In Belgium

The outstanding capital (capital restant du) is the portion of a mortgage loan that has not yet been repaid. It decreases with each monthly repayment, as each payment includes a portion of capital and a portion of interest.

In a typical Belgian mortgage with constant monthly payments (annuity), the capital portion of each payment increases over time while the interest portion decreases.

How it works

Amortisation schedule. The bank provides an amortisation table showing, for each payment, the split between capital and interest. In the early years, most of the payment is interest; in later years, most is capital.

Example. A 200,000 EUR loan over 25 years at 3.5%: after 10 years, approximately 140,000 EUR remains outstanding. After 20 years, approximately 55,000 EUR.

Early repayment. Belgian law caps the early repayment penalty at 3 months’ interest on the outstanding capital. On 140,000 EUR at 3.5%, the maximum penalty is 1,225 EUR.

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Good to know
If you sell the property, the outstanding capital is repaid from the sale proceeds. Any surplus goes to the owner. If the sale price is lower than the outstanding capital, the borrower must cover the difference from personal funds.

Practical example

Alain took out a 180,000 EUR mortgage in 2016. After 10 years of repayments, his outstanding capital is 125,000 EUR. His property is now worth 240,000 EUR. His net equity: 240,000 - 125,000 = 115,000 EUR — built partly through capital repayment, partly through appreciation.