UAE mortgage guide

How much can I borrow for a mortgage in the UAE?

Your borrowing ceiling is the lowest result produced by three separate tests: property LTV, income multiple and stressed debt-burden capacity.

Answer first

The smallest ceiling wins.

A high salary does not override the property LTV cap. A large deposit does not override affordability. A lender calculates all applicable limits and can still apply a lower internal policy limit.

Calculate my UAE mortgage range →

The calculation

Three independent limits

  1. 01

    Property LTV

    The loan is capped as a percentage of the property value. The percentage changes by nationality, first-home status, property value and whether the purchase is off-plan.

    See the current LTV table
  2. 02

    Income multiple

    CBUAE rules cap the mortgage at eight times annual income for a UAE national and seven times annual income for an expatriate.

  3. 03

    Stressed debt burden

    The bank tests total monthly obligations against recognised income, including the proposed mortgage under a higher-rate stress scenario.

Worked example

Start with the property limit

An expatriate buying a first owner-occupied property for AED 2 million is subject to an 80% LTV ceiling.

Property price
AED 2,000,000
LTV ceiling
80%
Property-based maximum
AED 1,600,000

AED 1.6 million is only the property-based ceiling. The final planning range may be lower after income, existing debts, stressed repayments and lender policy are applied. Purchase costs also require cash beyond the AED 400,000 price deposit.

Before you calculate

Use complete inputs

  • Gross monthly income from regular, supportable sources
  • Monthly loan and finance payments
  • Credit-card limits and other committed facilities
  • Property price, expected valuation and intended use
  • Cash available for the deposit and transaction costs

Next step

See the limits side by side.

The deterministic assessment keeps the calculation separate from its AI explanation and does not require contact details to show a planning result.

Start the assessment →Browse all 318 terms

Sources and review

Governing evidence

  1. Central Bank of the UAE Rulebook — Article 3: Important RatiosLTV, stress testing, tenure and income multiples · checked 30 July 2026

Review trigger: a change to CBUAE Article 3 or the underlying mortgage-loan regulation. Editorial owner: Alp Ozenalp.