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Guide
Cost of Buying Property in Dubai (2026): Every Fee, Verified
The honest total is about 7% to 9% of the price, and almost all of it is government fees you can read on the Land Department's own pages. This page lists every line a buyer meets, from the 4% transfer fee to the developer's letter and the bank's valuation, each quoted from the service page, resolution or tariff that sets it. Where no official figure exists, we say so instead of quoting a broker.
Buying a ready property
Everything on this list comes from the Land Department's "Property sale registration" page, read 16 October 2026, and from Executive Council Resolution No. 30 of 2013, which sets the fees.
| Line | Amount | Who pays, by rule |
|---|---|---|
| Sale registration fee | "Seller: 2% of the sale value / Buyer: 2% of the sale value" | "Unless agreed otherwise, the Fee for the sale of real property will be shared equally by the seller and purchaser" (Resolution 30, Article 3) |
| Title deed | AED 250 | Buyer |
| Map | AED 250 for a villa or apartment; AED 225 for land under Dubai Municipality; AED 100 for land outside it | Buyer |
| Knowledge and innovation fees | AED 10 + AED 10 | Buyer |
| Registration trustee (service partner) | "AED 4,000 + VAT If the sale value is AED 500,000 or more / AED 2,000 + VAT If the sale value is less than AED 500,000" | Buyer, by practice |
| Developer no-objection certificate | Required: "A no-objection e-certificate (e-NOC) from the developer in the freehold areas (via Dubai REST App)". Fee set by the developer, see below | Seller, by practice |
Service time at the trustee: 25 minutes. The "AED 580 admin fee" and the "AED 2,100 / 4,200" trustee figures on broker sites are not DLD numbers; the trustee lines above are the published ones, before VAT. On a AED 2,000,000 apartment the government lines come to AED 80,000 plus AED 520, plus AED 4,200 at the trustee with VAT.
In practice the whole 4% lands on the buyer. The resolution splits it; the contract moves it. Read your memorandum of understanding for the line that says who pays, because that line, not the resolution, is what you will be held to.
Broker commission
There is no official rate. Bylaw No. 85 of 2006, Article 27: "The Real Estate Broker's remuneration will be determined by agreement, and in absence of agreement, remuneration will be determined according to prevailing practice." Article 26 requires a written brokerage agreement stating "the brokerage terms", and the Land Department's own guidance says the contract "must clearly state ... the commission rate". Under Article 28 the broker is entitled to the fee "upon signing the sale contract and registering it with the Department unless the Brokerage Agreement stipulates otherwise". The 2% buyers usually pay is prevailing practice. Check the broker on the RERA register and get the rate in the agreement before you view.
Buying with a mortgage
| Line | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Mortgage registration at DLD | "0.25% of the mortgage value" + AED 250 title deed + AED 10 + AED 10; trustee "AED 4,000 service fee + value added tax"; off-plan (Oqood) mortgage trustee AED 5,000 + VAT | DLD mortgage registration page; Resolution 30, Table 1 row 10 |
| Mortgage release, when you repay or sell | "AED 1,000 fee for the mortgage removal" + AED 250 title deed + AED 10 + AED 10; trustee "AED 300 service fee + value added tax" | DLD mortgage release page |
| Selling a mortgaged property | "AED 1,290 fee for the mortgage release procedure / AED 315 fee for the registrar to release the mortgage" plus the 4% sale fee and trustee fee; the registrar fee is waived if the new mortgage is registered the same day | DLD sale of mortgaged property page |
| Early or partial settlement with the bank | "Max 1% of outstanding balance or 10,000, whichever is less", before VAT | Central Bank Appendix 2 (Resolution 96/2019) |
| Bank liability letter, NOC, clearance letter | Caps AED 85, AED 150, AED 95 before VAT | Central Bank Appendix 2; bank tariffs on the bank NOC page |
| Processing and valuation | No Central Bank cap. One bank's published terms: processing 1.05% of the loan; valuation AED 3,150 for a completed property, including VAT | Emirates NBD key facts statement |
The Central Bank's regulation requires "an independent on-site valuation of the property" for every mortgage but sets no price for it, and its fee schedule has no processing-fee row, so "1% processing cap" claims are wrong. Loan-to-value caps: 80% under AED 5 million and 70% above for an expatriate's first home, 60% for a second property, 50% for any off-plan purchase; the regulation has no non-resident category. More on the mortgage page.
