Why your home loan tenure increased
The RBI’s decision on 7 October 2026 raised the repo rate from 5.25% to 5.50%. If your EMI stayed the same after your lender passed through the increase at reset, your loan may have been extended.
Worked example: ₹50 lakh home loan over 20 years
This illustration applies the actual RBI repo-rate increase announced on 7 October 2026: 5.25% to 5.50%. With an assumed repo-linked spread of 2.65 percentage points, the loan rate moves from 7.90% to 8.15% after full pass-through.
| Measure | Before hike | After hike |
|---|---|---|
| Loan principal / starting balance | ₹50,00,000 | ₹50,00,000 |
| Interest rate | 7.90% | 8.15% |
| Monthly EMI (kept constant) | ₹41,511 | ₹41,511 |
| Repayment term | 240 months (20 years) | About 251.75 months |
| Additional tenure | — | About 11.75 months (approximately 12 months) |
Calculation method: keep the EMI at approximately ₹41,511, increase the interest rate from 7.90% to 8.15%, and recalculate the number of monthly payments required to repay the balance. In this start-of-loan illustration, the term rises from 240 months to about 251.75 months—an increase of approximately 11.75 months. The tenure extension for an existing borrower will differ according to the current outstanding principal and months already paid.
This is a clean start-of-loan illustration, not a claim about every existing borrower’s actual impact. It assumes monthly amortisation, full 25-basis-point pass-through, a constant rate after reset, and no fees or other rate changes. For an existing loan, use the actual outstanding principal and remaining tenure; the bank’s reset date and benchmark terms control when the hike reaches you.
Calculate the tenure change while keeping EMI constant
The EMI remains unchanged in both calculations. The calculator compares the repayment term at your entered pre-hike rate with the term at 0.25 percentage points higher. Defaults represent a ₹50 lakh loan, 7.90% rate and approximately ₹41,511 EMI. Replace these with your actual outstanding principal, current rate and EMI.
What the 7 October decision changes
On 7 October 2026, the RBI raised the policy repo rate by 25 basis points, from 5.25% to 5.50%. For a repo-linked EBLR loan with a 2.65-percentage-point spread, that would move the rate from 7.90% to 8.15% after full pass-through. The increase normally reaches a borrower at the contractual reset date, so your bank statement and reset schedule determine when it affects your loan.
The additional tenure is not a single fixed number: it depends on outstanding principal, EMI, the rate applied before reset, remaining term, and whether the lender keeps the EMI unchanged. Use LoanRepo’s diagnosis tool with your actual loan details to calculate the cumulative impact rather than relying on a generic borrowing-year table.
Questions
Why did my home loan tenure increase?
When the repo rate rises, a floating-rate home loan's interest rate rises at its next reset. Most banks keep the EMI the same and extend the number of months instead, because it is the usual default. Under the RBI's 2023 rules your lender must tell you about the change and offer you a choice between a higher EMI and a longer tenure. The loan therefore takes longer to repay.
Why did my EMI not change when interest rates rose?
Banks usually absorb a rate change into the tenure rather than the EMI. You can ask your bank to raise the EMI instead, which keeps the original end date.
Can I reduce my home loan tenure back to the original?
Yes. A part-payment reduces the principal, and with the EMI unchanged the loan ends sooner. The earlier in the loan you make it, the more tenure it removes.
How do I find my current tenure?
Your quarterly home loan statement must show the number of EMIs left, under RBI rules issued in 2023. Compare it with the tenure in your sanction letter.