British Muslims face slower, more painful routes to home ownership, fintech warns
British Muslims are being forced to navigate slower, more cumbersome and less satisfactory pathways to home ownership because of their religious beliefs, according to a major new survey from Islamic home finance fintech Offa.
Offa’s study covers all forms of Islamic home finance, including home purchase plans (the Islamic equivalent of a mortgage), buy-to-let, bridge, and bridge-to-let products. It calls on Islamic home finance providers, brokers and policymakers to help build an industry where faith‑aligned finance no longer automatically means slower application processes, excessive paperwork and poorer overall experiences than those offered by conventional lenders.
Slow decisions, heavy paperwork and poor service
Among British Muslims who had used Islamic home finance (24.3% of those surveyed), decision times were a major pain point. Some 62% said they had to wait up to two weeks for a finance decision, 17% waited 15 to 31 days, and 16% waited longer than a month. Only 5% reported receiving a same‑day decision.
The biggest challenges cited were long decision times (28%), excessive paperwork (22.6%) and poor customer service (18.9%).
Unlike conventional providers, Islamic home finance firms do not charge interest, and they avoid investing in sectors considered harmful to society, such as the arms trade, animal testing, gambling, alcohol and tobacco.
Sagheer Malik, chief commercial officer and managing director of home finance at Offa, said the findings show many customers feel let down by current market standards.
“Property is the asset class of choice for many of the UK’s 3.87 million Muslims, both as a route to generational wealth and as a long-term financial foundation, yet our insightful research report reveals that British Muslims are being underserved and deterred by slow, outdated and opaque Islamic home finance provision,” he said.
“This is not a niche concern, in fact it goes to the heart of financial fairness and inclusion in modern Britain. Our research indicates that British Muslims both desire and deserve high‑quality, Sharia‑compliant home finance products that match mainstream standards on price, speed and simplicity. There is no reason why we should not offer equivalent modern products and systems driven by the latest technology.”
Home ownership, faith and generational wealth
Offa’s report suggests that British Muslims’ home ownership aspirations are closely aligned with those of the wider population. The main reasons given for wanting to own a property were to provide a stable home for their family (79.1%) and to build generational wealth and investment (18.6%). Only 2.2% said they did not want to own a home.
Respondents also strongly emphasised the role of faith and ethics in financial decision‑making. In total, 94.2% said it was important that their financial products align with their ethical or religious beliefs (77.1% “important” and 17.1% “somewhat important”).
Despite this, only 12.8% are currently using Islamic home finance, and 11.5% said they had used it in the past – leaving 75.7% who have never used Islamic home finance. Among British Muslims using conventional finance, just over half (50.7%) said they felt unhappy or uneasy about having a conventional mortgage rather than a Sharia‑compliant one, because of their faith.
Malik said the data points to a clear mismatch between aspiration and what the market currently delivers.
“Some of these findings make uncomfortable reading for the industry, because many British Muslims feel their faith limits the quality, choice and overall experience of their home finance options,” he said.
“What stood out to me is that the ‘aspiration gap’ does not exist. Our survey found that British Muslims want exactly the same things as everyone else: a secure home, stability for their families, and the ability to plan for the long term. Property remains central to that, especially as a route to generational wealth.
“However, where the gap does exist is in delivery. Too much of the market is still slow, outdated and unnecessarily opaque – and that puts many people off,” Malik added.
Young non‑Muslims open to Islamic finance ethics
The research also points to a significant opportunity beyond the Muslim community, particularly among younger non‑Muslim consumers.
Of the British non‑Muslims surveyed, more than six in ten (64%) had never heard of Islamic home finance. Yet when the principles were explained, a similar proportion (63%) said they favoured its ethical stance – including not investing in sectors such as gambling, alcohol, tobacco, the arms trade and animal testing.
Younger age groups were the most receptive: 43% of Gen Z and 37% of Millennials said they would consider using Islamic home finance, compared with just 7% of Baby Boomers. Meanwhile, 77% of Gen Z and 72% of Millennial respondents said it was important that their finance provider avoids investing in sectors often seen as ethically harmful.
Offa argues that, taken together, the data underlines both the scale of unmet demand among British Muslims and a growing cross‑generational appetite for more ethical, faith‑aligned forms of finance – provided they can match mainstream products on speed, simplicity and service.
