Guides

Loan to value explained.

How much of a Dubai property price a bank will actually lend you.

The short answer

An expatriate resident buying a first home in Dubai can borrow up to 80 percent of the property price, provided the price is AED 5 million or less. A UAE national can borrow up to 85 percent on the same terms. Off plan caps at 50 percent for everyone. The rest of this guide is what changes those numbers, and what the cap does not cover.

What the cap actually is

Loan to value is the share of a property's value a bank will lend you. In the UAE it is not a matter of negotiation or of how well you present your case: the Central Bank sets the ceiling, and no bank on any panel can exceed it. What a broker changes is which bank says yes at that ceiling, and on what rate and terms.

The cap is applied to the lower of the agreed price and the bank's own valuation. That single sentence is the one most buyers learn late and expensively: if you agree AED 2,100,000 and the valuation comes back at AED 2,000,000, your maximum loan falls with the valuation and the difference comes out of your pocket.

Where practice differs from regulation

Three of the figures buyers are most often quoted are not in the regulation at all. They are what banks on our panel do, which means they vary between lenders and over time, and which means they are worth testing rather than accepting.

Lender practiceNon residents are typically offered around 60 percent. The regulation does not distinguish non residents at all.
Lender practiceAffordability is tested at about 7.3 percent, not the rate you are offered. We have seen 6.4 percent at the low end and 8.5 percent at the high end across the panel.
RegulationOff plan caps at 50 percent for everybody, resident or national, whatever the price. Article 3.2.C.

What the cap does not cover

The cap applies to the property price. The Land Department fee, the trustee fee and the registration costs are paid on top of your deposit, in cash, and they are the part first time buyers most often underestimate.

The deposit itself has to come from your own resources. It cannot be borrowed, and banks check.

RegulationThe deposit must come from your own resources. You cannot borrow it on a personal loan or a credit card. Article 2.4.

CBUAE Circular 31/2013 Articles 2.4, 3.2 and 3.2.C, and the Dubai Land Department fee schedule, checked 7 October 2026.

What you can borrow against the property
Who is buying, and what	Maximum loan	Where it comes from
Expatriate resident, first home, up to AED 5m	80%	RegulationArticle 3.2
Expatriate resident, first home, above AED 5m	70%	RegulationArticle 3.2
Expatriate resident, second or investment property	60%	RegulationArticle 3.2
UAE national, first home, up to AED 5m	85%	RegulationArticle 3.2
UAE national, first home, above AED 5m	75%	RegulationArticle 3.2
UAE national, second or investment property	65%	RegulationArticle 3.2
Off plan, anyone	50%	RegulationArticle 3.2.C
Non resident	around 60%	Lender practiceTLT panel practice

CBUAE Circular 31/2013 Articles 3.2 and 3.2.C, checked 26 August 2026. Non resident lending is panel practice, not regulation.

A worked example on AED 2,000,000

Property price	AED 2,000,000
20% depositExpatriate resident, first home under AED 5m. From your own funds, Article 2.4	AED 400,000
DLD registration fee - 4%	AED 80,000
Real estate broker fee - typically 2%	AED 40,000
VAT on broker fee - 5%	AED 2,000
Mortgage registration - 0.25% of AED 1.6m	AED 4,000
Registration Trustee feeAt or above AED 500,000. VAT is 5%	AED 4,000 + VAT
DLD Service Fee	AED 580
Bank valuation fee	Varies by bank
Bank arrangement/processing fee	Varies by bank

Listed one line at a time on purpose: the money a buyer needs is the deposit plus every line above it, not the deposit alone. Valuation and bank arrangement fees vary by lender, which is why no total is printed here. Ask us for the figure on your own purchase and you get one that includes them.

Questions

Questions people ask us.

Does the 80 percent cap include the fees?

No. The cap applies to the property price, and the Land Department fee, the trustee fee and the registration costs are paid on top of your deposit. Budget for them separately.

Can I borrow the deposit?

No. The deposit has to come from your own resources, and banks check. Article 2.4 of the Central Bank circular is explicit, and a personal loan taken shortly before an application is usually visible in your credit report.

What if the valuation comes in below the price I agreed?

The cap is applied to the lower of the price and the bank valuation, so a short valuation increases the cash you need rather than the loan you get. It is one of the most common reasons a file needs restructuring, and it is worth knowing before you sign.

Is the cap different for a second property?

Yes. An expatriate resident caps at 60 percent on a second or investment property, and a UAE national at 65 percent, whatever the value.

Does off plan work differently?

Yes, and it is the sharpest difference on this page: off plan caps at 50 percent for everybody, resident or national, whatever the price.

Written by

TLT Knowledge Team

Mortgage brokers in Dubai, licensed by the Department of Economy and Tourism. We arrange, we do not lend.

Checked against the source

7 October 2026

Every regulated figure on this page is quoted from CBUAE Circular 31/2013 and the Dubai Land Department fee schedule, and checked against the source on 7 October 2026.

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