Mortgages

Mortgages in the UAE

The rules that decide how much you can borrow for a home in the UAE, and what buying costs on top. Start with the loan-to-value limits, then the upfront fees.

How much a UAE bank can lend you for a home is capped by the Central Bank: up to 80% of the value for an expatriate’s first home under AED 5 million, and up to 85% for a UAE national’s first home up to AED 5 million. The loan can run for at most 25 years, and the repayments must fit within 50% of your income after a rate stress test.

How much banks can lend

Buyer and property Maximum loan-to-value
UAE national, first home up to AED 5 million 85%
UAE national, first home over AED 5 million 75%
UAE national, second home or investment 65%
Expatriate, first home under AED 5 million 80%
Expatriate, first home over AED 5 million 70%
Expatriate, second home or investment 60%
Any buyer, off-plan property 50%

Your down payment must come from your own money, not from a personal loan or a credit card. Lenders can set lower limits than these. Buyers who live abroad fall under the expatriate caps (mortgages for non-residents), and off-plan buying has its own guide (financing off-plan property).

The affordability tests

All your monthly repayments, including the mortgage, must stay within 50% of your income, and the lender must test them at a higher rate.

Mortgage stress test

+2 to 4 points

When working out the debt burden ratio, mortgage lenders must stress-test the loan at 2 to 4 percentage points above its current interest rate; with an introductory rate, the test uses the rate that applies after it ends.

Applies to
All mortgage loan providers
Checked

On top of that, the loan cannot exceed 7 times annual income for an expatriate or 8 times for a UAE national. The mortgage affordability calculator applies these tests to your numbers; a bank’s own estimate comes with a mortgage pre-approval.

Term and repayments

A mortgage can last up to 25 years. Repayments must come from salary or verifiable business or rental income, not from end-of-service benefits. If your rate is variable, see what EIBOR is and how it affects your mortgage.

Costs on top of the deposit

In Dubai, the Dubai Land Department lists a transfer fee of 4% of the price, shown as 2% for the buyer and 2% for the seller, and charges 0.25% of the mortgage value to register the mortgage, plus fixed fees. The full list is in our guide to DLD and mortgage registration fees, and the home purchase cost calculator adds them up for your price and loan. Other emirates set their own property fees, which these pages do not cover.

Fees the Central Bank caps

  • Early or partial settlement: 1% of the outstanding balance or AED 10,000, whichever is less.
  • Late payment: AED 700.
  • Letters: clearance letter AED 95, NOC AED 150, liability letter AED 85.

These caps are before VAT.

Guides on mortgages

  1. Mortgages for expats in the UAE: LTV limits and eligibility

    How much a UAE bank can lend an expat for a home: Central Bank LTV caps, the 25-year term, the 50% DBR and 7x income limit, with a worked AED example.

    Updated

  2. DLD fee, mortgage registration and the other upfront costs of buying in Dubai

    What Dubai Land Department charges when you buy a home with a mortgage: the 4% transfer fee, 0.25% mortgage registration and fixed fees, in an AED example.

    Updated

  3. Mortgage pre-approval in the UAE: what it is and how to get it

    What a UAE mortgage pre-approval tells you and what it does not promise: how banks size it, the documents, how long it lasts and the steps to a final offer.

    Updated

  4. Mortgages for non-residents buying property in the UAE

    Can you get a UAE mortgage while living abroad? The Central Bank caps that apply, where foreigners can buy in Dubai and what banks ask of non-residents.

    Updated

  5. Financing off-plan property: mortgages vs developer payment plans

    How off-plan homes are financed in the UAE: the 50% loan cap, when bank money starts, Dubai escrow and Oqood rules, and payment plans vs a mortgage.

    Updated

  6. What is EIBOR and how does it affect your mortgage?

    EIBOR explained: the UAE's interbank benchmark, who runs it, its six tenors, how it is calculated and how a variable mortgage rate built on it resets, in AED.

    Updated

Coming next in this topic

On our content plan. Each title gets a link here when the guide is published.

  • Fixed vs variable rate mortgages in the UAE
  • Mortgage buyouts and refinancing in the UAE
  • Home finance for UAE nationals: LTV limits and housing programmes

Calculators for this topic

Mortgage affordability calculator

A rough guide to the home price and loan your income could support.

Open calculator

Home purchase cost calculator

The cash you need to buy a home in Dubai with a mortgage: the down payment, DLD fees and your other costs.

Open calculator

Debt burden ratio calculator

How much of your monthly income already goes to debt repayments.

Open calculator

Early settlement calculator

The capped fee for paying off a personal, car or home loan early, in full or in part, and the interest you save.

Open calculator

Loan payment calculator

Monthly instalment and total cost of a loan, at a flat or a reducing rate.

Open calculator

Frequently asked questions

What are the mortgage requirements in the UAE?

A deposit that meets the Central Bank loan-to-value cap, repayments that fit within 50% of your income after a rate stress test, and a loan no larger than 7 times annual income for expatriates or 8 times for UAE nationals.

What is the maximum loan-to-value for a mortgage in the UAE?

85% for UAE nationals buying a first home up to AED 5 million and 80% for expatriates buying a first home under AED 5 million, with lower caps above that and for later homes. Off-plan purchases are capped at 50%.

How long can a UAE mortgage last?

Up to 25 years.

What is the early settlement fee on a home loan?

At most 1% of the outstanding balance or AED 10,000, whichever is less.

Sources

Official and primary sources we used for this page, with the date we last opened each one.

  1. CBUAE Regulations Regarding Mortgage Loans (Circular 31/2013, as amended), Article (3) Important Ratios Central Bank of the UAE. Accessed .
  2. CBUAE Regulations Regarding Mortgage Loans (Circular 31/2013, as amended), Article (2) Risk Management Requirements Central Bank of the UAE. Accessed .
  3. CBUAE Regulation No. 29/2011 Regarding Bank Loans & Other Services Offered to Individual Customers, Article (7) Repayment Installments Central Bank of the UAE. Accessed .
  4. Buy or Sell Property via Dubai Now Dubai Land Department. Accessed .
  5. Mortgage registration application Dubai Land Department. Accessed .
  6. CBUAE Regulation No. 29/2011 Regarding Bank Loans & Other Services Offered to Individual Customers, Appendix No. (2): Maximum Limits for Fees and Commissions Central Bank of the UAE. Accessed .