Mexico: National Workers' Housing Fund Institute (INFONAVIT) Sets Deadline for Employers to Cover Housing Loans of Absent or Incapacitated Workers

On May 15, 2025, the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) published a notice in which INFONAVIT informs Mexican employers that they must start covering the mortgage payments of housing loans for their workers who are in a situation of absence or incapacity, in accordance with Article 29 of the INFONAVIT Law, effective from the fourth bimonthly period of 2025. This payment must be made no later than September 17 of the same year.

Background of the Publication and Entry into Force of the Obligation to Pay INFONAVIT Loans

It is important to note that on February 21, 2025, the DOF published a significant reform to the INFONAVIT Law and the Federal Labor Law, which came into force on February 22 of the same year. This reform created new obligations for employers regarding socially oriented housing policies. Among them is the obligation established in Article 29 of the INFONAVIT Law, which states that employers must pay the mortgage payments of housing loans granted by INFONAVIT to their workers when they are absent or incapacitated (as defined by the Social Security Law).

Although the reform clearly stated that it would come into effect on February 22, 2025, some days later, the INFONAVIT published on its website the Regulatory Guideline 01/2025 through which the Institute indicated, among other things, that it was in the process of granting a timeframe to allow employers to implement the reform.

Finally, on May 15, 2025, the DOF published the notice by which INFONAVIT informs the employers that they must prepare to apply the provisions of Article 29 of the INFONAVIT Law effective as of the fourth bimonthly period (July and August) of 2025, so that, at the latest, by September 17, 2025 they must make the first payment of the loans granted by said Institute to their workers when these are in a situation of absence or incapacity.

Legal Remedies Against the Obligation Contained in Article 29 of the INFONAVIT Law

Some employers in Mexico have filed amparo lawsuits against the reform published on February 21, 2025, arguing that Article 29 of the INFONAVIT Law unjustifiably violates their rights. In these amparo proceedings, both provisional and definitive measures have been granted, ordering the INFONAVIT not to apply said article to the plaintiffs until the respective trials conclude.

Employers affected by this reform who have not yet filed an amparo lawsuit still have a chance over the coming weeks to submit their legal defense and potentially obtain provisional measures and an amparo protection against this legal amendment.