We study how amortization payments affect household borrowing exploiting notches in the Swedish amortization requirement. We argue that amortization payments are costly for borrowers under a number of scenarios, and that they therefore affect credit demand. We provide causal evidence that a percentage point increase in amortization payments reduce LTV ratios by 2-3 percentage points, implying a sizable amortization elasticity of mortgage demand. Borrowers who seek to avoid making payments generally have higher debt, higher income and higher debt-to-income ratios. On the aggregate level, credit growth falls sharply after the introduction of the amortization requirement.