Best commercial mortgage rates in Dubai for 2026

Why commercial mortgage rates run higher than residential

Commercial mortgages in Dubai — financing offices, retail units, warehouses or income-producing residential portfolios held for business purposes — are typically priced higher than standard residential home loans, reflecting the higher risk weighting banks apply to commercial real estate exposure. At the time of writing, indicative commercial rates typically sit around 4.39%-4.89%, a meaningful premium over the Emirates NBD 3.89% residential benchmark, with the exact spread depending on the property type, tenant covenant (for income-producing assets), and the borrower's business financials. Our commercial mortgage guide covers the wider structuring considerations beyond rate alone.

Unlike residential lending, commercial mortgage underwriting typically places more weight on the property's income-generating potential, or the borrower's business cash flow, than on a single applicant's personal salary — which changes both the eligibility calculation and the type of documentation required.

Indicative commercial mortgage rate table

Eligibility criteria typically applied

Commercial mortgage eligibility typically hinges on the strength of the underlying business or the income profile of the asset. For owner-occupied commercial property, banks generally review the applicant's business financials, trade licence history and banking relationship, similar to a self-employed residential application but with heavier scrutiny — our self-employed mortgage guide covers overlapping documentation principles. For income-producing property, banks typically assess the rental yield, tenant covenant strength and lease term remaining, often applying a debt-service coverage requirement rather than a personal DBR calculation.

• Trade licence history — typically at least 2-3 years of operating history for owner-occupied applications.
• Audited financials — usually 2-3 years of audited accounts or management accounts for the operating business.
• Rental income evidence — signed lease agreements and tenancy history for income-producing property.
• Lower LTV ceiling — typically 50-65% depending on property type, well below the 80% residential ceiling.
• Debt service coverage — banks typically want net rental or business income to comfortably exceed the loan instalment, rather than relying on a personal DBR figure alone.

Fees typically charged on commercial mortgages

Commercial mortgage fees typically run higher than residential in absolute terms given larger loan sizes, though the percentage structure is broadly similar: an arrangement fee typically around 1-1.5% of the loan, and a commercial valuation fee that is usually higher than the AED 2,650-3,150 residential range given the specialist nature of commercial valuations. DLD registration and transfer fees apply on the same basis as residential — 0.25% of the loan plus AED 290 for registration, and 4% of the property value for transfer.

Fixed vs variable for commercial property

Commercial mortgages typically offer both fixed and variable structures, similar to residential loans, though fixed periods are sometimes shorter and reversion to a variable, EIBOR-linked rate remains standard practice. For income-producing assets, matching the loan structure to lease terms — for example, aligning a fixed period with a tenant's lease renewal cycle — is a common risk-management approach worth discussing with your bank or broker.

1. 1Prepare 2-3 years of audited financials or management accounts alongside your trade licence.
2. 2Gather lease agreements and tenancy schedules if the property is income-producing.
3. 3Estimate your likely LTV based on property type — office and retail typically score higher than industrial.
4. 4Compare indicative commercial rates across banks with active commercial lending appetite.
5. 5Submit the file for underwriting, including a commercial valuation.
6. 6Sign the facility offer and complete DLD registration once approved.

Refinancing an existing commercial mortgage

Commercial mortgages can typically be refinanced in the same way as residential loans, subject to the same UAE-wide early settlement cap of 1% of the outstanding balance or AED 10,000, whichever is lower. Given the wider rate spreads seen in commercial lending, the potential saving from refinancing a commercial facility can be larger in absolute terms than a residential switch — our general refinancing guide covers the break-even principles, which apply equally to commercial borrowers, though the underlying business or rental income re-verification typically takes longer than a residential file.

Worked AED repayment example for a commercial loan

On an indicative 4.39% fixed rate over a 15-year commercial term, a loan of AED 3,000,000 (60% of a AED 5,000,000 property) works out to roughly AED 22,782 per month on a reducing-balance schedule, before any debt-service coverage buffer the bank may require against rental or business income. Commercial terms are typically shorter than the 25-year residential maximum, which increases the monthly instalment relative to a residential loan of the same size — run your own scenario through our mortgage calculator to compare tenor and LTV combinations.

Negotiation tips for commercial borrowers

• Present audited financials and lease agreements in the cleanest possible format upfront, since banks price commercial risk partly on how confident they are in the income evidence.
• Ask whether a longer lease term remaining on an income-producing asset can unlock a better rate or higher LTV, since tenant covenant strength is a key pricing input.
• Get competing offers from banks with genuinely active commercial appetite for your property type — not every bank prices office, retail and industrial property the same way.
• Negotiate the arrangement fee percentage directly on larger commercial loan sizes, where banks often have more room to move than on smaller residential facilities.

See our commercial mortgage guide for the wider structuring picture, and the mortgage glossary for definitions of debt-service coverage and other commercial lending terms.

Common mistakes commercial borrowers make

A frequent error is approaching commercial financing with a residential mindset, expecting an 80% LTV ceiling and a personal DBR-style assessment, when commercial underwriting typically caps LTV at 50-65% and weighs business or rental income far more heavily than personal salary. Applicants also sometimes submit unaudited or incomplete financials, which slows underwriting considerably given how central debt-service coverage is to a commercial credit decision. Finally, some borrowers assume every UAE bank is equally active in commercial lending — in practice appetite varies significantly by property type and sector, and comparing across a panel with genuine commercial experience, as covered in our commercial mortgage guide, typically produces a materially better outcome than approaching a single relationship bank.

Structuring a commercial loan around lease terms

For income-producing commercial property, the strength and remaining length of the existing lease is often as important to a bank's pricing decision as the borrower's own financials. A property let to a strong-covenant tenant on a long remaining lease term is typically viewed more favourably than the same asset with a weak tenant or a lease expiring shortly after the loan is disbursed, since the bank's downside risk in the event of a vacancy is directly tied to how quickly the space could realistically be re-let. Borrowers negotiating a commercial facility should be prepared to share full lease documentation, tenant payment history and any break clauses upfront, since gaps in this information typically slow underwriting more than gaps in personal or business financials.