UAE mortgage step by step: limits, fees and checks

This guide is for anyone planning to buy a home in Dubai with a bank loan: residents buying their first home, owners adding a second one, and buyers looking at off-plan projects. It follows the process from the first application to the mortgage being registered with the Dubai Land Department (DLD).

It answers three questions. How much can you borrow under the Central Bank of the UAE's rules? What happens at each step? What does the DLD charge to register the loan?

Every limit and fee below comes from the Central Bank rulebook or a DLD service page, as they read when we checked in October 2026. The Central Bank sets maximums. Each bank can lend less.

How much can you borrow in the UAE?

The Central Bank's Regulations Regarding Mortgage Loans cap the loan-to-value ratio (LTV): the loan as a share of the property's appraised value. The caps depend on whether you are a UAE national or an expatriate, whether this is your first home, its value, and whether it is off-plan.

Expatriate, first home, value under AED 5 million

Up to 80% of the value

Expatriate, first home, value above AED 5 million

Up to 70%

Expatriate, second home or investment property

Up to 60%, whatever the value

UAE national, first home, AED 5 million or less

Up to 85%

UAE national, first home, above AED 5 million

Up to 75%

UAE national, second home or investment property

Up to 65%

Off-plan, any buyer

Up to 50%

Each borrower can claim only one property in the first-home category. The rules split buyers into UAE nationals and expatriates and do not set separate ratios for people who live outside the UAE. The regulations say lenders may adopt more conservative limits, so a bank's offer can be lower than the table.

The down payment must come from your own resources, not from a personal loan or a credit card. The rules state this directly.

How much of your income can go to repayments?

The debt burden ratio (DBR) caps all your debt repayments at 50% of gross salary and other regular income. That includes the new mortgage, car loans, personal loans and credit cards. Banks are told not to apply the 50% automatically.

Banks must stress test the loan at 2 to 4 percentage points above the current interest rate. For an investment property, they deduct at least two months of rent from the income they count, to allow for empty periods.

There are two more caps. The loan can run for 25 years at most. The total loan cannot exceed 7 years of annual income for expatriates, or 8 years for UAE nationals. If repayments run past retirement age, the bank must check you can keep paying at a DBR of 50% of your retirement income.

Banks count only reliable, sustainable income. Bonuses and temporary income are discounted, or left out if they are not certain. Repayments cannot rely on your end-of-service benefit.

Worked example: a home priced at AED 2,000,000

Say an expatriate buys a ready home valued at AED 2,000,000 and it is their first home. The figures below follow directly from the Central Bank caps and the DLD fee pages. They are maximums and indicative fees, not an offer.

Largest loan at 80% LTV

AED 1,600,000

Down payment from your own money

AED 400,000

Annual income needed for that loan at 7 times income

At least about AED 228,600

DLD mortgage registration at 0.25% of the loan

AED 4,000

Same home bought as a second home (60%)

Loan up to AED 1,200,000

Same price, off-plan (50%)

Loan up to AED 1,000,000

The income line is AED 1,600,000 divided by 7. Even at that income, the 50% DBR test and the stress test still apply, so the bank may approve less. The LTV is measured against the bank's appraised value, so a valuation below the price also lowers the loan.

The steps at a glance

1. Apply and give the bank a full record of your income and debts.
2. Receive and sign for the Key Facts Statement before any contract.
3. The bank orders an independent on-site valuation.
4. Read and sign the loan documents.
5. The mortgage is registered with the DLD at the property transfer.

Step 1: Apply and show your income and debts

The Central Bank requires lenders to collect a full income and liabilities history for each applicant and to keep a record of how they verified it. Expect to show salary, other regular income and every existing loan and card.

The bank also looks at job security and normal household spending. Its assessment cannot rely on future price rises or an expected pay rise.

Step 2: Read the Key Facts Statement

Under the Central Bank's Consumer Protection Standards, the Key Facts Statement should be the first document you receive. It is a short, plain-language summary, preferably within 2 pages. You sign to confirm you received it before you sign the contract.

