Apna Ghar Home Loan Paperwork Cut From 25 Documents to Five
ISLAMABAD: The Apna Ghar home loan just got much easier to apply for. Pakistan has slashed the paperwork required for its Apna Ghar housing scheme from 25 documents to just five, while capping loan application processing at 15 working days in a push to make home financing easier for ordinary applicants.
The decision was revealed when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reviewed the scheme during a meeting on Wednesday. The prime minister directed the authorities to simplify the application process further and make it easier for applicants to obtain the clear property ownership documents needed for housing finance.
What changed for Apna Ghar home loan applicants
The headline change is the document cut: where applicants once had to assemble 25 separate documents, they now need only five. Processing time has also been formally limited to 15 working days, addressing one of the most common complaints about the scheme — that applications disappeared into bureaucratic limbo.
Shehbaz also asked the State Bank of Pakistan and the relevant ministries to consult stakeholders and recommend measures to improve housing, agriculture and small-business financing by the end of October, setting a tight deadline for the next round of reforms.
The bigger financing picture
The housing push sits inside a wider credit expansion. The meeting was informed that agricultural loans had reached Rs1,352 billion, with the government aiming to raise agricultural lending to Rs1,500 billion and expand the beneficiary base to 4.5 million by June 2027.
Small and medium enterprises are part of the same drive: more than 352,000 SMEs have received loans worth Rs1,137 billion, and the government plans to lift SME lending to Rs1,500 billion and the number of borrowing businesses to 575,000 by June 2027.
Why this matters after the disbursement gap
The paperwork cut follows scrutiny of the scheme’s actual delivery. Approvals under Apna Ghar have neared Rs448 billion, but only about Rs76 billion has actually been disbursed — a gap that has raised questions about whether the scheme’s processes, rather than its budgets, are the binding constraint. Cutting documents from 25 to five and imposing a 15-day processing cap reads as a direct answer to that criticism.
The prime minister has set an ambitious Rs700 billion disbursement target for the scheme, which will be hard to meet unless the simplified process actually moves applications through the system.
Frequently asked questions
How many documents do I need for an Apna Ghar home loan now?
Five, down from 25 previously. The government has also capped application processing at 15 working days.
What did the PM direct on housing finance?
Shehbaz Sharif directed further simplification of the application process, easier access to clear property ownership documents, and asked the State Bank and ministries to recommend improvements to housing, agriculture and SME financing by end-October.
How is the wider lending drive performing?
Agricultural loans stand at Rs1,352 billion (target Rs1,500 billion by June 2027); SME loans at Rs1,137 billion to 352,000 businesses (target Rs1,500 billion to 575,000 businesses by June 2027).
Tags: Apna Ghar, home loans Pakistan, housing finance, Shehbaz Sharif, State Bank of Pakistan, SME loans, agricultural loans
