Abu Dhabi: The Ministry of Finance signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Shaikh Zayed Housing Programme and Emirates Development Bank to provide housing loans to Emiratis.
Under the memorandum, the ministry will offer Dh5 billion over the next five years for financing housing loans and residential complexes. The agreement will provide the required funding for 10,000 applications, other than the 17,000 applications financed by the Shaikh Zayed Housing Programme.
The agreement also includes terms and conditions for the benefits offered by the housing loan programme. These include that beneficiaries should have a salary of at least Dh20,000, must own land, and accept a monthly deduction of 16.6 per cent of their salary once the housing loan is approved.
In regards to residential complexes, Emirates Development Bank is responsible for financing up to 65 per cent of the total value, under the condition that the owner’s land is approved for development. The MoU also includes a clause, which stipulates that the borrower must start repaying the loan from the application approval date.
The MoU specifies the programme’s commitment to issue annual approvals as per the standards of housing grants, in accordance with the programme’s annual financial allocations from the approved budget.
The memorandum is a result of joint efforts to strengthen the relationship between government institutions, and accelerate the process of obtaining housing assistance for UAE families. It is also in line in the UAE Vision 2021, and various government initiatives to ensure that Emiratis own a home within two years of submitting an application.
