation, art. L314-6; thresholds computed each quarter by the Banque de France", "applies_from": "2026-10-01", "applies_until": "2026-12-31", "source_url": "https://www.banque-france.fr/fr/statistiques/taux-et-cours/taux-dusure-2026-q4", "source_date": "2026-11-09", "retrieved": "2026-11-11", "see_also": [ "https://www.banque-france.fr/system/files/webstats/Taux_dusure_2026T4_20261109/FR_202610_RESULT_TABLEAU_INTERNET_USURE_20Oct26.pdf" ], "categories": { "consumer": { "label": { "fr-FR": "Crédits de trésorerie aux ménages (prêts à la consommation, crédit auto compris)", "en-GB": "Household cash loans (consumer loans, car loans included)" }, "by": "amount", "bands": [ { "id": "fr-conso-up-to-3000", "above": null, "up_to": 3000, "rate": 23.6, "average_rate_previous_quarter": 17.7, "label": { "fr-FR": "prêts de 3 000 € ou moins", "en-GB": "loans of €3,000 or less" }, "valid_from": "2026-10-01", "valid_until": "2026-12-31" }, { "id": "fr-conso-3000-to-6000", "above": 3000, "up_to": 6000, "rate": 15.76, "average_rate_previous_quarter": 11.82, "label": { "fr-FR": "prêts de plus de 3 000 € et jusqu’à 6 000 €", "en-GB": "loans over €3,000 and up to €6,000" }, "valid_from": "2026-10-01", "valid_until": "2026-12-31" }, { "id": "fr-conso-over-6000", "above": 6000, "up_to": null, "rate": 8.56, "average_rate_previous_quarter": 6.42, "label": { "fr-FR": "prêts de plus de 6 000 €", "en-GB": "loans over €6,000" }, "valid_from": "2026-10-01", "valid_until": "2026-12-31" } ] }, "property": { "label": { "fr-FR": "Crédits immobiliers aux ménages, à taux fixe", "en-GB": "Household property loans, fixed rate" }, "by": "months", "bands": [ { "id": "fr-immo-fixe-under-10y", "from_months": 1, "below_months": 120, "rate": 4.09, "average_rate_previous_quarter": 3.07, "label": { "fr-FR": "prêts à taux fixe de moins de 10 ans", "en-GB": "fixed-rate loans of under 10 years" }, "valid_from": "2026-10-01", "valid_until": "2026-12-31" }, { "id": "fr-immo-fixe-10-to-20y", "from_months": 120, "below_months": 240, "rate": 4.68, "average_rate_previous_quarter": 3.51, "label": { "fr-FR": "prêts à taux fixe de 10 ans à moins de 20 ans", "en-GB": "fixed-rate loans of 10 to under 20 years" }, "valid_from": "2026-10-01", "valid_until": "2026-12-31" }, { "id": "fr-immo-fixe-20y-plus", "from_months": 240, "below_months": null, "rate": 5.4, "average_rate_previous_quarter": 4.05, "label": { "fr-FR": "prêts à taux fixe de 20 ans et plus", "en-GB": "fixed-rate loans of 20 years and more" }, "valid_from": "2026-10-01", "valid_until": "2026-12-31" } ] }, "business": { "label": { "fr-FR": "Prêts aux professionnels (entreprises, et personnes physiques pour leurs besoins professionnels)", "en-GB": "Business loans (companies, and individuals borrowing for their business)" }, "by": null, "bands": [], "rule": "The usury rules (code de la consommation, art. L314-6 to L314-8) do not apply to loans to a natural person acting for professional needs or to a legal person carrying on an industrial, commercial, craft, agricultural or non-commercial professional activity (art. L314-9); only their overdrafts (découverts en compte) have a threshold (code monétaire et financier, art. L313-5-1): 19,08 % in the 4th quarter of 2026. Legal persons without such an activity (an association, for instance) have thresholds of their own in the Banque de France table, not used here.", "legal_basis": "Code de la consommation, art. L314-9 (en vigueur depuis le 1er juillet 2016); code monétaire et financier, art. L313-5-1 (découverts en compte, en vigueur depuis le 1er janvier 2014)", "law_url": "https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000032225818", "valid_from": "2016-07-01", "valid_until": null, "overdraft_law_url": "https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000027643291", "overdraft_threshold": { "rate": 19.08, "average_rate_previous_quarter": 14.31, "valid_from": "2026-10-01", "valid_until": "2026-12-31", "note": "Banque de France, 4th quarter 2026: “Prêts aux personnes physiques agissant pour leurs besoins professionnels et aux personnes morales ayant une activité industrielle, commerciale, artisanale, agricole ou professionnelle non commerciale: Découverts en compte”. Shown for information; this calculator does not model overdrafts." } } } } }, "GB": { "name": { "fr-FR": "Royaume-Uni", "en-GB": "United Kingdom" }, "currency": "GBP", "usury": null, "hp_voluntary_termination": { "rule": "Under a regulated hire-purchase or conditional sale agreement the debtor may end the agreement at any time before the final payment falls due (s.99), and then owes at most the amount by which one-half of the total price exceeds the sums paid and due (s.100(1)), unless the agreement provides for a smaller payment; more if reasonable care of the goods was not taken (s.100(4)).", "fraction": { "numerator": 1, "denominator": 2 }, "total_price": "the total sum payable by the debtor under the agreement, including any sum payable on the exercise of an option to purchase (s.189): deposit, payments, the final (balloon) payment and fees", "legal_basis": "Consumer Credit Act 1974, s.99 and s.100(1); s.189 for “total price”", "applies_to": "regulated hire-purchase and conditional sale agreements; not loans, where the goods are the borrower’s from the start", "extent": "United Kingdom: the Act extends to Northern Ireland (s.193(2)) and provides for Scotland (s.189, goods “bailed or (in Scotland) hired”)", "valid_from": null, "valid_until": null, "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/39/section/100", "source_date": "2026-11-11", "retrieved": "2026-11-11", "see_also": [ "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/39/section/99", "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/39/section/189", "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/39/section/193" ], "see_also_dates": { "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/39/section/99": "2026-11-08", "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/39/section/189": "2026-11-09" }, "source_date_meaning": "legislation.gov.uk shows each section as up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before this date (section 100: 11 November 2026)" } } } }