Buying off-plan
| Line | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Oqood registration of the sale contract | "The seller: 2% of the sale value / The purchaser: 2% of the sale value / AED 10 Knowledge fees / AED 10 Innovation fees", plus a AED 1,000 developer self-registration fee on the portal; the contract must be registered "within 90 days from the date of signing" | DLD initial sale registration page |
| Title deed at handover | "title deed fee: AED 250" + map AED 250 (unit or villa) + AED 10 + AED 10, "if the registration fee has been previously collected" | DLD completion of initial procedures page; six business days |
| Transfer to another unit before handover | Fees "charged for the price increase only", at 2% + 2%, plus AED 20 and the AED 1,000 developer fee | DLD transfer of registration fees page |
| Developer transfer letter on a resale before handover | Set by the developer, see below | Developer pages |
The 4% is paid once, at Oqood. The AED 3,000 "settlement" fee in the 2013 resolution is for effecting a real property settlement; nothing official ties it to a pre-handover resale, so we don't. Your instalments go into the project's escrow account, by law.
What the developer charges
The Land Department sets no developer fee. Each developer publishes its own, and the two largest do. Emaar's transfer guide: "AED 5000/- for Primary Transfer ... AED 500/- for Secondary Transfer", "Additional 5% VAT on the administration fees will be applicable", and "NOC is valid only for 15 days from date of issuance", where primary means a unit "not fully paid for and/or not completed" and secondary one that is. Nakheel: "An administration fee of AED 500+VAT is applicable for the NOC for transfer", valid 30 days. Other developers' pages were unreadable or unpublished on the day of writing; the AED 500 to 5,000 range brokers quote is consistent with the two above, but ask the developer for its sheet.
Gifts between family
A transfer "to a person or persons (first-degree relatives; mother, father, spouse, or children or to companies) without compensation" is a gift registration, at "0.125% of the property valuation with a minimum fee of AED 2,000", plus the AED 250 deed, map and AED 20, with a trustee fee of AED 4,000 plus VAT above AED 2 million and AED 2,000 plus VAT below. A DLD valuation must be requested first. The resolution puts the fee on the person receiving.
VAT
From the Federal Tax Authority's real estate guide: "A commercial property 5% / A new residential property 0% / An existing residential property Exempt / Bare land Exempt". In the guide's words, "The first supply of a residential building will be zero-rated", and "The supply of a residential building other than the first supply, is exempt from VAT". The 5% you will see on invoices is on services: the trustee's fee, the bank's charges, the developer's administration fee.
After you own it
- Service charges. Approved per building and year by RERA through Mollak; look up your building in the Service Charge Index in Dubai REST before you buy. No public table exists.
- Housing fee. Tenants, not owners: "Tenants must pay housing fees to Dubai Municipality, which is calculated at the rate of 5 per cent of the yearly rental charges", added to the electricity bill. An owner-occupier does not pay it.
- Cooling. Where a building is not metered per unit, the DLD's guidance says charges "are normally collected by the developer or owners association". No official rate exists.
- Letting it. Ejari registration at AED 177.75 through the app or AED 220 at a trustee.
- Utilities deposit. DEWA's pages refused to load for us; its deposit and connection figures are not on this page for that reason.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much are DLD fees when buying property in Dubai?
4% of the price in total, 2% from the seller and 2% from the buyer unless agreed otherwise, plus AED 250 for the title deed, a map fee of AED 225 or AED 250, AED 20 in knowledge and innovation fees, and a trustee fee of AED 4,000 plus VAT (AED 2,000 plus VAT under AED 500,000).
Who pays the 4% DLD transfer fee?
Executive Council Resolution 30 of 2013 says the sale fee is shared equally by seller and purchaser unless agreed otherwise. In practice most Dubai contracts place the whole 4% on the buyer; that is the contract, not the rule.
What does it cost to register a mortgage in Dubai?
