Apna Ghar loan paperwork cut from 25 documents to five, reports say

Update, 24 October 2026: APP (18 October) and Pakistan Observer (19 October) report that banks now require five documents for housing finance under the programme. APP lists them as “including a transfer and possession letter, a site plan, a mortgage permission letter and registration of the mortgage”, and does not name a fifth. Observer lists a transfer letter, possession letter, approved building plan, no-objection certificate (NOC) for mortgage and registration of the mortgage. We have not reconciled the two lists. APP says the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) issued formal instructions to banks on the Prime Minister’s directives, according to a ministry spokesperson. Observer says the Ministry of Housing and Works issued the instructions. We found no effective date or official text, and SBP’s pages could not be read from our server.

As read on 15 October 2026. This is a report of what two news outlets say officials told a meeting. We found no official notification, so treat every figure below as reported, not confirmed.

The Nation and Dunya News report that officials told a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday 14 October that the mandatory documents for the Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar housing scheme have been cut from 25 to five, and that applications are to be processed within 15 working days. According to both reports, the meeting reviewed access to bank financing for housing, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and agriculture. Dunya News says federal ministers, advisers, senior officials and chief executives of several banks attended.

What the two reports say

• Documents and time limit. Both give the same figures: 25 mandatory documents cut to five, and a maximum of 15 working days to process an application.
• Loans. Both say 75,198 loans worth Rs448 billion had been approved under the scheme and Rs76 billion disbursed to 14,000 people. Both say the government aims to provide Rs700 billion in housing finance for 125,000 housing units during the current year.
• Directions. Both say the Prime Minister gave directions on four points. On information, The Nation says he directed authorities to make scheme-related information more accessible, and Dunya News says he directed officials to make the process of providing information easier for people seeking to benefit from the scheme. On title documents, The Nation says clear property title documents needed to secure housing loans, and Dunya News says unencumbered property title documents required for housing finance, should be easier to obtain. On developer financing, both say the committee examining it was asked to finalise its proposals (The Nation) or recommendations (Dunya News) promptly. On consultation, both say the relevant ministries, secretaries and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) were directed to consult stakeholders about existing financing schemes, with the consultation to be completed by the end of October.

Two sets of loan figures

The Nation and Dunya News give Rs448 billion as the amount approved at the 14 October meeting. Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported on 9 October, after the Prime Minister met bank heads, that Rs426 billion had been approved and Rs76 billion disbursed. The reports we read do not explain the difference between the two approval figures, and we do not offer a reason. All of these figures were given to meetings. We have not checked them against bank or SBP data.

What is not known

• The five documents. Neither report names them, or says which borrowers or banks the change covers.
• Whether it is in force. We found no official notification, circular or effective date. We could not open the Prime Minister’s Office website or SBP’s web pages from our server.
• How the 15 working days is counted. The reports do not say when the period starts.

SBP’s regulation on application forms

SBP’s Housing Finance Prudential Regulations, updated on 18 August 2026, include Regulation HF-2, headed “Simplified Application Form”. It reads:

Banks and DFIs shall adopt simplified loan-application forms (attached as annexure A) and shall explicitly prescribe the list of documents required for processing applications. Such forms shall be made available to applicants in both physical and digital formats.

What readers should check

Ask your bank for its current document checklist in writing. Look for an official notification or an SBP circular before relying on the five-document figure.

This article does not recommend any loan or purchase.