The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria is raising its maximum loan from ₦50 million to ₦85 million, cutting its application to eight documents, and committing to process mortgages in 30 working days.
Those are the terms of the National Mortgage Industry Policy issued in July 2026, set out by the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Muttaqha Darma.
What the policy commits to
| Measure | Target |
|---|---|
| Maximum loan | ₦85 million, up from ₦50 million |
| Processing time | 30 working days |
| Application documents | Eight, simplified |
| Mortgages delivered in 2026 | 2,000 |
| Annual delivery by 2028 | 5,000 |
| NHF disbursement | At least 40% of annual collections as mortgages |
| NHF membership | From 6 million to 10 million by 2028 |
| Informal-sector quota | 30–40% of bookings reserved for traders, artisans and transport operators |
The three numbers that change what a buyer can do
₦85 million. That is 70% higher than the previous ceiling. In a market where a mid-market Lagos flat runs ₦25–60 million, the new limit covers a materially better property than the old one did – and it is the difference between a two-bedroom and a three-bedroom in many estates.
30 working days. This is the number most likely to be tested. A Nigerian mortgage application has historically taken months, and the delay is one of the main reasons buyers give up and pay cash. Thirty working days is roughly six weeks. If FMBN hits it consistently, that is a genuine change in what a buyer can plan around.
Eight documents. No list has been published in the coverage, but the commitment matters: a defined document set is what stops an application from growing requirements mid-process.
What the loan actually costs
The limit is not the same as affordability. On ₦85 million, the monthly repayment depends entirely on rate and term:
| Rate and term | Monthly repayment |
|---|---|
| 6% over 30 years | ₦509,618 |
| 9.75% over 30 years | ₦730,281 |
| 9.75% over 20 years | ₦806,239 |
These are calculated, not quoted. At the National Housing Fund rate of 6% over 30 years, ₦85 million costs about ₦510,000 a month. At a commercial single-digit rate over 20 years it is closer to ₦806,000.
Against a ₦70,000 minimum wage, neither is reachable. The new ceiling is a product for senior civil servants, professionals and the diaspora – which is what the informal-sector quota is meant to address.
The informal-sector quota is the real innovation
30 to 40% of mortgage bookings are to be reserved for traders, artisans and transport operators.
That matters because the NHF is funded by contributions from exactly those workers – the artisan who pays a percentage of his income has historically had almost no chance of drawing a mortgage from the pool he pays into. A reserved allocation changes the politics of the fund, even if enforcement is the hard part.
It also implies a delivery requirement: if 30–40% of bookings must go to informal workers, the application process has to work without a formal payslip. That is a bigger operational change than shortening the queue.
The scale check nobody applies
Two thousand mortgages in 2026. Five thousand a year by 2028.
Against a housing shortage measured in the tens of millions of units, that is not a housing programme. It is a demonstration.
At 2,000 a year, clearing a 28 million unit deficit would take roughly 14,000 years. At 5,000 a year, about 5,600 years. Those are arithmetic on the government’s own targets, not forecasts.
None of that makes the policy worthless. A working 30-day mortgage at ₦85 million helps the 2,000 households who get one, and it establishes a process that could scale. But the targets should be read as what they are: a small, deliberate pilot, not a solution to the deficit.
What to do if you contribute to the NHF
Check your contribution record. Eligibility depends on it, and gaps are the most common reason applications stall. Confirm your employer has actually remitted what was deducted.
Get the eight-document list in writing from FMBN before you start. If a requirement appears that is not on the list, that is the point to raise it.
Ask which rate applies to you – NHF rate or a commercial product. The difference between 6% and 9.75% on ₦85 million is about ₦220,000 a month.
Ask about the informal-sector window if you are self-employed. It is the part of the policy most likely to be under-used simply because people do not know it exists.
Do not stop saving for a deposit. A higher loan limit raises the amount you can borrow, not the amount a lender will lend you against your income.
What is not established
These are policy targets announced by the Minister, not delivered figures. The 2,000-mortgage figure for 2026 is a requirement of the policy, not a count of mortgages completed.
The eight documents have not been published. Neither has the enforcement mechanism for the 30–40% informal-sector quota, nor the penalty if FMBN misses the 30-day commitment.
The ₦50 million previous limit and the ₦85 million new one are the Minister’s figures. No product schedule, rate card or eligibility table has been issued alongside them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the new FMBN mortgage limit?
₦85 million, up from ₦50 million – a 70% increase.
How long will an FMBN mortgage take?
The policy commits to 30 working days, roughly six weeks, through an eight-document application.
Who can access the informal-sector allocation?
30–40% of mortgage bookings are reserved for traders, artisans and transport operators, per the National Mortgage Industry Policy.
What will an ₦85 million mortgage cost monthly?
About ₦510,000 at 6% over 30 years, or ₦806,000 at 9.75% over 20 years. Both are calculated from the stated rate and term, not quoted by FMBN.
Does this fix the housing deficit?
No. At 2,000 mortgages in 2026 and 5,000 a year by 2028, it addresses a small fraction of a deficit measured in tens of millions of units.
Last updated: 4 November 2026. The ₦85 million limit, ₦50 million previous limit, 30-working-day processing, eight-document application, 2,000 mortgages in 2026, 5,000 annually by 2028, 40% NHF disbursement requirement, NHF membership target of 10 million and the 30–40% informal-sector quota are from Leadership’s report of 4 November 2026, covering Minister Muttaqha Darma’s remarks at the launch of FMBN’s Ijarah Muntahia Bittamleek product in Kano and the National Mortgage Industry Policy issued July 2026. All monthly repayment figures and the years-to-close calculations are arithmetic on those stated figures. The ₦70,000 minimum wage is the Federal Government rate.
