Oman housing loan rules: 90% of the value, 25 years, 6% ceiling

A housing loan in Oman follows CBO's Master Circular on Personal Loans/Finance: how much of the value a bank may lend, for how long, at what rate and how much of your net income all your debts may take.

A bank may lend at most 90% of the property value, so you put down at least 10%. The loan runs at most 25 years, only until age 70, at most 6% a year. All debt payments: at most 60% of net monthly salary (up to 75% above OMR 3,500, after a detailed credit review) or 40% of net pension (up to 75% above OMR 3,500).

Not a valid document. Estimate for information only — not financial advice, not an offer of credit and not a bank document. Errors are possible. Only your bank's or finance company's official offer letter, contract and statements are binding.

The limits

• Loan-to-value: Housing loan: at most 90% of the property value (loan-to-value). Land the borrower owns and a government housing subsidy count as the down payment; registration and insurance costs may be included in the value.
• Term: Housing loan: at most 25 years, or until age 70 if earlier.
• Debt burden: with a housing loan, all payments at most 60% of net salary up to OMR 3,500 and up to 75% above it, the personal-loan part at most 50%; pensioners 40% (personal-loan part at most 30%) and up to 75% above OMR 3,500 (personal-loan part at most 40%). The debt burden counts every debt, credit cards and overdrafts included, and borrowing from finance and leasing companies. More: loan limits for salaried and pensioners.
• Rate: at most 6% a year, the effective rate on the reducing balance; CBO says the ceiling may change from time to time.
• Processing fee: at most OMR 50.

Variable rates and moving the loan

• Variable rate: A change in a variable rate must be notified to the borrower two months before it takes effect.
• Another bank: Another bank may take over a personal loan, keeping its category (housing stays housing).
• Paying off early: at most 1% of the amount prepaid — see loan fees in Oman.

Registration fees on the day

• Sale registration: Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning fee to register a sale (or gift) to a third party: 3% of the property value. The regulation does not say who pays.
• Mortgage registration: Mortgage registration: 0.5% of the mortgage value (fee capped at OMR 100,000).
• Fixed sale-registration fees: request submission OMR 5, contract OMR 2 and title deed OMR 10; non-Omani buyers also pay a OMR 25 application form.
• Housing assistance: Beneficiaries of the state housing-assistance programme are exempt once from the title-deed, sale, mortgage and mortgage-release fees for a plot or a home (Annex 14 item 4, as restated by Ministerial Decision 36/2026 Art. 2).
• Islamic home finance (the bank buys the home and sells it on to you): Islamic home finance where the bank buys the property first: registering the sale from the Islamic bank to the buyer costs 0.5% of the value of the first sale contract (Annex 7 item 4); the Islamic bank's own purchase is exempt from the sale-contract fees (Annex 14 item 7). Ministerial Decision 36/2026 re-worded that exemption to cover registration in the bank's name or in yours when ownership passes to you, so ask the Ministry which fee applies to your contract.

These fees come from Ministerial Decision 570/2025. Ministerial Decision 36/2026 amended other items of the fee regulation (transfers into the owner's own company, the housing-assistance and Islamic-banking exemptions); the 3% and 0.5% fees are unchanged.

Worked example: a home of OMR 120,000

A home of OMR 120,000 with 10% down, a loan over 25 years at the 6% ceiling (our assumptions, not an offer):

• Down payment OMR 12,000, loan OMR 108,000.
• Instalment: OMR 695.846 a month; interest over the full term OMR 100,753.654 if the rate never changes.
• For this instalment alone to fit the 60% limit, a salaried borrower needs a net monthly salary of at least OMR 1,159.743, before any other debt.
• On the day, if the buyer pays the sale fee: sale registration OMR 3,600, mortgage registration OMR 540, request, contract and title-deed fees OMR 17 — OMR 16,157 in cash with the down payment, before broker and bank costs.

Your own numbers: housing loan calculator · costs of buying a home · how much can I borrow?. From 2028, interest on a loan for your main home may also matter for income tax: income tax from 2028.

CBO's limits come from its Master Circular on Personal Loans/Finance (BM 1213, 13 February 2025); CBO says its 6% ceiling may change from time to time — your bank's offer is what counts.

Who may buy property in Oman

• Omani citizens buy and register with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning.
• Citizens of the other GCC states may buy, but not agricultural land and not in the areas listed for strategic or security reasons — the Ministry's service page names them (see the rules box).
• Foreign nationals may buy land only within Integrated Tourism Complexes (ITCs).
• Non-Omani buyers pay an extra OMR 25 property-ownership application form when the sale is registered. Check with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning before you pay a deposit.