Home loans should be raised to more than Dh500,000, says FNC member

Dh500,000 is not enough for most Emiratis to complete their own homes and the process should be sped up, says Ajman FNC member.

A member of the FNC has called for bigger housing loans for Emiratis, and for the process to be sped up.

Ali Al Nuaimi (Ajman) asked Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak, the Minister of Public Works and the head of the Zayed Housing Programme, to raise the loan ceiling from its current Dh500,000.

In a written response, Sheikh Hamdan said the cap was constantly revised in line with house prices and that some cases, including large families, were exempt from the limit and could get up to Dh750,000.

He pointed out the programme also worked with third parties to secure discounts of up to 45 per cent from building companies, and with banks to help Emiratis obtain cut-rate loans.

But Mr Al Nuaimi said bigger loans would be more useful.

"Half a million is not enough," he said. "This leads to Emiratis taking out more loans to complete their homes."

And while the minister insisted the programme was working hard to process loans more quickly, Mr Al Nuaimi said some families were still waiting for up to a decade.

People would be better able to plan their lives if they knew the loan would come through in a set time, he said.

Mr Al Nuaimi passed his recommendations to an FNC committee, which has been given approval by the Cabinet to discuss the issue.

"I would also like the committee to look into the requirements to receive these loans, and those in severe need of them," he said.