The advertised price of a Dubai apartment is not what leaves your account. Between the agreed figure and the title deed sit a government transfer fee, a trustee office, an agency, and — if you are borrowing — a lender with a registration fee and a valuation of its own.
None of these are hidden. They are all published. They are simply never gathered in one place at the moment a buyer is deciding what they can afford, which is how people end up short at the trustee office with a manager's cheque that does not cover the total.
This is that list, in the order you actually meet each item.
The Headline Number
Budget 6% to 8% of the purchase price on top of the price for a cash purchase, and 7% to 10% if you are taking a mortgage.
If you remember nothing else from this article, remember that range and treat any deal that is only affordable at 4% as not yet affordable.
The Fees, One at a Time
The Dubai Land Department transfer fee
4% of the purchase price. This is the largest single cost of the transaction and the one that swamps everything else.
The 4% is a property registration fee. The convention of splitting it between buyer and seller exists on paper, but in the Dubai market the buyer pays it in practice, and any other arrangement is something you negotiate into the contract rather than something you should assume.
On a AED 1.5 million apartment that is AED 60,000.
The Land Department administrative and title deed fees
A small fixed amount on top of the 4%, commonly AED 580 for a ready apartment or office, AED 430 for land, and AED 40 for an off-plan contract registered on the interim register.
These are the figures you will see quoted most consistently, but the small fixed charges are exactly the sort of item that gets restructured without an announcement. Confirm the current schedule rather than budgeting to the dirham from an article.
The trustee office fee
Transfers are completed at a registration trustee office, which charges its own fee, plus VAT:
| Purchase price | Trustee office fee |
|---|---|
| Below AED 500,000 | AED 4,000 |
| AED 500,000 and above | AED 4,200 |
Agency commission
Typically 2% of the purchase price, plus 5% VAT.
On AED 1.5 million that is AED 30,000 plus AED 1,500 of VAT. It is a real cost and belongs in the budget, and it buys you a licensed intermediary who is answerable to RERA for how the transaction is handled.
The developer's No Objection Certificate
Buying a resale unit means the developer has to confirm there are no outstanding service charges before the transfer can complete. The NOC fee is set by the developer, not the government, and it ranges from roughly AED 500 to AED 5,000 depending on who built the tower.
This one is worth asking about early, because it varies by an order of magnitude between developers and it is not negotiable once you are in the transaction.
If you are borrowing: valuation and mortgage registration
Two additional items apply to a mortgaged purchase:
- The lender's valuation, typically in the region of AED 2,500 to AED 3,500 plus VAT. Your bank instructs it; you pay for it.
- Mortgage registration with the Land Department, charged at 0.25% of the loan amount plus a small fixed administrative fee.
On a AED 1.05 million loan, the registration alone is about AED 2,625. Banks also commonly charge an arrangement or processing fee of their own, which is a matter for your facility letter rather than for any published schedule.
A Worked Example: AED 1,500,000, Cash
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Purchase price | AED 1,500,000 |
| Land Department transfer fee, 4% | AED 60,000 |
| Land Department admin and title deed | AED 580 |
| Trustee office fee | AED 4,200 |
| Agency commission, 2% | AED 30,000 |
| VAT on commission, 5% | AED 1,500 |
| Developer NOC, typical | AED 1,500 |
| Costs above the price | AED 97,780 |
| Total outlay | AED 1,597,780 |
That is about 6.5% on top of the price, and it assumes a mid-range NOC and no surprises.
The Same Purchase With a 70% Mortgage
Add to the above:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Mortgage registration, 0.25% of AED 1,050,000 | AED 2,625 |
| Land Department mortgage admin fee | AED 290 |
| Bank valuation, plus VAT | around AED 2,900 |
| Additional costs | around AED 5,815 |
Total costs above the price rise to roughly AED 103,595, or about 6.9% — before any arrangement fee your lender charges, which is the item most likely to push a mortgaged purchase towards the top of the 7% to 10% range.
What Comes After the Transfer
The transaction costs end at the title deed. The ownership costs do not.
- Service charges, billed per square foot per year and set by the building. This is the number that decides whether a quoted rental yield survives contact with reality, and it varies enormously between a well-run tower and a cheap one.
- DEWA connection and deposit for utilities.
- Ejari registration if you let the property, which is what makes the tenancy contract enforceable.
- Property management, if you are not handling tenants yourself, commonly a percentage of collected rent.
A gross yield quoted in a listing has none of these deducted. Take the service charge off first, then agency and management, then an allowance for vacancy between tenants. What remains is the number worth comparing against anything else you might do with the money.
Off-Plan Is Not Cheaper, It Is Differently Shaped
Buying off-plan does not avoid the 4%. It is charged on registration of the purchase, and the fixed registration fee on an off-plan contract is smaller than a ready title deed's, but the main event is the same.
What does change is the timing. A payment plan spreads the price, and in many cases the 4% is payable early in that sequence rather than at handover. That is a cash-flow difference, not a discount, and it is worth being clear with yourself about which of the two is attracting you to the deal.
The Short Version
The price is not the cost. Add 6% to 8% in cash, or 7% to 10% with a lender, and the great majority of that is the 4% transfer fee and 2% commission. The small fixed items — trustee, title deed, NOC, mortgage registration — are individually minor and collectively worth about one percent.
Work out the total before you agree the price, not after. A buyer who knows their all-in number negotiates from a better position than one who is still discovering it at the trustee office.
Government fees and developer charges change, and the small fixed items change most often. Figures here reflect the schedules published at the time of writing in September 2026 — confirm current costs with the Dubai Land Department, your lender and our team before committing to a purchase.
Frequently Asked Questions
01How much are the total costs of buying property in Dubai?
Budget 6% to 8% of the purchase price for a cash purchase and 7% to 10% with a mortgage. The 4% Land Department transfer fee is the largest component, with agency commission at around 2% plus VAT the next largest.
02Who pays the 4% transfer fee, the buyer or the seller?
In practice the buyer pays it in the Dubai market. A different split is something to negotiate into the contract explicitly rather than to assume.
03Is there any annual property tax in Dubai?
There is no annual property tax on residential ownership. That is genuinely different from most markets, and it is a large part of why net yields here compare well. What you do pay every year is the building's service charge, which is not a tax but is a real and recurring cost.
04Do I pay VAT on a residential purchase?
Residential property sales are not treated the same as commercial ones. Where VAT shows up for an ordinary residential buyer is on services — agency commission and the trustee fee, for example — rather than on the price of the home itself. Commercial property is a different matter, and worth specific advice.
05What is the trustee office fee for?
Transfers are completed at a registration trustee office rather than at the Land Department counter itself. The fee is AED 4,000 below AED 500,000 and AED 4,200 at or above it, plus VAT.
06How much is the developer NOC?
Between roughly AED 500 and AED 5,000, set by the developer rather than the government. Ask the figure early in a resale purchase, because it varies widely and is not negotiable once you are committed.
07Can any of these fees be added to the mortgage?
Generally no. Lenders advance against the property's value, and the transaction costs are expected in cash at the trustee office. This is the single most common reason a buyer who has been approved for a mortgage still cannot complete on the day.
