Home loans involve hefty ticket sizes. Not only does the loan money easily go into lakhs and crores, but the loan tenor is also enormously long, with most people opting for at least 20 years for comfortable repayment. These statistics explain why lenders have strict home loan eligibility criteria that a loan applicant must meet if they wish to be considered eligible for a home loan. 

Home loan eligibility simply refers to a set of qualifying criteria designed to eliminate those applicants from the home loan approval process whose repayment capacity is dubitable. Lenders base their home loan eligibility criteria around varying factors, such as age, income, credit score, existing debt-to-income ratio, etc. Documents required for home loans are also an important part of this eligibility criteria. 

When you apply for a home loan, your lender will ask you to attach several different documents along with your loan application. Lenders use these documents to assess your creditworthiness and gauge the risk involved in doing business with you. Low home loan eligibility leads to loan application rejection whereas high home loan eligibility increases one’s chances of negotiating for the best loan terms and conditions. 

Let us walk you through the list of documents required for home loans. 

Housing Loan Requirements: Documents You Will Need to Submit 

These are the documents required for home loans and that you must keep ready with you before initiating the home loan application process. 

Identify Proof Documents

Under this category, lenders accept the following documents: 

• Passport
• Driving License
• Aadhar Card 
• PAN Card
• Electoral ID Card

Residence Proof Documents

Under this category, lenders accept the following documents: 

• Passport
• Electricity Bill
• Telephone Bill
• Ration Card
• Electoral ID Card

Age Proof Documents

All lenders have very strict home loan eligibility criteria around age. In general, to be eligible for a home loan in India, you must be between 25 and 70 years of age. The maximum age is the age of the applicant at the time of applying for the loan and not loan maturity. 

Under this category, borrowers can submit one of the following:

• PAN Card
• Aadhar Card
• Passport
• Birth Certificate
• Driving License
• 10th Class Marksheet

Additional Documents to be Submitted by Salaried Individuals 

Here are the additional documents that salaried individuals must submit to be considered eligible for a home loan in India. 

• Employment Appointment Letter and Employee ID Card
• Salary Slips. Some lenders ask for only the last 3 months’ salary slips while others ask for salary slips for the last 6 months. Talk to your lender in advance and get clarity on their requirements regarding salary slips
• You may also be asked to submit the last 2 years’ Form 16
• IT Returns
• Offer letter clearly mentioning your CTC
• Last 6 months’ bank account statements 

Additional Documents to be Provided by Self-Employed Individuals 

• IT Returns
• Last 6 to 9 months’ bank account statements
• Proof of business documents
• Proof of income documents

Property Documents 

You will also need to provide property documents along with your home loan application. Here are the property documents that lenders generally ask for: 

• Sale Agreement or Share Certificate
• Non-encumbrance certificate
• Permission letter from the concerned authorities
• Original No Objection Certificate
• Receipts of advance payments you had made towards the flat or apartment purchase

Please keep in mind that the documents required for home loans vary from lender to lender. So, it is advised that you talk to your lender before starting the home loan application process and request the list of documents you will need to submit at the time of loan processing. Alongside the required list of documents, you will also need to submit a properly filled-out loan application form along with passport-sized photographs. 

If you are planning to apply for a home loan, check the home loan criteria first and apply only if you qualify. Further, if you have low home loan eligibility, do not try to enhance your chances of loan approval by lying in your home loan application. Consider adding a co-borrower or a loan guarantor to enhance your chances of availing of a loan on the best possible home loan terms and conditions.