House Maintenance Requirement

House maintenance requirement

The internal rules of a brokerage house that govern the minimum amount of equity that must be present in a customer's margin account.

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House Maintenance Requirement

The money or securities an investor must keep in a margin account at a brokerage over and above what FINRA requires in order to be able to borrow for short sales or other purposes. The maintenance is kept as collateral until the brokerage calls the margin and the client pays back what is owed. FINRA requires that the maintenance kept must be at least 25% of the amount borrowed; some brokerages have house maintenance requirements of up to 50%. See also: Restricted account.

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house maintenance requirement

The minimum equity that must be kept in a customer's margin account as determined by the firm holding the account. A house maintenance requirement is imposed when a brokerage firm desires a more strict maintenance margin requirement than the one required by an exchange or by the National Association of Securities Dealers.