Arrears and forbearance measures
Article 35
1. Member States shall require creditors to exercise, where appropriate, reasonable forbearance before enforcement proceedings are initiated. Such forbearance measures shall take into account, among other elements, the consumer’s individual circumstances. Creditors shall not be required to offer forbearance measures reiteratively to consumers, unless in justified cases. Creditors shall not be required to perform a creditworthiness assessment in accordance with Article 18 when modifying the existing terms and conditions of a credit agreement in accordance with the third subparagraph, point (b) of this paragraph, provided that the total amount payable by the consumer is not significantly increased when modifying the credit agreement. The forbearance measures referred to in the first subparagraph: (a) may include, among other possibilities a total or partial refinancing of a credit agreement; (b) shall include modification of the existing terms and conditions of a credit agreement, which may, among other possibilities include: (i) extending the term of the credit agreement; (ii) changing the type of the credit agreement; (iii) deferring payment of all or part of the repayment of instalments for a period; (iv) reducing the borrowing rate; (v) offering a payment holiday; (vi) partial repayments; (vii) currency conversions; (viii) partial forgiveness and debt consolidation. 2. The list of potential measures in paragraph 1, third subparagraph, point (b), shall be without prejudice to national law and shall not require Member States to provide for all of those measures in national law. 3. Where Member States allow creditors to define and impose charges on the consumer arising from a default, those Member States may require that those charges are no greater than is necessary to compensate the creditor for costs it has incurred as a result of the default. 4. Where Member States allow creditors to impose additional charges on the consumer in the event of default, those Member States shall place a cap on those charges. 5. Member States shall not prevent the parties to a credit agreement from expressly agreeing that the return or transfer to the creditor of goods covered by a linked credit agreement or proceeds from the sale of such goods is sufficient to repay the credit.