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Abu Dhabi on December 20
The housing sector for citizens in the UAE has achieved during the current year a qualitative leap in terms of initiatives and huge financial funds allocated for the implementation of housing plans and projects at the federal and local levels.
The year 2022 was marked by the issuance of an important set of regulatory decisions that focused on facilitating procedures for obtaining housing support and diversifying financing sources, as well as achieving the primary goal of reducing the waiting period for those eligible for support.
On June 5, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, “may God protect him”, ordered the completion of all requests for housing grants for previous years, within the “Sheikh Zayed Housing Program”, through the initiatives of His Highness the President of the State, at an amount of 2.3 billion dirhams, within the framework of His Highness was keen to enhance the family stability of citizens, provide a decent life, and achieve their happiness.
Last May 9, the UAE approved a new policy for federal government housing loans aimed at providing financing for housing loans through partnership with the private sector and national banks, in a way that supports the goals related to reducing the waiting period for applications.
The housing finance program, in light of the new policy, aims to issue 13,000 housing decisions for the next five years (2022-2026) at a cost of 11.5 billion dirhams, and to meet the future needs of the country’s citizens, which in their entirety aim to enhance family stability and achieve prosperity and a decent and safe life for citizens.
The first implementation steps of the new federal housing loan policy came on June 7, when the Council of Ministers approved housing loans for citizens at a value of 2.4 billion dirhams during the next six months, at a rate of 500 beneficiaries per month, and during the current year 2022, 3 thousand beneficiaries of housing loans will be targeted.
And the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, represented by the Sheikh Zayed Housing Program, announced last November 14 that 84% of the targets of the new housing policy for the year 2022 had been achieved, as 2,526 housing decisions were approved, worth two billion and 12 million, 851 thousand dirhams, out of 3 thousand planned for the current year.
In turn, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates issued, on July 31, a notice addressed to all banks and financing companies operating in the country regarding housing loans granted to beneficiaries of housing financing for the Sheikh Zayed Housing Program.
The notice included details of the Central Bank’s decision, in agreement with the Sheikh Zayed Housing Program regarding Article /5/ of the mortgage loan system issued in 2013, whereby the debt burden ratio was raised, which is the percentage that the beneficiary or the customer bears to pay the monthly installments of the total salary and any income from A known and specific source, from 50% to 60% as a maximum for the beneficiaries of the housing finance for the program.
The requirement for the borrower to contribute to the advance payment of 15% for the beneficiaries of housing loans has been cancelled, for the amount of the loan guaranteed and the profits / interest paid by the federal government, according to three conditions, namely that the property to be financed for its construction / purchase is the citizen’s first home and is used for his private residence, And that the citizen pays the value of the difference in the advance payment to cover the 15% required according to the system in the event that the loan amount exceeds the guaranteed amount and the profits / interest are paid by the federal government, from his own sources and not from other borrowing sources, and to comply with the other requirements mentioned in the loan system Mortgage and its amendments.
At the local level, efforts continued to develop modern and sustainable housing systems for citizens, as the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the Emirate of Dubai, and the Emirate of Sharjah witnessed the approval and disbursement of a number of housing support packages that are commensurate with all the needs of the Emirati family and empower its capabilities to build future generations.
In the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, it was announced that 3 packages of housing benefits would be disbursed, with a total value of 6.86 billion dirhams, benefiting more than 4,347 male and female citizens.
The housing support packages included construction, maintenance and expansion loans, demolition and reconstruction, ready-made housing purchase loans, and exemption of deceased and retired persons with limited income from paying the remaining dues.
In turn, the Emirate of Dubai announced, on September 12, an integrated housing plan to provide 15,800 homes for citizens over the next four years. On April 24, Dubai approved a huge housing package at a total cost of 6.3 billion dirhams, which includes housing and lands for 4,610 citizens, as it was approved before that in Last January 3, 600 housing loans were granted by the Mohammed bin Rashid Housing Establishment, at a value of 600 million dirhams.
Turning to the Emirate of Sharjah, the number of beneficiaries of housing support decisions for the two categories of grants and loans, from the beginning of this year until October 30, reached 1047 housing subsidies, with a total value of 727 million dirhams, while the emirate aims to provide housing support at a value of one billion dirhams by the end of the year.
In Sharjah, Emiri Decree No. (33) of 2022 stipulated the establishment of a governmental institution in the Emirate of Sharjah called the “Sharjah Housing Programme”, which has the legal personality and legal capacity necessary to achieve its objectives and carry out its functions, and replaces the Housing Department in the Emirate of Sharjah.
