About this calculator
Off-plan is where the UAE’s mortgage rules bite hardest. Under the Central Bank’s regulations a mortgage on a property under construction is capped at 50% of the price — for expatriates and nationals alike — and in practice most banks lend only once the project is finished and the title deed is issued. So the construction phase is funded entirely from your own cash: a booking deposit, then instalments under the developer’s payment plan (60/40 and 80/20 splits are common), all paid into the project’s escrow account under Dubai’s escrow law.
The Land Department also takes its money early off-plan. Instead of the transfer fee at completion, the purchase is registered on the Oqood interim register at signing, for the same 4% of the price, plus a small admin fee; the title deed itself (AED 540) follows on completion. The mortgage cannot be arranged years ahead with certainty — you take the rate and your own affordability as they stand at handover, and the 50% DBR test is applied then. If the completion balance is larger than the mortgage the cap allows, the difference is cash on the day: the stage table below makes that number impossible to miss.
How to use it
- Enter the off-plan price and the construction-phase share from the developer’s payment plan (the first number in a 60/40 plan is 60).
- Read the timeline table: Oqood at signing, instalments during construction, balance at completion split between the maximum mortgage and your cash.
- Note the repayment line — it only starts after completion, but your other debts at that date will decide whether the 50% mortgage is actually approved.
- Post-handover payment plans (where the developer finances the balance after completion) sit outside the banking rules entirely — compare them against this baseline, not as a substitute for it.
The formula
At the defaults — AED 1,500,000 on a 60/40 plan — you pay AED 60,000 of Oqood registration at signing and AED 900,000 of instalments during construction. AED 600,000 falls due at completion; the 50% cap would allow AED 750,000, so the mortgage covers the whole balance and no extra cash is needed that day beyond the deed fee. Total cash across the purchase: AED 960,540. Flip the plan to 40/60 and the picture inverts: AED 900,000 falls due at completion, the mortgage caps at AED 750,000, and AED 150,000 of completion-day cash appears.
Worked example
A AED 2,400,000 villa on an 80/20 plan: Oqood AED 96,000 at signing, AED 1,920,000 during construction, and only AED 480,000 at completion — all of it coverable by the AED 1,200,000 capped mortgage. The risk profile is the mirror image of a low-instalment plan: nearly all your cash is committed before you know the completion-day interest rate, and most of it is spent before the property exists.
Sources: Central Bank of the UAE Mortgage Loans Regulation (off-plan LTV cap) and Dubai Land Department Oqood registration charges and title deed issuance fee, current October 2026. Last updated: October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Why is off-plan capped at 50% when ready property allows 80%?
Completion and valuation risk. A ready home can be valued, inspected and repossessed; a unit in a half-built tower can be delayed, redesigned or, in the worst case, cancelled. The Central Bank prices that risk into the deposit for every buyer class. Escrow protection covers how your instalments are held — it does not reduce the amount of your own cash the rules require.
What is Oqood and how is it different from the transfer fee?
Oqood is the DLD’s interim registration system for off-plan sales. The buyer pays 4% of the price at signing (the same rate as the ready-property transfer fee) and the contract is recorded against the project; on completion the interim record is converted to a full title deed for a small issuance fee. You do not pay 4% twice.
Can I get a mortgage during construction instead of at completion?
Some banks will register a mortgage against an off-plan unit once construction passes a certified stage, within the same 50% cap — useful if you want to lock a rate or spread the balance. Availability is project- and bank-specific, valuations are conservative mid-build, and the DBR test applies at approval. Most buyers still arrange finance near handover.
What happens if I cannot raise the completion balance?
The developer’s contract governs: unpaid completion instalments can lead to termination under Law No. 13 of 2008 procedures, with the developer entitled to retain a percentage of what you have paid (the retention scale depends on construction progress, up to 40% on a completed unit). This is why the completion-day cash line in this calculator — not the monthly repayment — is the number to stress-test before signing an off-plan SPA.
Do the fees differ from a ready purchase?
The 4% lands earlier (Oqood at signing rather than transfer at the end) and there is no trustee transfer appointment for the initial registration, but agency commission (often 2%, sometimes charged by the developer’s own sales channel) and, at completion, the mortgage registration of 0.25% of the loan plus AED 290 all still apply. The fees calculator in this section covers the ready-purchase versions line by line.
What formula does this uae off-plan mortgage calculator use?
Cash during construction = plan% × price; mortgage at completion = min(50% × price, balance); completion cash = balance − mortgage At the defaults — AED 1,500,000 on a 60/40 plan — you pay AED 60,000 of Oqood registration at signing and AED 900,000 of instalments during construction. AED 600,000 falls due at completion; the 50% cap would allow AED 750,000, so the mortgage covers the whole balance and no extra cash is needed that day beyond the deed fee. Total cash across the purchase: AED 960,540. Flip the plan to 40/60 and the picture inverts: AED 900,000 falls due at completion, the mortgage caps at AED 750,000, and AED 150,000 of completion-day cash appears. The worked example on this page applies the formula step by step with real numbers, so you can verify the result by hand.