LTV
Loan-to-value is the share of a property's value a bank will lend; UAE Central Bank rules cap it, and non-residents are usually offered less than the cap.
What LTV means for a buyer
Loan-to-value (LTV) is the mortgage divided by the property's value, expressed as a percentage. The remainder is the deposit you must fund yourself.
The UAE Central Bank sets maximum LTVs. For expatriates the caps are:
- 80% for a first home valued up to AED 5 million
- 70% for a first home above AED 5 million
- 60% for a second home or investment property
- 50% for off-plan property, whoever the buyer is
Monthly debt repayments may not exceed 50% of income, and the maximum term is 25 years.
Those are ceilings for UAE residents. A buyer living abroad is assessed under each bank's own non-resident policy, which is stricter: maximum LTVs are commonly between 50% and 65%, the choice of lenders is narrower, and some nationalities and income types are excluded.
Three practical points. The bank lends against the lower of the price and its own valuation, so a low valuation increases the cash you need. Purchase costs, including the 4% transfer fee and agent's commission, have to be paid from your own funds; since February 2025 banks have not been permitted to finance them. And most off-plan buyers do not use a mortgage during construction at all: lending normally begins at handover, although Abu Dhabi introduced a framework for registering mortgages on off-plan units in 2026.
Related terms
Guides that use this term
Where LTV comes up in practice, with the costs, rules and steps around it.
Questions about the buying process?
An adviser can explain how this applies to the property you're considering.
- Current price list and availability, direct from the developer
- No fee to you on off-plan purchases: the developer pays us
- One salaried adviser, not on commission, from first call to handover
