Akhuwat House Loan Scheme (2026): Eligibility, Loan Size and How to Apply

Akhuwat Islamic Microfinance's housing loan is a Qard-e-Hasan: you repay exactly what you borrowed, with no profit, no mark-up and no interest. The published range is Rs 100,000 to Rs 1,500,000, repaid over 36 to 108 months according to akhuwat.org.pk, or up to 120 months according to the AIM product page, for renovation, new rooms, roofs, walls and construction on a plot or house of up to 5 marla. The initial application fee is up to Rs 1,000 and a Mutual Support Fund contribution of 1% of the loan is optional. You cannot apply online. You visit the branch that serves your area, pass a social appraisal, bring two guarantors who are not relatives, and receive the loan at a mosque or community centre. A separate government-funded scheme through Akhuwat lends up to Rs 500,000 at zero fee.

What the Akhuwat housing loan finances

Akhuwat describes its housing product as a financing facility for the renovation of houses and the construction of rooms, roofs and walls, given to poor families who occupy a piece of land or a house of up to 5 marla and whose family size has grown to eight or more. It is a home improvement and incremental construction loan for people who already have somewhere to live, not a mortgage for buying a plot or a finished house. If you are looking to buy, the home financing hub and our Akhuwat versus Islamic bank financing comparison explain when a bank's Diminishing Musharakah is the only route.

The loan sits inside a wider programme. Akhuwat Islamic Microfinance (AIM) also lends for family enterprises, agriculture, education, health and what it calls liberation loans that pay off a money-lender in one go. The housing line is a small share of the book; the AIM product table lists it at 1% to 2% of loans against 85% to 90% for enterprise loans. That tells you two things. The branch will have far more experience with business loans than housing ones, and funds for housing are allocated by project, which the product page says explicitly: loans under different products are offered according to the availability of funds and features may differ across projects.

Loan size, tenor and fees as published on each Akhuwat site

Akhuwat runs two websites and they do not agree on every figure, so the table shows both. Where they differ, the branch's current project terms decide, and you should ask for them in writing at the first visit.

At the top of the range, Rs 1,500,000 over 108 months is roughly Rs 13,900 a month with nothing added; over 120 months it is Rs 12,500. That is the whole cost. Compare it with the government-funded variant described below, or with a bank product priced off KIBOR, which the State Bank published at 12.68% for twelve months on 6 October 2026 before any bank spread, and the appeal of a zero rate is obvious. The constraint is not price; it is eligibility, ceiling and the availability of funds at your branch.

The Prime Minister's Low Cost Housing Scheme through Akhuwat

Separately from its own housing loan, AIM administers a government scheme funded by the Ministry of Housing and Works with Rs 7 billion, all of which the AIM page says has been released and disbursed. Under it, poor and deserving families receive a Shariah-compliant facility of up to Rs 500,000 for an entire new construction or roof slab, additional rooms, kitchen or bathroom, or renovation, repaid over 13 to 60 months with an average monthly rental of up to Rs 10,000 and no application processing fee. Early repayment is welcomed.

• A valid CNIC and age up to 60
• Ownership of the land or house, evidenced by a registry, inteqal, fard, allotment letter or other title the branch accepts
• Land of 5 marla or less, or a covered area of no more than 1,360 square feet
• Monthly household income up to Rs 60,000, with preference for widows and households below Rs 40,000
• Residence in the operational area of an AIM branch, good standing in the community and a clean credit history if any

The AIM page says the fund has been fully disbursed, so whether a branch can still take applications depends on recoveries being recycled and on any new government allocation. Ask the branch directly. The page's own instruction is to visit the branch nearest to the plot or house concerned.

Who qualifies for the standard Akhuwat loan

The loan process page sets out the general eligibility that applies across AIM products, and the housing criteria above sit on top of it. You need a valid CNIC and must be between 18 and 62. You must be able to show the ability to expand or start an economic activity, have no criminal conviction, enjoy a good social and moral reputation in your community, and live within the branch's operational area, which the page describes as roughly a 5 kilometre radius. The requirement that trips most applicants is the guarantors: two people who are not family members and who are willing to be verified. There is no income floor stated for the standard loan, because the programme targets people a bank would not lend to.

• Latest utility bills, mandatory for the applicant and the guarantors, optional for a family member
• Recent photographs of the applicant and guarantors
• A copy of the nikahnama, mandatory for the applicant, which may be waived after verification by other means
• For housing, evidence of the land or house and its size, and for the government scheme the title documents listed above
• Any additional documents the specific project requires, which the branch will list

How to apply: the ten published steps

Akhuwat does not take loan applications online, and both its websites say so in the first line. The process page lists ten steps, and in our reading of it the sequence below is what a housing applicant should expect. Timelines are not published; applicants quoted on the site describe receiving an enterprise loan within days, but a housing loan with title verification will take longer.