Banks must also show their schedule of fees, including third-party fees, in branches and on their website. Compare these between banks before you choose.

Step 3: The independent valuation

Before the bank makes any irrevocable commitment to lend, the property must be valued on site by a qualified professional who is independent of you, the seller, the developer and the loan decision. Each bank keeps a board-approved list of valuers.

The valuation cannot include expected future price rises. The title must also be free from encumbrances so the bank can register its mortgage.

Step 4: Sign the loan documents

The loan documents should state the property, your contribution, the loan amount, the term, the instalment, the interest or profit rate, insurance requirements and how the money is paid out. Fees go in a separate schedule attached to the contract.

You sign each page and receive a copy signed by both you and the bank. The bank should also give you the total cost of the loan over its life. It cannot change the terms later unless you agree in writing.

Where a cooling-off period applies, the standards set it at 5 complete business days after signing. You can waive it only by signing a written waiver that warns you about an immediate commitment. Ask the bank whether one applies to your loan before you sign anything.

Step 5: Register the mortgage with the DLD

The DLD's mortgage registration service needs a letter from the lending bank, three certified copies of the mortgage contract and the owner's ID or passport. The bank can enter it through the DLD's online mortgage system, or you can apply at a Real Estate Registration Trustee centre.

The page lists the service time as 20 to 25 minutes. These are the fees it shows, when we checked in October 2026. They are indicative.

Mortgage registration

0.25% of the mortgage value

Title deed issue

AED 250

Knowledge and innovation fees

AED 10 each, per drawing

Trustee service partner fee

AED 4,000 plus VAT

DLD fee on the sale itself

4% of the sale value

Buying off-plan with a mortgage

For off-plan homes the cap is 50% LTV for every buyer, whatever the value or purpose. The Central Bank gives the reason: the longer build period and the higher risk that a project is not completed.

Where the bank pays in stages, your own share of the price goes to the developer first. The bank then pays against construction milestones confirmed on site by the bank or an independent professional.

At the DLD, the developer registers the sale and the mortgage together through the Oqood portal. The mortgage fee is the same 0.25% of the mortgage value, and the service accepts a passport for non-residents.

Paying off early or switching banks

The Central Bank's fee caps limit the early settlement fee on a home loan to 1% of the outstanding balance or AED 10,000, whichever is less. The same cap applies to partial settlement. Fees in that table are before VAT.

Example: with AED 1,200,000 still owed, 1% is AED 12,000, so the fee is capped at AED 10,000. With AED 600,000 owed, 1% is AED 6,000, which is below the cap.

The mortgage rules say there should be no obstacle to refinancing with another bank. If the bank changes its fees or commissions, it must tell you at least two months before. When you sell a mortgaged home in Dubai, the DLD needs a liability letter from the bank, and its page lists an AED 1,290 fee for the mortgage release.

What to check before you sign

• Add up every monthly debt payment, not just the new mortgage, against 50% of your income.
• Keep the down payment in your own funds, not a personal loan or card.
• Budget for a valuation below the agreed price. The loan follows the valuation.
• Read the Key Facts Statement and the separate fee schedule before the contract.
• Ask for the total cost of the loan over its life.
• Ask whether a cooling-off period applies, and do not sign a waiver you have not read.
• For off-plan, plan for at least 50% of the price from your own funds.

If you have a complaint about a bank, Sanadak is the ombudsman unit set up under Central Bank regulations. It took over the consumer complaint handling of the Central Bank's Consumer Protection Department in March 2024.

It handles complaints against licensed financial institutions free of charge. You can file through its website or mobile app.

Questions people ask

Where to start

Start with your numbers: the LTV for your case, 50% of your income for all debts, and the cash for the down payment and DLD fees. Then compare Key Facts Statements from more than one bank.

Rules and fees change. Ask us on WhatsApp and we will check what applies to your case.