How Construction Payments Work in Qatar Housing Loans

If you are building a house with a Qatari housing loan, you will not receive all the money at once. Instead, the loan is paid out in stages that match construction progress. Below, we explain the ten stages, how to request and get approval for each payment, and the free support the bank offers during the process.

The ten payment stages

The construction application form, which is in Arabic, breaks the project into ten payments. The first four payments of QAR 150,000 each cover the main structure, in order.

The next six payments are QAR 100,000 each and cover finishing work, in order. The final payment is made after you receive the building completion certificate.

• Foundations, QAR 150,000
• Ground floor slab, QAR 150,000
• First floor slab, QAR 150,000
• Annex roofs and boundary wall, QAR 150,000
• Plastering, QAR 100,000
• Wet area tiling, bathrooms and kitchens, QAR 100,000
• Floor tiling, QAR 100,000
• Windows, QAR 100,000
• Doors, QAR 100,000
• Final payment upon the building completion certificate, QAR 100,000

Track your stage payments.

As you finish each stage, mark it in the tracker. It will show how much you have received and how much remains, using the amounts listed above.

How each payment is requested

You can find payment forms on the bank's website or at the Housing Loan Department. You can also send payment requests through the bank's mobile app. Each request must be reviewed before it is approved.

Under QDB's standard engineering supervision agreement, the supervising consultant checks and approves payment documents and monthly reports based on the work completed on site before any payment is made.

Keep in mind that loan repayments begin two years after you sign the contract or when you receive the full loan amount, whichever comes first. If you finish building quickly, your repayments may start sooner.

The loan has no interest, a 1% management fee spread over the repayment period, and a monthly payment of QAR 3,364 for up to 35 years.

What is checked before a payment clears

The bank does not share its internal approval rules, but the standard supervision and villa contracting agreements on QDB's housing page show what is checked before each payment is approved.

All work is supervised according to Qatar Construction Specifications. The consultant keeps a daily log and visits the site as needed, depending on the project's value.

The contractor is paid only when the work matches the agreed plans and is approved by the consulting engineer.

In addition, 10% of each payment is held back until the final handover. The last payment is made only after the building completion certificate is issued, so completion is confirmed twice.

Before the build starts

You must have a valid building permit to apply, and the loan will not be released without it. If you are planning ahead, you can build two villas on the same plot only if the Ministry of Municipality approves this in your building permit.

Free support while you build

QDB provides two free services during construction, as listed on its Arabic housing page. The first is the Ask Us service. You can call 44300000 or visit a specialist at the housing finance department at the bank's Grand Hamad Street branch for help with technical questions, including those about contractors and consultants.

The second is a free training course called How to Build Your House, held on the first Tuesday of every month. This course gives guidance before you start building, and you can register through the bank's published contacts.