The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) has launched a non-interest mortgage scheme aimed at expanding access to homeownership, with the first beneficiaries receiving keys to completed houses under a pilot project in Kano State.

The product, known as Ijarah Muntahia Bittamleek, or lease-to-own, allows eligible National Housing Fund (NHF) contributors to occupy a property through a lease, with ownership transferred to them at the end of the arrangement, subject to agreed terms and contractual obligations.

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Muttaqha Rabe Darma, launched the product on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, at a ceremony in Kano, where he also commissioned the FMBN-Ijarah-01 Estate in Bichi and handed over keys to the inaugural beneficiaries.

The introduction of the product provides an alternative to conventional interest-based mortgage financing for eligible NHF contributors, while broadening the options available to Nigerians seeking to own homes.

Speaking at the launch, Darma challenged FMBN to ensure the product delivers measurable results, stressing that its success would depend on the number of Nigerians who eventually become homeowners rather than the launch ceremony itself.

“The test of this product is not today’s launch but how many Nigerians become homeowners through it,” he said.

The minister urged the bank to extend the initiative beyond Kano to other cities, including Lagos, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Ibadan, Maiduguri, Sokoto and Abuja.

He also called for a mortgage process built around simplicity of application, faster processing, transparency and wider delivery across the country.

At the commissioning of the pilot estate, Darma said the development demonstrated the importance of translating housing policies into completed homes that could be occupied by beneficiaries.

“We don’t just break ground; we deliver houses, and today, we are here to do just that,” he said.

Developed by AYAB Construction Company, the FMBN-Ijarah-01 Estate comprises two-bedroom and three-bedroom bungalows, supported by infrastructure and essential facilities.

The minister also encouraged informal-sector workers, including market traders, artisans and transport workers, to register under the NHF Scheme and make regular contributions to qualify for available housing finance opportunities.

Earlier, FMBN Managing Director and Chief Executive, Shehu Usman Osidi, said the product was designed to accommodate eligible NHF contributors seeking an alternative to conventional interest-based mortgages.

He said the initiative followed the launch of the FMBN Diaspora NHF Mortgage Loan in August 2026, adding that the bank was developing additional pathways to make homeownership more accessible to Nigerians with different financing preferences.

Osidi explained that under the lease-to-own arrangement, customers would occupy a property through a lease before ownership was transferred at the end of the agreed period, provided they fulfilled the contractual conditions.

He emphasised that the product was not limited to any religious group or geographical location, but was open to eligible NHF contributors across the country.

According to him, the scheme is expected to deepen financial inclusion, widen participation in the mortgage market and give more Nigerian families an opportunity to own homes.

Osidi said the handover of keys to the first beneficiaries was an important part of the bank’s housing delivery efforts, noting that the impact of its financing interventions depended on completed homes reaching the people for whom they were intended.

He urged eligible Nigerians to participate in the NHF Scheme and take advantage of the bank’s housing finance products.

The Executive Director of Loans and Mortgage Services and Chairman of the Non-Interest Mortgage Product Committee, Muhammad Sani Abdu, and the Executive Director of Business Development and Portfolio Management, Chinenye Chinedu Anosike, also welcomed the initiative, saying it could broaden access to mortgage financing through a non-interest-based arrangement.

The Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, represented by the state’s Commissioner for Housing, Ibrahim Yakubu Adamu, described the launch as a significant development for Nigeria’s housing finance sector and pledged the state government’s support for collaboration with FMBN to improve housing delivery.

The event was attended by FMBN board members, executives, government officials and other stakeholders in the housing and mortgage finance sector.

The launch forms part of FMBN’s efforts to expand housing finance options under the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.