Dubai property buying costs: the DLD fee and every charge on top

The main Dubai Land Department (DLD) fee is 4% of the purchase price, and in practice the buyer usually pays all of it. On top of that come small fixed DLD charges, a trustee centre fee of AED 4,000 plus VAT on resales of AED 500,000 or more, and usually 2% plus VAT agency commission on a resale.

As a rule of thumb for October 2026, budget about 4% to 4.5% on top of the price for an off-plan purchase bought direct from a developer, and about 6% to 7% for a ready resale with an agent. Borrowing adds roughly another 1% of the loan in bank and registration costs.

Below is every charge, what it is for, who normally pays it and where the figures come from, followed by worked examples on real "from" prices.

Dubai Land Department fees at a glance

The DLD figures come from its property sale registration service, its initial (off-plan) sale registration service and its mortgage registration service. The DLD can change these, so check the current schedule before you pay.

The 4% DLD fee explained

The DLD fee is a registration fee charged when a sale is recorded in the land register. It is often called the transfer fee, and on off-plan purchases the Oqood fee, because the sale is first recorded in the interim register known as Oqood.

How much. 4% of the sale value. On a AED 2,135,000 apartment, the Safa Gate "from" price, that is AED 85,400 (about €21,100).

Who pays. The DLD's own pages split it 2% to the seller and 2% to the buyer. The market does not follow that split. On off-plan sales the developer's contract almost always passes the full 4% to the buyer, and on resales the buyer normally pays it too unless the seller agrees otherwise in the Form F memorandum. Read your contract for the exact wording.

When. Off-plan, it is due when the developer registers your contract, usually soon after booking and within the 90 days the DLD allows. On a resale, it is paid at the trustee centre on transfer day.

How. Plan to pay it in cash. UAE mortgages are sized on the property value and are not designed to fund the DLD fee.

Waivers. Some developers run launch offers in which they pay part or all of the 4% for you. That is a promotion, not a change in the law, and the saving may already be priced in. Compare the net cost.

Off-plan costs: Oqood and developer charges

Buying off-plan direct from a developer is the cheapest way in on fees, because the developer normally pays the broker.

What you pay on top of the price:

• 4% DLD fee, collected by the developer and passed to the DLD on registration.
• AED 20 in DLD knowledge and innovation fees.
• Oqood and admin charges. The DLD lists a AED 1,000 fee for developers registering sales on the Oqood portal, and many developers add their own admin or registration charge. Amounts differ by developer and are not standardised, so ask for the figure in writing before booking. A few thousand dirhams is common.
• At handover, the title deed fee and any developer handover charges, plus a service charge payment in advance and utility deposits.

On DAMAC Riverside Views, from AED 795,000 (about €196,000), the 4% DLD fee is AED 31,800 (about €7,850). Our guide to buying off-plan in Dubai explains what Oqood registration protects.

Resale costs: trustee fee, commission and NOC

A ready property bought from a private seller adds three costs that off-plan buyers usually avoid.

Trustee centre fee. Transfers take place at a Real Estate Registration Trustee centre. The DLD lists the service partner fee as AED 4,000 plus VAT for sales of AED 500,000 or more, and AED 2,000 plus VAT below that. With 5% VAT that is AED 4,200 or AED 2,100.

Agency commission. The market norm is 2% of the price plus 5% VAT, paid by the buyer. It is a convention rather than a legal cap, so it can be negotiated, especially on larger purchases.

Developer NOC. The developer must issue a no-objection certificate before a resale, confirming that service charges are paid. The seller normally pays for it, but check.

Mortgage costs

If you borrow, add:

• Mortgage registration with the DLD: 0.25% of the loan amount, plus AED 250 per title deed issued and AED 20 in knowledge and innovation fees. Where registration goes through a trustee centre, the DLD lists a further service partner fee of AED 4,000 plus VAT, or AED 5,000 plus VAT for off-plan (Oqood) properties.
• Bank arrangement fee: commonly up to 1% of the loan, set by each bank.
• Valuation fee: charged by the bank for its independent valuation, typically a few thousand dirhams.
• Life and property insurance required by the lender.

The Central Bank of the UAE caps early repayment fees on home loans at 1% of the outstanding balance or AED 10,000, whichever is lower. Our guide to a non-resident mortgage in Dubai covers how much banks will lend.

Worked examples

All figures are illustrations at the site rate of AED 4.05 to the euro, rounded. Your actual costs depend on the contract, the developer and your bank.

Off-plan apartment at AED 2,135,000, bought from the developer

That is about 4% to 4.2% of the price.

Ready apartment at AED 2,135,000, bought on resale with an agent, cash

That is about 6.3% of the price. Borrowing half the price would add about AED 2,700 in DLD mortgage registration plus the bank's own fees.

Branded apartment at AED 3,850,000, off-plan

At Canal Crown de GRISOGONO in Business Bay, from AED 3,850,000 (about €951,000), the 4% DLD fee alone is AED 154,000 (about €38,000). At this level the DLD fee is the cost that matters, and a developer waiver, if offered, is worth more than any saving on admin fees.

Run your own numbers, including mortgage costs, with the calculator.

Service charges and other running costs

Buying costs are paid once. Service charges arrive every year, and they decide how much rent you keep.

Service charges. Each building's owners' association sets an annual budget, approved by the DLD's Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) and collected through the DLD's Mollak system. The charge is a rate per square foot multiplied by your unit's area. You can check the approved rate for an existing building in the DLD's Service Charge Index on its website or the Dubai REST app.

Rates vary widely by building. Towers with large amenity packages, branded interiors or hotel-style services cost more per square foot than plain mid-market blocks. For an off-plan building there is no approved budget until it is complete, so treat any estimate as provisional.

Other running costs include utilities through DEWA, home insurance, property management if you let (usually a percentage of the rent), and a holiday home permit if you let short-term. Our guide to Dubai rental yields shows how these change the net return.

How to keep buying costs down

• Buy from the developer on a new launch to avoid agency commission.
• Compare launch offers on the DLD fee, but compare the total price, not just the waiver.
• Negotiate commission on a resale, especially above AED 3 million.
• Shop around for the mortgage, because arrangement and valuation fees vary between banks.
• Ask for every fee in writing before paying a booking deposit.

For the order in which these costs fall due, see our step-by-step guide to buying from the UK and Europe and our explainer on off-plan payment plans. For a shortlist with fees itemised, use the enquiry form.