The fees almost everyone pays
These apply to a standard ready-property resale registered at the Dubai Land Department (DLD).
- DLD transfer fee — 4% of the purchase price, plus a small admin fee (around AED 580 for an apartment or villa). In practice buyers usually pay all 4%, even though the law splits it.
- Title deed issuance — around AED 250.
- Registration trustee office fee — commonly around AED 4,000 plus VAT for sales above AED 500,000, and about half that below it.
- Agency commission — typically 2% of the price plus 5% VAT, where an agent is involved.
- Developer NOC — the developer's no-objection certificate, usually a few hundred to a few thousand dirhams depending on the developer.
Extra costs if you use a mortgage
Financing adds its own layer. Budget for these on top of the fees above.
- Mortgage registration at the DLD — 0.25% of the loan amount plus a small admin fee.
- Bank arrangement fee — often up to 1% of the loan, sometimes negotiable or waived.
- Property valuation — commonly AED 2,500-3,500.
- Life and property insurance — an annual premium the bank will require.
A worked example
Take a AED 1,500,000 apartment bought with a 75% mortgage. The 4% transfer fee is AED 60,000. Trustee and title costs add roughly AED 4,500. Agency commission at 2% plus VAT is about AED 31,500. Mortgage registration on a AED 1,125,000 loan is about AED 2,800, and a 1% arrangement fee is AED 11,250, plus valuation around AED 3,000.
That totals roughly AED 113,000 — about 7.5% of the price — before you have furnished anything. Your cash invested is the deposit plus this figure, and that is the number your return should be measured against, not the purchase price.
What it does to your yield
Transaction costs do not change your annual rent, but they do change how long the investment takes to pay you back. A property yielding 6% net on price is closer to 5.6% once you divide by cash actually invested. Our calculator handles this for you — enter the price and it works from cash invested, not the headline number.
See what this means for a specific unit
Enter a price, size and rent — the calculator applies service charges, vacancy, fees and your mortgage to show net yield and monthly cash flow.
Open the yield calculator →Common questions
- How much does it cost to buy property in Dubai?
- Expect roughly 6-8% of the purchase price in one-off costs for a ready resale: 4% DLD transfer fee, trustee office and title fees, agency commission of about 2% plus VAT, plus mortgage registration and bank fees if you finance.
- Who pays the 4% DLD transfer fee in Dubai?
- It is legally shared between buyer and seller, but market practice in Dubai is that the buyer pays the full 4%.
- Is there stamp duty or annual property tax in Dubai?
- There is no annual property tax and no stamp duty in Dubai. The main recurring costs for an owner are service charges and, for tenants, the 5% housing fee collected through the DEWA bill.
Keep reading
General information only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Fees, lending rules and residency criteria in Dubai change — confirm current figures with the Dubai Land Department, your bank or a licensed adviser before you commit.