• Programme introduction: visit the branch, where staff explain the products, the zero-interest terms and the expectations of borrowers
• Application submission: complete the form with your CNIC, bills, photographs and nikahnama copy, and pay the initial application fee of up to Rs 1,000
• Social appraisal: a loan officer visits your home and neighbourhood to confirm residence, family size and reputation
• Business appraisal: for housing this becomes an appraisal of the work planned, the plot and your capacity to repay
• Second appraisal: a senior officer repeats the checks independently
• Guarantors: both guarantors are interviewed and verified; they cannot be relatives
• Loan Approval Committee: the branch committee approves, reduces or declines the amount
• Disbursement: cheques are handed over at a ceremony, usually in a mosque or other place of worship, which Akhuwat uses to keep costs down and to make repayment a public commitment
• Recovery deposit: you repay the monthly instalment at the branch or through the channels it designates, with no mark-up added
• Monitoring: officers visit during the term to see that the money was used for the house and to help if repayment falters

Repayment, the voluntary donation and what keeps the model solvent

You repay the principal in equal monthly instalments and nothing else; the AIM product page lists profit rate 0% and interest none on every product. The only optional cost is the Mutual Support Fund contribution of 1% of the loan, which pools small contributions to cover borrowers who die or are disabled during the term, and which the page marks as optional. Akhuwat's home page describes a cycle of reciprocity in which borrowers who succeed are invited to become donors, and that voluntary giving, together with government and philanthropic funding, is what finances new loans. There is no compulsory donation and no charge for late payment is published.

The numbers suggest the model works. Akhuwat's home page reports Rs 433 billion disbursed in interest-free loans, more than 3.8 million beneficiaries and a recovery rate of 99.84% as of 30 September 2026, and the AIM site counts over 890 branches in more than 440 cities. For context on how an organisation lending at zero can survive at that scale, read our Akhuwat explained piece and the wider survey of interest-free loans in Pakistan.

Regulation: a Section 42 company with an SECP non-bank finance licence

Akhuwat Islamic Microfinance is a not-for-profit company registered under Section 42 of the Companies Act, registration number 0105253 dated 26 January 2017, with licence number 1027 under the Companies Ordinance issued on 16 December 2016. It holds a non-banking finance company licence to carry out investment finance services, number SECP/LRD/27/AIM/2024, issued on 23 July 2021, and it is certified by the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy. Complaints go to complaints@akhuwat.org.pk and, if unresolved, to the SECP's service desk, whose link appears in the footer of both sites. The organisation itself dates from 2001.

Do not confuse AIM with Akhuwat Housing Finance Company Limited, a separate public limited company incorporated on 25 June 2021 and licensed by the SECP as a non-banking finance company to provide what its site calls competitive, affordable, Shariah-compliant housing finance for house construction and purchase, in low-income and middle-income schemes. Its English product pages were empty when we fetched them on 6 October 2026, and its Urdu home page banner states higher ceilings for its two schemes, so treat it as a different product with different terms and confirm them with the company on 042-35122222. The zero-rate housing loan described above is the AIM one.

The decision: Akhuwat or a bank

If you own or occupy a plot or house of up to 5 marla, have a large family, need Rs 1.5 million or less to add rooms, a roof or a kitchen, and can produce two non-relative guarantors, Akhuwat is the cheapest housing finance in Pakistan by a distance, because its price is zero. Go to the branch, ask whether housing funds are open, and ask about the government low-cost scheme at the same visit. If you need to buy a plot or a finished house, need more than Rs 1.5 million, or live outside a branch's 5 kilometre area, Akhuwat cannot help and you are choosing between a bank's Diminishing Musharakah, which our home construction financing guide covers, and the Islamic microfinance banks. NRSP Islamic and U Bank Islamic lend larger amounts on Shariah-compliant contracts with a profit rate, and the business financing hub is the place to compare them if the money is really for a shop attached to the house. Facts checked against akhuwat.org.pk, akhuwatislamicmicrofinance.org.pk, ahfcl.org.pk, sbp.org.pk on 6 October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How much can I borrow under the Akhuwat house loan scheme?

Akhuwat's products page lists a housing loan range of Rs 100,000 to Rs 1,500,000, and the AIM product page lists up to Rs 1,500,000. The government-funded low-cost housing scheme administered by Akhuwat lends up to Rs 500,000. The branch decides the amount after appraisal, and the page notes that loan features depend on the funds available for each project.

Is the Akhuwat housing loan really interest-free?

Yes. Every AIM product is listed with a profit rate of 0% and no interest, and the housing loan is a Qard-e-Hasan repaid at face value. The only published costs are an initial application fee of up to Rs 1,000 and an optional Mutual Support Fund contribution of 1% of the loan. Donations by former borrowers are voluntary and not a condition of the loan.

Can I apply for an Akhuwat loan online?

No. Both Akhuwat websites state that loans are not offered online and that you must visit your nearest branch or call 042-111-448-464. The branch network page lists branches by province and city with contact numbers, and the organisation operates more than 890 branches in over 440 cities. The appraisal involves home visits, which is why the process is in person.

What is the repayment period for the Akhuwat housing loan?

The akhuwat.org.pk products page gives 36 to 108 months and the AIM product page gives up to 120 months, so expect three to ten years depending on the project your branch is running. The government low-cost scheme repays over 13 to 60 months with an average instalment of up to Rs 10,000 a month. Early repayment is welcomed and carries no charge.

Who can be a guarantor for an Akhuwat loan?

Two guarantors who are not members of your family, each able to provide a recent utility bill and photograph and willing to be verified by the branch. The process page lists the capacity to provide two non-family guarantors as an eligibility condition, and guarantors are interviewed as a separate step before the Loan Approval Committee decides.

Is Akhuwat regulated by the SECP?

Yes. Akhuwat Islamic Microfinance is a Section 42 not-for-profit company holding SECP non-banking finance company licence SECP/LRD/27/AIM/2024, issued on 23 July 2021, and it is certified by the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy. Akhuwat Housing Finance Company Limited, a separate SECP-licensed NBFC incorporated in 2021, offers priced housing finance for construction and purchase under its own terms.