Buyer Guides

DLD Fees and Dubai Property Buying Costs Explained (2026)

Every line-item cost involved in buying property in Dubai in 2026. DLD 4% transfer fee, trustee office fees, NOC charges, mortgage registration, conveyancer fees, and worked examples for AED 1M to AED 20M purchases.

28 May 2026 · 6 min read · JRE Editorial

The headline price is never the total cost. Every Dubai property buyer pays a stack of transactional fees on top of the purchase price: government fees to the Dubai Land Department, trustee-office charges, broker commission, and (for resale buyers) the developer no-objection certificate. For a typical cash purchase, the full stack adds 6.5% to 8% to the headline. Mortgages add a further 0.5% to 1%.

This is the line-by-line reference for 2026 fees, with worked examples at four common price points.

# The full fee stack

| --- | --- | --- | --- |

# DLD 4%: how the math works

The Dubai Land Department transfer fee is 4% of the property's recorded value on the title deed. Historically this was split equally between buyer and seller (2% each); since 2013 the convention has shifted firmly to "buyer pays the full 4%" on almost all transactions, though the contract can technically allocate it differently.

On a AED 5 million property, the DLD transfer fee is AED 200,000. On a AED 20 million villa, it is AED 800,000. This is paid in cash (manager's cheque) at the trustee office at the moment of transfer.

The fee applies on every change of ownership: resale, off-plan registration, mortgage transfers, and gift transfers between non-family members. Family-member transfers (parent to child, spouse to spouse) qualify for a reduced 0.125% rate.

# Trustee office: what it is and what it costs

A DLD-approved trustee office is the venue where every Dubai property transfer is registered. There are roughly 30 trustee offices across Dubai, run by private operators under DLD authorisation. They are functionally equivalent; choose one based on geographic convenience.

The trustee office fee is AED 4,200 (plus 5% VAT) for transactions above AED 500,000, AED 2,100 (plus VAT) below. This is paid at signing.

The trustee oversees the document signing, verifies identities, collects DLD fees on behalf of the government, and issues the new title deed (typically within 60 to 90 minutes of completion).

# Agent commission: free on primary, 2% on resale

A key cost distinction by transaction type:

Primary-market off-plan purchases are sold at the developer's official list price. The buyer pays no commission to the agent representing them; the developer pays the agent's commission. This is why JRE's primary-market work is free to the buyer.

Resale purchases carry a standard 2% (plus 5% VAT) commission, paid by the buyer to the broker. This is the RERA-published convention. Negotiated downward to 1.5% or 1% on quieter markets or specific deals; rarely above 2%.

For a AED 5 million resale purchase, the commission is AED 100,000 plus AED 5,000 VAT. On a AED 20 million villa, AED 400,000 plus AED 20,000 VAT.

# Developer NOC: resale only, paid by seller

The developer issues a No Objection Certificate (NOC) confirming service charges are paid up, district-cooling fees are current, and the developer has no objection to the transfer. The NOC is required at the trustee office; the transfer cannot proceed without it.

NOC fees range from AED 500 (smaller developers) to AED 5,000 (Emaar, DAMAC, Sobha, Meraas). Paid by the seller, but the buyer should ask for proof of payment before the transfer date because a delayed NOC is the most common cause of transfer delays.

Off-plan transactions do not need NOCs because there is no prior transfer; the developer is selling directly.

For buyers using a UAE mortgage:

Mortgage registration at DLD: 0.25% of the loan amount + AED 290. On a AED 2 million loan, AED 5,290.
Bank arrangement fee: 0.5% to 1.0% of the loan amount, charged by the lender. On a AED 2 million loan, AED 10,000 to AED 20,000.
Bank panel-valuer fee: AED 2,500 to AED 3,500.
Life insurance (mandatory): varies by age and loan amount; typically AED 1,500 to AED 5,000 per year.

Total mortgage-related setup: roughly AED 15,000 to AED 30,000 on a AED 2 million loan.

