ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Housing and Works on Sunday said the property documents required by banks under the Apna Ghar Programme had been reduced to five and standardised on the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The State Bank of Pakistan has issued formal instructions to banks in this regard, the ministry said.
“The Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar Programme is a major nationwide housing loan initiative being implemented by the Ministry of Housing. Under the scheme, the Government of Pakistan is providing loans of up to Rs10 million for the construction of homes for the first time,” a ministry press release stated.
It said the number of mandatory documents required by banks under the housing finance scheme had been reduced to five. These include the transfer and possession letter, site plan, mortgage permission letter and mortgage registration documents.
The amendments aim to simplify the application process and facilitate access to housing loans, enabling more people to build their own homes, the ministry said.
It added that complaints had previously been received about banks demanding a large number of documents from applicants. The changes would provide significant relief to individuals seeking housing loans to purchase or construct their first homes.
An official of the Ministry of Housing said the standardised and simplified documentation requirements would allow people owning different types of properties and plots to obtain loans under the scheme.
According to a document shared with the media, eligible property categories include urban development authority properties, urban housing societies, urban private housing schemes, urban revenue/freehold properties, urban special/legacy record properties, Defence Housing Authority (DHA) plots, houses and apartments, cantonment and Military Estate Office (MEO) leasehold properties, rural revenue properties, government housing schemes and Evacuee Trust properties.
The document also states that housing finance may be extended against Green Property Certificates issued by the Punjab government or equivalent certificates issued by the competent authorities in other provinces.
“As these certificates comprehensively verify title, ownership and possession, properties for which such certificate has been issued do not require the submission or presentation of any additional ancestral historical or separate ownership documents,” the document stated.
Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2026
