What buying in Dubai costs beyond the price

The advertised price of a Dubai property is not the amount that leaves your account. Registration fees, a trustee's fee, a title deed and the agency's fee sit on top, and a mortgage adds its own line. None of it is hidden; every figure below is on a Dubai Land Department (DLD) page or in the fee resolution behind it. This guide lists them in the order you will meet them, then works one round example.

The transfer fee: 4% of the price

DLD's fee for registering a sale is 4% of the sale value. Its service page lists it as 2% from the seller and 2% from the buyer. The law behind the page, Executive Council Resolution No. 30 of 2013, says the fee is shared equally by seller and purchaser "unless agreed otherwise".

In practice the contract usually agrees otherwise. In the transactions Agency 8 handles, the buyer normally pays the full 4%, and the firm says so in its own published buyer guidance: the advertised price excludes the 4% DLD transfer fee and the 2% agency fee, both payable by the buyer. Read the memorandum of understanding before you sign; the split is whatever it says.

Fixed fees at registration

• Title deed certificate: AED 250.
• Map fee for an apartment or villa: AED 250 (AED 225 for a land plot on the unified Dubai Municipality map, AED 100 outside it).
• Knowledge fee: AED 10. Innovation fee: AED 10.

The trustee office

Sales are registered at a DLD-approved Registration Trustee office. DLD lists the service partner fee as AED 4,000 plus VAT where the sale value is AED 500,000 or more, and AED 2,000 plus VAT below that.

If you borrow

• Mortgage registration: 0.25% of the mortgage value, plus AED 250 for the title deed and AED 10 each for the knowledge and innovation fees.
• The trustee's fee for registering the mortgage: AED 4,000 plus VAT, per DLD's mortgage page; AED 5,000 plus VAT for a provisional (Oqood) mortgage on an off-plan unit.
• The bank's own arrangement and valuation fees are set by the bank, not DLD, and are not covered here.

Off-plan: the Oqood registration

An off-plan purchase is registered in DLD's interim register, known as Oqood, rather than the title register. DLD lists the same 4% (2% seller, 2% purchaser) plus AED 10 knowledge and AED 10 innovation fees, and requires the sale contract to be registered within 90 days of signing. DLD's own 2021 notice to developers describes the 4% as fees the buyer submits to the developer, who then completes the registration; DLD asked developers to pay it over within 60 days. Developers register through the Oqood portal for a fee of AED 1,000, which is theirs to pay. Read our guide to escrow and payment plans for what the registration protects.

The agency fee

Agency 8's fee to a buyer is 2% of the purchase price, as the firm publishes. Ask whether VAT is added and have the fee written into the agreement before you view.

Not on this list

• A developer's no-objection certificate for a resale, where the developer charges one. Amounts vary by developer; ask before you offer.
• Service charges after purchase. These are set per building and approved by RERA; ask for the current approved rate per square foot.
• VAT on the fees marked "plus VAT" above.

A worked example, for illustration only

The numbers below are round and invented to show the arithmetic. They are not a quote.

Ready apartment, cash purchase, agreed price AED 2,000,000, buyer pays the full 4% as agreed in the contract:

Item	Amount (AED)
DLD transfer fee, 4%	80,000
Title deed	250
Apartment map	250
Knowledge and innovation fees	20
Trustee office, AED 4,000 plus 5% VAT	4,200
Agency fee, 2%	40,000
Total on top of the price	124,720

That is about 6.2% above the price. With a mortgage of AED 1,000,000 on the same purchase, add 0.25% registration (AED 2,500), the AED 250 title deed and AED 20 in fees, and a second trustee fee of AED 4,000 plus VAT, before the bank's own charges.

Sources

• Dubai Land Department, Property sale registration (2% seller, 2% buyer; AED 250 title deed; map fees; AED 10 knowledge and innovation fees; trustee AED 4,000 plus VAT at AED 500,000 and above, AED 2,000 plus VAT below): https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/eservices/property-sale-registration/. Checked 29 September 2026.
• Executive Council Resolution No. 30 of 2013 Approving Fees of the Land Department, Article 3(1) (sale fee shared equally unless agreed otherwise) and the fee table (4% of the value of the sale contract; 0.25% of the mortgage value; AED 250 title deed): https://dlp.dubai.gov.ae/Legislation%20Reference/2013/Executive%20Council%20Resolution%20No.%20(30)%20of%202013.html. Checked 29 September 2026.
• Dubai Land Department, Request for mortgage registration (0.25% of the mortgage value; AED 250 title deed; trustee AED 4,000 plus VAT; AED 5,000 plus VAT for a provisional Oqood mortgage): https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/eservices/request-for-mortgage-registration/. Checked 29 September 2026.
• Dubai Land Department, Request to register the initial sale (2% seller, 2% purchaser; registration within 90 days of signing; developer's Oqood self-registration fee AED 1,000): https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/eservices/request-to-register-the-initial-sale/. Checked 29 September 2026.
• Dubai Land Department, news, 31 May 2021 (developers to pay registration fees within 60 days; the 4% submitted by the buyer): https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/news-media/dld-calls-on-developers-to-pay-property-registration-fees-within-60-days/. Checked 29 September 2026.
• Dubai Land Department, Issue title deed (AED 250 title deed certificate): https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/eservices/issue-title-deed/. Checked 29 September 2026.
• Agency 8 Real Estate, Company Profile 2026 and the firm's published buyer guidance (4% DLD transfer fee and 2% agency fee payable by the buyer). The firm's own practice, not a rule.

Figures from official sources as checked on 29 September 2026. Not financial, legal or immigration advice.