0.25% of the mortgage value plus AED 250 for the deed and AED 20, with a trustee fee of AED 4,000 plus VAT, or AED 5,000 plus VAT on an off-plan mortgage. Releasing it later costs AED 1,000 plus AED 250 and AED 20, and AED 300 plus VAT at the trustee.
Is there a fixed broker commission in Dubai?
No. Bylaw 85 of 2006 says the broker's remuneration is determined by agreement, or by prevailing practice if there is none, and must be stated in the written brokerage agreement. The 2% commonly charged is market practice, not a rule.
What is the developer NOC fee on a resale?
Set by each developer, not by DLD. Emaar publishes AED 500 for a secondary transfer and AED 5,000 for a primary one plus 5% VAT, valid 15 days; Nakheel publishes AED 500 plus VAT, valid 30 days.
Do I pay VAT when buying a home in Dubai?
No VAT on the sale itself: a first supply of a new residential building within three years of completion is zero-rated and any later residential sale is exempt, per the Federal Tax Authority. VAT at 5% does apply to trustee, bank and developer service fees.
Does an owner pay the 5% Dubai Municipality housing fee?
No. The housing fee is charged to tenants at 5% of annual rent on the DEWA bill. An owner-occupier does not pay it; a landlord's tenant does.
Sources
- Dubai Land Department - Property sale registration - fee lines, e-NOC requirement, service time - accessed 16 October 2026
- DLD legislation compendium (PDF) - Executive Council Resolution No. (30) of 2013 Approving Fees of the Land Department, and Bylaw No. (85) of 2006 - Article 3 on who pays; Table 1 rows 1, 5, 10, 13, 22, 50; Bylaw Articles 26 to 28 - accessed 16 October 2026
- Dubai Land Department - Mortgage registration - 0.25%, trustee AED 4,000 and 5,000 - accessed 16 October 2026
- Dubai Land Department - Mortgage release application - AED 1,000, trustee AED 300 - accessed 16 October 2026
- Dubai Land Department - Registering the sale of a mortgaged property - AED 1,290 and AED 315 lines - accessed 16 October 2026
- Dubai Land Department - Request to register the initial sale (Oqood) - 2% + 2%, AED 1,000, 90 days - accessed 16 October 2026
- Dubai Land Department - Request to complete the initial procedures data - title deed at handover - accessed 16 October 2026
- Dubai Land Department - Transferring registration fees from one property to another - price-increase basis - accessed 16 October 2026
- Dubai Land Department - Property gift registration - 0.125%, minimum AED 2,000 - accessed 16 October 2026
- Dubai Land Department - Frequently asked questions - commission in the brokerage contract; housing fee; cooling charges - accessed 16 October 2026
- Central Bank of the UAE - Resolution 96/2019 amending Appendix 2, maximum retail fees - early settlement, liability letter, NOC, clearance letter caps - accessed 16 October 2026
- Central Bank of the UAE - Regulations regarding bank loans and services to individuals (29/2011) - Article 20, valuation requirement - accessed 16 October 2026
- Central Bank of the UAE - Mortgage regulations, Article 3 - loan-to-value caps - accessed 16 October 2026
- Emirates NBD - Home loan key facts statement (PDF) - processing 1.05%, valuation AED 3,150 - accessed 16 October 2026
- Emaar - Property transfer guide (PDF) - AED 5,000 primary, AED 500 secondary, 15-day validity - accessed 16 October 2026
- Nakheel - Contact and FAQ - AED 500 + VAT transfer NOC, 30-day validity - accessed 16 October 2026
- Federal Tax Authority - Real estate VAT guide VATGRE1 (PDF) - rates table, first supply, exempt supply - accessed 16 October 2026
- u.ae - Leasing a property in the UAE - housing fee 5% of annual rent, paid by tenants - accessed 16 October 2026
- Dubai Land Department - Register or renew an Ejari contract - AED 177.75 and AED 220 - accessed 16 October 2026
Every figure above is quoted from the live official page or published document on the date given. Fees change and contracts reassign them; confirm the current amounts with the Land Department, your bank and the developer before you budget. This is general information, not legal or financial advice.