Off-Plan Mortgage Eligibility Checker
Since September 2026 an Abu Dhabi bank can be registered on your off-plan unit once you have paid half, and fund every instalment from there to handover. Dubai banks do the same on approved projects part-way through the build. Put in your numbers and see whether the door is open for you, how much the bank can fund, and what it costs a month.
Where is the property?
The rules, in plain English
Three layers decide the answer. The Central Bank sets the ceilings: an off-plan loan can never exceed 50% of the price, the whole loan can never exceed 7 times your annual income (8 for UAE nationals), and your total monthly commitments after the mortgage must stay under half your income, tested at a rate two points above the offer. The loan runs for 25 years at most and must be repaid by 65, or 70 if you are self-employed.
The emirate sets the door. In Abu Dhabi the ADREC framework lets the bank register its interest on your unit in the interim register once you have paid 50%, so the bank funds the remaining instalments and the handover payment from that point. Aldar and ADCB completed the first one in September 2026, with ADIB, DIB, Emirates NBD, Emirates Islamic and FAB also on the framework. In Dubai the bank lends against your Oqood registration on projects from its approved list, usually once the building is 40% complete and you have paid 50%, except on Palm Jebel Ali, The Acres and Nad Al Sheba Gardens, where ADCB removed the build condition in September 2026 and 50% paid is enough on its own. The Emirates NBD and Dubai Holding model opens at 30% complete for Nakheel, Meraas and Dubai Properties projects.
One route sits outside all of that. Modon and ADIB announced Abu Dhabi’s first dedicated off-plan home financing on 9 July 2026, and Wadeem Gardens launched on it on 17 September: you pay 5% to reserve and 5% at months 8, 14 and 20, ADIB funds 20% during construction, you pay a final 5% at month 48, and ADIB funds the remaining 55% at month 54. That is a quarter of the price from you, where every other route asks for half, and it is the reason a Modon home can be within reach on a deposit that would not open any other door. It is Sharia-compliant and ADIB decides who qualifies.
The bank sets the rest: which developers it accepts, its minimum income, its rate. Pre-approvals typically hold for 12 months and renew until handover, 18 months on the ADCB route, so the sensible order is pre-approve at booking, keep paying instalments, and draw the loan the day you cross 50%.
Questions buyers ask
Can I get a mortgage on an off-plan property in the UAE?
Yes. The Central Bank caps an ordinary off-plan loan at 50% of the price, so you fund the first half in cash and a bank can fund the rest. In Abu Dhabi the ADREC framework registers the bank on your unit once you have paid 50%. In Dubai banks finance projects on their approved lists, usually once the project is 40% built and you have paid 50%. On three projects, Palm Jebel Ali, The Acres and Nad Al Sheba Gardens, ADCB dropped the build condition in September 2026: 50% paid is enough whatever stage the building is at. On a Modon home the arrangement with ADIB goes further: you pay 20% across construction and ADIB funds up to 75%.
What is the Modon and ADIB off-plan financing scheme?
Announced on 9 July 2026 and shown on Wadeem Gardens at its launch on 17 September 2026, it is Abu Dhabi’s first dedicated off-plan home financing, Modon’s first-of-its-kind financial solution. On Wadeem Gardens the buyer pays 5% to reserve and 5% at months 8, 14 and 20, ADIB funds 20% during construction, the buyer pays a final 5% at month 48, and ADIB funds the remaining 55% at month 54: 25% from the buyer, 75% from the bank, subject to eligibility. It is Sharia-compliant. It is the lowest cash-in of any off-plan route in the UAE today: a quarter of the price from you, against half on every other route.
What is the ADREC off-plan mortgage framework?
A route launched by the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre in 2026 that lets a bank be recorded on an off-plan unit in the interim real estate register before handover. Once the buyer has paid 50% of the price, the bank funds the remaining instalments and the handover payment. Aldar and ADCB completed the first one in September 2026.
Which Dubai projects can I finance before the building is far enough along?
Three, as of September 2026, and only three. Under a partnership between ADCB and Dubai Holding Real Estate, buyers at Nakheel’s Palm Jebel Ali, Meraas’ The Acres and Nad Al Sheba Gardens can finance once they have paid 50% of the price, irrespective of construction progress. Pre-approvals hold for up to 18 months, pricing starts from 3.49% a year fixed for three years, and processing and valuation fees are waived. Every other Nakheel, Meraas and Dubai Properties community is still construction-linked and opens at a prescribed milestone, so read the headline carefully: it is a named-project offer, not a blanket one.
How much can I borrow against an off-plan unit?
The lowest of three caps: 50% of the price, 7 times your annual income (8 times for UAE nationals), and the loan that keeps your total monthly commitments under 50% of income at a rate stressed two points higher than the offer. The checker shows all three.
Do I have to wait until handover?
No, and that is the point of the new routes. You can be pre-approved as soon as you book (pre-approvals typically hold for 12 months and renew to handover) and draw the loan once you have paid 50%, so the mortgage terms are fixed while the building goes up.
What does an off-plan mortgage cost on top of the purchase fees?
Mortgage registration of 0.25% of the loan (plus AED 290 in Dubai), a valuation of around AED 3,000, a bank arrangement fee that is typically 1% but often waived on launch offers, and on the ADCB Dubai Holding route the processing and valuation fees are waived outright, and in Abu Dhabi the ADREC trustee fee of AED 1,575 for a transfer with a mortgage. The 4% DLD or 2% ADREC purchase fee is separate and paid at booking.
Can non-residents get an off-plan mortgage?
The Central Bank caps are the same, but only a few banks lend to non-residents before handover and most prefer the loan at completion. It is done case by case, which is where a broker who knows each bank’s current appetite earns their keep.