# Conveyancer: optional but recommended above AED 10M

UAE property transactions can be completed without an independent legal review; the trustee office handles document execution. For straightforward AED 1 to 5 million transactions, most JRE clients do not engage a separate conveyancer.

For transactions above AED 10 million, or where the structure is complex (multi-buyer, family-office vehicle, cross-border POA, irregular title history), JRE recommends engaging a UAE conveyancer. Fees typically AED 6,000 to AED 12,000 for a fixed-scope review.

We can introduce conveyancers we work with regularly.

# Worked examples

# AED 1.5 million apartment (cash, resale)

| Item | Amount |

| --- | --- |

| Property | 1,500,000 |

| DLD transfer (4%) | 60,000 |

| DLD admin + title deed | 1,160 |

| Trustee fee + VAT | 4,410 |

| Agent commission (2%) + VAT | 31,500 |

| Total | AED 1,597,070 |

Premium over headline: 6.5%.

# AED 5 million villa (cash, resale)

| Item | Amount |

| --- | --- |

| Property | 5,000,000 |

| DLD transfer (4%) | 200,000 |

| DLD admin + title deed | 1,160 |

| Trustee fee + VAT | 4,410 |

| Agent commission (2%) + VAT | 105,000 |

| Total | AED 5,310,570 |

Premium over headline: 6.2%.

# AED 10 million apartment (50% mortgage, off-plan)

| Item | Amount |

| --- | --- |

| Property | 10,000,000 |

| DLD transfer (4%) | 400,000 |

| DLD admin + title deed | 1,160 |

| Trustee fee + VAT | 4,410 |

| Agent commission (off-plan = 0) | 0 |

| Mortgage registration (0.25% of 5M + 290) | 12,790 |

| Bank arrangement (0.75%) | 37,500 |

| Bank valuation | 3,000 |

| Conveyancer | 8,000 |

| Total | AED 10,466,860 |

Premium over headline: 4.7% (lower because off-plan saves the 2% commission).

# AED 20 million villa (cash, resale)

| Item | Amount |

| --- | --- |

| Property | 20,000,000 |

| DLD transfer (4%) | 800,000 |

| DLD admin + title deed | 1,160 |

| Trustee fee + VAT | 4,410 |

| Agent commission (2%) + VAT | 420,000 |

| Conveyancer | 12,000 |

| Total | AED 21,237,570 |

Premium over headline: 6.2%.

# Recurring annual costs (not transactional, but plan for them)

After the purchase, the recurring annual costs are:

Service charges: AED 8 to AED 35 per sqft per year, depending on building tier. On a 2,000 sqft apartment in a prime tower at AED 20/sqft, that is AED 40,000 per year.
DEWA (electricity, water, district cooling): variable by usage and household size
Annual housing fee (5% of rent, paid by tenant if let)
Property management (if using JRE): 5% to 8% of annual rent for long-let, 18% to 25% gross for short-let

# Closing

Plan for 6.5% to 8% in transactional friction on top of the headline price for a cash resale. Off-plan saves the 2% commission. Mortgages add 0.5% to 1%. For Golden Visa applicants, add the AED 4,020 DLD valuation certificate. Everything else is incidental.

If you are budgeting a Dubai purchase and want the full stack walked through for your specific property, speak with JRE. We will model the costs to the dirham before you commit.

#dld-fees #buying-costs #transfer-fee #noc #transaction-costs

# The full fee stack

# DLD 4%: how the math works

# Trustee office: what it is and what it costs

# Agent commission: free on primary, 2% on resale

# Developer NOC: resale only, paid by seller

# Mortgage-related fees

# Conveyancer: optional but recommended above AED 10M

# Worked examples

# AED 1.5 million apartment (cash, resale)

# AED 5 million villa (cash, resale)

# AED 10 million apartment (50% mortgage, off-plan)

# AED 20 million villa (cash, resale)

# Recurring annual costs (not transactional, but plan for them)

# Closing