Cost of buying property in Dubai: fees on top of the price

The price on the listing is where the bill starts. On a resale property bought with a mortgage, fees add another 7% to 8% of the price, and almost all of it is due in cash on or before transfer day.

Banks lend against the property, and the fees sit outside that. This money comes from your savings along with the deposit, so it needs to be in your budget from the first viewing.

The costs and who you pay

Cost	Paid to	Amount
Transfer fee	Dubai Land Department (DLD)	4% of the price
Title deed fee	DLD	about AED 580 for a ready unit
Trustee office fee	Registration trustee	AED 4,000 + 5% VAT if the price is AED 500,000 or more, AED 2,000 + VAT below that
Mortgage registration fee	DLD	0.25% of the loan + about AED 290
Valuation fee	The bank	AED 2,500 to 3,500 + VAT
Arrangement or processing fee	The bank	up to 1% of the loan + VAT, waived by some banks
Agent commission	Your agent	usually 2% of the price + VAT
Developer NOC	The developer	AED 500 to 5,000 + VAT

The DLD transfer fee is the largest item by far, and buyers normally pay all of it. The mortgage registration, valuation and arrangement fees only apply if you borrow.

Worked example: a AED 1,500,000 apartment

Here is the full bill for a resident expat buying a resale apartment for AED 1,500,000 as a first home, with an 80% mortgage of AED 1,200,000. We have used AED 3,000 for the valuation and AED 2,000 for the NOC, both mid-range figures.

Item	Calculation	Amount (AED)
DLD transfer fee	4% of 1,500,000	60,000
Title deed fee	approximate	580
Trustee office fee	4,000 + 5% VAT	4,200
Mortgage registration	0.25% of 1,200,000 + 290	3,290
Valuation	3,000 + 5% VAT	3,150
Bank arrangement fee	1% of 1,200,000 + 5% VAT	12,600
Agent commission	2% of 1,500,000 + 5% VAT	31,500
Developer NOC	2,000 + 5% VAT	2,100
Total fees		117,420

That is 7.8% of the price. Add the AED 300,000 deposit and this buyer needs AED 417,420 in cash.

If the bank waived its arrangement fee, the fees would drop by AED 12,600 to AED 104,820, which is 7% of the price.

If the valuation comes in low

The bank lends against the lower of the price and its own valuation. Suppose the valuer puts the same apartment at AED 1,450,000. The maximum loan becomes 80% of that, AED 1,160,000, which is AED 40,000 less than planned. The price you owe the seller has not changed, so that AED 40,000 comes out of your pocket on top of everything in the table.

Keep a buffer for this, particularly in buildings where recent sales have been patchy or where you are paying above the last few transactions. We can often give you a sense of how a building values before you sign Form F.

When each cost is paid

The costs do not all land on the same day, and the timing matters if your savings are in a fixed deposit or abroad.

The valuation fee comes first, once you have agreed a price and the bank sends a valuer. It is usually non-refundable, even if the purchase falls through.

When you and the seller sign Form F, the memorandum of understanding, the buyer normally gives the agent a security deposit cheque, often 10% of the price. Depending on the agency, the commission is paid around then or on transfer day.

The DLD fee, the trustee office fee, the registration fees and the balance owed to the seller are all settled on transfer day at the trustee office, mostly by manager's cheque. The bank takes its arrangement fee when the loan is set up.

Money held abroad can take several days to arrive and clear. Transfer day is a bad time to find that out, so move funds early.

Running costs after you buy

Banks require life insurance on the borrower and property insurance on the home. They often arrange both and add the premiums to the monthly payment. When you compare offers, ask each bank for the full monthly figure with insurance included, since the premiums differ.

You also pay annual service charges to the building's owners association. They are charged per square foot and vary a lot between buildings, so ask the agent for the latest figure for the specific building before you make an offer.

Then there are setup costs that never appear in the price, such as the DEWA connection deposit, moving costs, furniture for an empty unit and small repairs once you move in.

Costs on a cash purchase

Without a mortgage, the registration, valuation and arrangement fees fall away. For the same AED 1,500,000 apartment:

Item	Amount (AED)
DLD transfer fee	60,000
Title deed fee	580
Trustee office fee	4,200
Agent commission	31,500
Developer NOC	2,100
Total fees	98,380

That is about 6.6% of the price. The gap between this and the mortgage case is mostly the bank's arrangement fee.

Where you can cut the bill

The DLD fee is set by the government and is not negotiable. A few other items can move.

The bank arrangement fee is the most negotiable cost on the list. Some banks waive it, but look at the whole offer. A bank that waives AED 12,600 in fees and charges a slightly higher rate can cost you more over a 3-year fixed period than one that charges the fee. We run that comparison on every case before recommending a bank.

Agent commission is usually 2% on a resale purchase. Buying off-plan direct from a developer usually means no agent fee for the buyer, but off-plan has its own costs and a 50% cap on borrowing during construction. Our off-plan mortgage guide explains how that works.

On a price below AED 500,000, the trustee office fee halves to AED 2,000 plus VAT. That only helps at the bottom of the market, but check it if your price is close to the line.

For the full rules on deposits and borrowing limits, see UAE mortgage rules for expats.

To get the figure for your own purchase, put the price and loan amount into our buying costs calculator, then check the loan side with the affordability calculator.