The UAE government is focused on facilitating its residents by taking different initiatives. To add to this mission, the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme was launched in 1999. The purpose of this project is to provide housing assistance for UAE nationals. The project has continued since and has provided different types of assistance to multiple people.
Let’s take a closer look at the other details related to the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme.
Sheikh Zayed Housing Scheme
The Sheikh Housing Programme is an effort to achieve the vision of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE. The Programme provides housing aid to divorced women, orphans, widows and even the working class who are unable to afford their own homes in the Emirates.
Here are the other essential details regarding the project.
Types of Assistance Provided by the Programme
The Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme provides three different types of assistance to Emiratis for building their own home.
The first type of aid is in the form of housing assistance. In this, you can leverage the government housing schemes or obtain a financial grant that is non-refundable. The second one is utility housing, and the third one is financial assistance.
From financial assistance, you can acquire a home loan to purchase a residence in one of the projects constructed by the Ministry. In case you already own a house, then you can seek a loan to improve your living condition.
The maximum financial assistance or housing loan for purchasing or building one’s own home is AED 800,000 (maximum) and for this, the applicant must fulfil the following eligibility criteria.
Eligibility Criteria for the Programme
The Programme is specifically for UAE nationals and only Emiratis can apply for assistance through this Programme. Apart from that, the following are some other conditions that you must meet.
- The applicant must not have obtained any other type of housing aid from the government previously.
- The applicant must be the breadwinner of the family and should be unable to afford a proper house for the family.
- The family should not own a house since 1999. In case the family owned the house, the conditions aren’t appropriate condition to live in.
- The earner of the family is unable to construct or purchase the house from their own income (less than AED 15,000).
The aforementioned conditions are applicable to all applicants. However, for local women there are conditions.
- A woman who is a widow and has children can apply for the Programme.
- Orphan women who are unmarried and reach the age of 30.
- No parents or legal guardians to take care of.
- Women married to a non-UAE resident who is unable to provide a suitable residence for his family.
Documents Required for the Application
Here is the list of documents required to apply for the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme.
- Income proof
- Passport, family book and Emirates ID (copy)
- A real estate property certificate from the Emirate’s respective authority. For instance, if you are living in Dubai, DLD will provide you with this certificate.
- A certificate of commercial licence from the Emirate’s respective authority.
In case the applicant is an Emirati woman, the following documents are also required in addition to the above-mentioned one.
- A certificate of obtaining retirement pension on behalf of the husband/a certificate of non-marriage/ proof of financial assistance from a responsible authority in the country.
- A certificate of inheritance inventory.
In case you are applying as a divorced Emirati woman, the following additional documents will be required.
- Proof of obtaining financial assistance after being divorced or a certificate of non-marriage from the court.
- Proof of child custody from the concerned court.
If you are not eligible for the program according to the above-mentioned criteria, apply for the home assistance provided by the government for first-time Emirati home buyers. For further information, read our blog on finance for first-time Emirati home buyers.
How to Apply for Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme
To submit the application, you can contact the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure or contact the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme branches. For submitting the application online at the official website of the Programme, follow these steps.
- Open the website and navigate to the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme page.
- Click on ‘Apply Now’ and log in by entering your Emirates ID, Phone Number or Email ID.
- Duly fill out the form with all the details required.
- Submit the application.
Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme Location and Contact
The offices of the Sheikh Zayed Programme are present at three different locations in the UAE.
Dubai
Location: Marrakesh Street, Umm Ramool, Dubai, UAE
Contact: 800-6634
Timing: Monday to Wednesday (07:30 am to 02:00 pm) Friday (07:30 am to 12:00 pm)
Fujairah
Location: Sakkam Street, Fujairah, UAE
Contact: 800-6634
Timing: Monday to Wednesday (07:30 am to 02:00 pm) Friday (07:30 am to 12:00 pm)
Ras Al Khaimah
Location: Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE
Contact: 800-6634
Timing: Monday to Wednesday (07:30 am to 02:00 pm) Friday (07:30 am to 12:00 pm)
This was all about the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme which is a government initiative for the Emirati people. The housing Programme is a great initiative to provide residence for the local people who are unable to afford a proper residence. The process of acquiring assistance is convenient and minimum documents are required. However, the provision of financial assistance is dependent upon the processing time: meanwhile, you can browse through these apartments for rent in the UAE and temporarily move in.
Stay tuned to UAE’s leading property blog for more information on the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme address and other details.
