Mortgage Buyout in the UAE: Moving Your Loan to Another Bank

In a mortgage buyout you move your existing home loan to a different bank. The new lender settles what you owe the old one, and your mortgage at Dubai Land Department is re-registered to the new bank. Usually the point is a lower rate, a different term or better conditions. I've been handling buyouts since 2024, and below I'll explain when one actually pays off, what it costs under the official tariffs and where the process tends to get stuck.

When a buyout is worth it

These are the situations people usually bring to me:

• Your fixed rate is ending. After that the loan moves to a variable rate, and the payment can go up.
• Another bank is pricing lower. A fraction of a percent on a large balance adds up over several years.
• You want a different term. Some clients go longer to bring the monthly payment down, others go shorter to clear the debt sooner.
• You need cash from the property. Refinancing can release part of the property's value, which is equity release. I cover it separately in Equity release in the UAE.

The banks flag the downside themselves. FAB notes on its site that refinancing may take longer to pay off and may mean paying more interest overall. So I look at the total cost over the life of the loan first, and only then at the headline rate.

Your right to refinance

On this point the Central Bank's rules favour the borrower. Article 4 ↗ of the mortgage regulations says two things that matter here:

• there should be no impediment to refinancing with another institution;
• the most a lender can charge for refinancing or early repayment is its actual cost of breaking a fixed loan and/or the fees set out in Regulation 29/2011.

A 2019 amendment ↗ to that regulation then set the home loan early or partial settlement fee at a maximum of 1% of the outstanding balance or AED 10,000, whichever is less.

In numbers: with AED 800,000 outstanding, 1% is AED 8,000. That's under the cap, so AED 8,000 is your limit. With AED 2,000,000 outstanding, 1% would be AED 20,000, so the AED 10,000 cap kicks in instead. On a fixed rate the bank may add its actual break cost, so check your agreement.

What a buyout costs

You'll find DLD's tariff on the Mortgage transfer service page ↗. When the bank files through DLD's online mortgage system, DLD deducts the fee from the bank's account, and the bank then decides how to pass it on to you.

Banks compete for these loans, which works in your favour. At the time of writing, their websites show offers such as:

• Commercial Bank of Dubai: 0% processing fee on buyouts;
• Emirates Islamic: 0% processing fee for buy-out cases;
• FAB: processing fee waiver, refund of early settlement and valuation fees on mortgage transfers, and a grace period before the first instalment;
• ADIB: early settlement fees at the previous bank covered.

These are promotions, each with its own conditions and end date. Check the bank's site again on the day you apply.

Documents

To move a loan to Emirates NBD, the bank asks for:

• a valid passport and Emirates ID;
• property documents and the title deed;
• your existing loan documents.

You'll also need the normal income pack. For employees that's a salary letter and statements; business owners provide company documents. The new bank assesses you as if you were a brand-new borrower, looking at DBR, credit history and how stable your income is.

For registration, DLD requires:

• a no-objection letter from the previous bank for the mortgage transfer;
• a letter from the new bank confirming the mortgage registration;
• three certified copies of the mortgage contract;
• for a unit still in the provisional (off-plan) register, the developer's electronic NOC via Dubai REST.

That list comes from the DLD service page ↗. The DLD FAQ ↗ sums it up in one line: a mortgage can be transferred from one financier to another, provided a No Objection Certificate is obtained from the bank.

Step by step

1. Compare offers on rate, fixed period, what happens after the fix and fees. The Key Facts Statement has all of it.
2. Ask your current bank for a liability letter. It shows exactly what you owe on a given date, and the new bank won't move without it.
3. Apply to the new bank, which runs income checks and a fresh valuation.
4. Receive the offer letter and sign it.
5. The new bank pays off the old one.
6. With the old bank's consent, DLD transfers the mortgage to the new lender.

I don't quote timelines. They depend on both banks, and mostly on how quickly the outgoing bank issues its letters.

What I ask the new bank

For me the advertised rate is just the opening line. Before we submit anything, I get answers to the questions below and check them against the Key Facts Statement. CBUAE rules require banks to disclose all fees and rates transparently, with fees set out in a separate schedule attached to the contract.

1. What's the rate, and how long is it fixed? Two years fixed and five years fixed are different products.
2. What happens after the fix? Which benchmark the variable rate tracks, and what margin sits on top.
3. Do I have to transfer my salary? CBD, for example, says salary-transfer customers get a better rate than those who don't transfer. If you'd rather keep your salary where it is, ask for the rate that applies to you.
4. What will early settlement cost with the new bank? You may want to leave it one day too. Some banks allow a free part-payment each year; CBD lists up to 15% of the outstanding loan once a year.
5. Who pays the DLD fee and the valuation? Some promotions cover them.
6. Which insurances are mandatory, and what do they cost? Life and property cover belong in the true cost of the loan.

Then everything goes into one table: what you'd pay over the full term with your current bank and with the new one, one-off costs included. If the fees cancel out the saving, I'll tell you the buyout isn't worth doing.

Where buyouts run into trouble

Valuation. The new bank values the property again, and LTV is based on its figure. If that figure comes in lower than expected, your balance may no longer fit within the limit and you'd have to cover the gap yourself. I go through this in Low bank valuation.

Investment LTV. Under CBUAE rules, second and investment properties are capped at 60% LTV for most buyers. If the unit is rented out, the new bank may treat it as an investment.

Changed income. If your income has dropped or you've taken on new debt since the first mortgage, the DBR may not pass.

Age. The new bank works out the term from your age today, so extending the loan isn't always possible.

Not yet handed over. For a unit still in the provisional register (Oqood), DLD needs the developer's e-NOC before the transfer. If there are arrears on the payment plan, the developer may not issue it straight away. I explain how to deal with that in Developer NOC with arrears and penalties.

From my practice. A buyer refinanced their own apartment, which already had a mortgage on it, and released equity. Part of the money went towards a developer unit with an outstanding post-handover balance and penalties. The bank's valuation came in low, and LTV ended up at 50% instead of the 60% we expected. The buyer covered the difference with an additional loan. The deal took two and a half months, the longest I've run, and it closed successfully.

How I handle buyouts

I start by checking whether switching makes sense at all. I compare your current loan with bank offers on total cost, because the advertised rate on its own doesn't tell you much. If the numbers work, I run the whole process: letters from the old bank, the new bank's file, valuation and DLD registration. There's more on the mortgage buyout page.

To get a feel for the saving, take the mortgage navigator or work out a new payment in the calculator. If you'd rather talk it through, message me on WhatsApp with your outstanding balance and current rate.