Guide
Mortgages: the deposit, the rate and the term
The Central Bank of the UAE sets the most a bank may lend. The bank sets the rate. Both change what a purchase returns.
Reviewed
Each term is defined in the glossary. All guides.
How much a bank may lend
The Central Bank of the UAE caps a mortgage as a share of the property’s value. The rest is your deposit.
| Buyer and property | Largest loan, % | Smallest deposit, % |
|---|---|---|
| ExpatriateFirst mortgaged property, under AED 5,000,000 | 80 | 20 |
| ExpatriateFirst mortgaged property, at AED 5,000,000 or more | 70 | 30 |
| ExpatriateA second or later mortgaged property | 60 | 40 |
| UAE nationalFirst mortgaged property, under AED 5,000,000 | 85 | 15 |
| UAE nationalFirst mortgaged property, at AED 5,000,000 or more | 75 | 25 |
| UAE nationalA second or later mortgaged property | 65 | 35 |
| Any buyerA property bought off-plan | 50 | 50 |
Source: Central Bank of the UAE, Regulations Regarding Mortgage Loans, read . Both columns are a percentage of the property’s value.
These are the regulator’s limits. A bank may lend less, and a buyer who does not live in the UAE is usually asked for a larger deposit.
The regulation treats a property bought as an investment like a second home. If this would be your first mortgage in the UAE and you are buying to let, ask the bank which row it puts you in.
The same regulations cap all of a borrower’s loan payments at 50% of income, and have the bank test the loan at a rate 2 to 4 points above today’s.
The calculator will not let a deposit fall below the minimum for the price you enter.
The rate
Use the rate your bank quotes you. The calculator starts from a reference rate that we set from published bank rates, and shows the day it was last reviewed beside the field.
| Rate | % a year |
|---|---|
| Central Bank base rate, from 17 September 2026 | 3.90 |
| EIBOR, three months | 4.19 |
| EIBOR, six months | 4.55 |
| EIBOR, one year | 4.84 |
Source: Central Bank of the UAE. EIBOR as published for 9 October 2026, read .
EIBOR is what UAE banks charge each other to borrow dirhams. A bank prices a variable mortgage as EIBOR plus its own margin, so a borrower pays more than the figures in the table.
Fixed and variable
A fixed rate holds for an agreed number of years and then moves to a variable rate. Ask what the rate becomes when the fixed period ends, and work the payment at that rate as well.
The term and the monthly payment
The Central Bank allows a term of up to 25 years. Each monthly payment is part interest and part repayment of the loan, and the interest share is largest at the start.
On a loan of AED 800,000 over 25 years at 4.25%, the payment is AED 4,334 a month. In the first year AED 33,645 of what you pay is interest and AED 18,362 repays the loan.
| Mortgage rate, % | A month, AED | A year, AED |
|---|---|---|
| 4.25 | 4,334 | 52,007 |
| 5.25 | 4,794 | 57,528 |
| 6.25 | 5,277 | 63,328 |
A repayment loan of AED 800,000 over 25 years, worked by the calculator’s own formula. 4.25% is our reference rate, reviewed 15 August 2026. The other two rows are what-ifs, not forecasts.
The payment holds only while the rate holds. Two points more on the rate adds AED 943 a month here.
Kept for the full term at 4.25%, the loan costs AED 500,171 in interest.
What the bank charges
- Registering the mortgage with the Land Department: 0.25% of the loan plus AED 270.
- An arrangement fee. The calculator allows 1% of the loan and VAT.
- A valuation. The calculator allows AED 3,150 with VAT.
- Life cover, first year. The calculator allows up to AED 3,000 for the first year.
On a loan of AED 800,000 those four come to AED 16,820. Only the first is a published fee. The other three are allowances until your bank gives you its own figures. What it costs to buy lists every line of a purchase.
Paying a mortgage off early, as a sale does, carries a fee. The Central Bank caps it at 1% of the balance or AED 10,000, whichever is less.
What borrowing does to the return
Borrowing does not change net yield. It changes the cash you put in and the cash flow you are left with, so it changes cash-on-cash return.
It also multiplies a change in value. With a deposit of 20%, a 10% fall in the price is 50% of the deposit. A 10% rise is the same share gained.
A report sets out the deposit and the loan a bank may offer the kind of buyer you are, and its stress test works the purchase at a higher rate.