DLD Fees in Dubai
The Full Property Transfer Cost Breakdown
Everybody quotes “4%”. Almost nobody tells you about the trustee fee, the title deed fee, the map fee, or the second layer of charges that lands the moment a mortgage is involved. This guide sets out the Dubai Land Department’s own published schedule, fee by fee, with the source for every number.
What DLD Fees Actually Cost You
Ask ten agents what it costs to transfer a property in Dubai and ten of them will say “four percent”. They are right about the headline and wrong about the total. The 4% is the Dubai Land Department’s registration fee on the sale value, and it is genuinely the largest single line. But it is one line on an invoice with six or seven of them, and the smaller entries are the ones that surprise buyers at the trustee counter.
Here is the structure. The DLD charges a registration fee of 4% of the sale value, which its published schedule splits as 2% from the seller and 2% from the buyer. It then charges a title deed certificate issuance fee of AED 250, a map fee — AED 225 for a unified Dubai Municipality map, AED 250 for villas and apartments, or AED 100 for land outside Dubai Municipality — and two small administrative levies, a knowledge fee of AED 10 and an innovation fee of AED 10.
Separately, the transfer is not executed at the Land Department itself. It is executed at a Real Estate Registration Trustee office, a private service partner licensed by the DLD, and that office charges its own fee on a two-tier scale: AED 2,000 plus VAT where the sale value is under AED 500,000, and AED 4,000 plus VAT where it is AED 500,000 or above.
None of this is hidden. All of it sits on the DLD’s own e-service pages. It is simply spread across three different service listings — one for ordinary sales, one for off-plan initial sales, one for mortgaged properties — and almost nobody reads all three before they sign.
DLD Fee Sheet — Standard Sale
Published schedule, ready property
DLD Fees by Transaction Type
The Land Department publishes separate schedules for ready sales, off-plan initial sales, and sales of mortgaged property. The differences matter — the mortgaged-property route carries charges the other two do not.
| Fee | Ready / Secondary Sale | Off-Plan (Initial Sale) | Mortgaged Property Sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration fee | 2% seller + 2% buyer | 2% seller + 2% purchaser | 4% of sale value |
| Title deed issuance | ۲۵۰ درهم | Not listed at this stage | ۲۵۰ درهم |
| Knowledge fee | AED 10 | AED 10 | AED 10 |
| Innovation fee | AED 10 | AED 10 | AED 10 |
| Trustee / registrar fee | AED 2,000 or 4,000 + VAT | Handled via Oqood portal | AED 2,100 or AED 4,200 |
| Mortgage registration | Not applicable | Not applicable | 0.25% of mortgage value |
| Mortgage release procedure | Not applicable | Not applicable | AED 1,290 |
| Registrar — mortgage release | Not applicable | Not applicable | AED 315 |
| Developer self-registration | Not applicable | AED 1,000 (Oqood portal) | Not applicable |
| Stated service time | ۲۵ دقیقه | One business day | ۱۵ تا ۲۰ دقیقه |
Source: Dubai Land Department e-service pages — Property Sale Registration; Request to Register the Initial Sale; Registering the Sale of a Mortgaged Property. All figures retrieved 24 August 2026. Fee schedules are subject to change by the DLD.
The Six Charges That Make Up Your Transfer Invoice
What each fee is actually for, who levies it, and when it is payable.
Want your transfer costs worked out before you offer?
Send us the property and the price. We will map the full DLD invoice against your specific transaction — ready, off-plan or mortgaged — so nothing lands on you at the counter.
Three Things the “4%” Figure Hides
The headline number is accurate. The mental model most buyers build around it is not.
The split is not what the market does
The DLD schedule assigns 2% to the seller and 2% to the buyer. A large share of Dubai sale contracts override this and put the whole 4% on the buyer. That is a contractual reallocation between private parties, not a DLD rule — which means it is negotiable. Read the clause before you accept it as fixed.
A mortgage adds a second fee layer
Where a mortgage is being released or registered, the DLD lists AED 1,290 for the release procedure, AED 315 for the registrar to release it, and 0.25% of the mortgage value to register a new one. On a financed purchase of a financed property, both sides of that appear on the same day.
Not every cost is a DLD cost
Developer NOC charges, agency commission, conveyancing and valuation fees are set by the parties charging them, not by the Land Department, and they are not on any DLD schedule. We have deliberately not quoted figures for them here, because there is no single published rate to quote — ask for each in writing.
What the DLD Requires, and How Long It Takes
For a standard sale between individuals, the document list is shorter than most buyers expect. The Dubai Land Department requires the Emirates ID of both the seller and the buyer — and it is explicit that this is for identity verification only, with no copies taken — or a valid passport for non-resident foreigners. In freehold areas you also need a no-objection e-certificate, the e-NOC, issued by the developer.
The transfer itself runs in five steps at a Real Estate Registration Trustee office: documents are submitted and verified, the trustee employee enters the transaction data and runs an audit, fees are paid and a receipt issued, the buyer’s information is entered via Emirates ID or passport and submitted, and the request is created with a reference number to retain. The DLD states a service time of 25 minutes.
Off-plan works differently. Initial sale registration — what the market calls Oqood registration — is processed through the Oqood portal rather than at a trustee counter. The developer logs in, selects the provisional sale registration service, attaches the documents and submits online, and the output is emailed to the purchaser. The required documents are a copy of the sale and purchase contract, a valid UAE ID copy, and a valid passport copy for non-residents. The DLD gives the completion time as one business day.
The mortgaged-property route is the most document-heavy of the three. Alongside identification, the DLD lists a bank liability letter or a developer remaining-amount letter, ، و three manager’s cheques — one to the bank or developer, one to the seller, and one to the Department. A power of attorney is listed where applicable. The process runs in six steps and the stated service time is 15 to 20 minutes, though that clock starts once every document is in order.
Documents & Timings
By transaction type
A Worked Example — Illustration Only
The calculation below is an illustration built from the published DLD fee schedule. It is not a quotation, and it deliberately excludes any cost the DLD does not publish a rate for.
| Input / Fee | Basis | مقدار |
|---|---|---|
| Assumed sale value | Illustrative input | ۱,۵۰۰,۰۰۰ درهم امارات |
| Transfer fee — total | 4% of sale value | ۶۰,۰۰۰ درهم امارات |
| — seller share | 2% of sale value | ۳۰,۰۰۰ درهم |
| — buyer share | 2% of sale value | ۳۰,۰۰۰ درهم |
| Title deed issuance | Flat | ۲۵۰ درهم |
| Map — apartment | Flat | ۲۵۰ درهم |
| Knowledge fee | Flat | AED 10 |
| Innovation fee | Flat | AED 10 |
| Trustee fee | Sale ≥ AED 500,000 | AED 4,000 + VAT |
| Published DLD-side total | Excl. VAT on trustee fee | AED 64,520 |
| Developer NOC charge | No published DLD rate | Not quoted |
| Agency commission | Set by agreement | Not quoted |
| انتقال مالکیت املاک | Set by provider | Not quoted |
Illustration only. Inputs: assumed sale value AED 1,500,000, apartment, no mortgage, standard 2%/2% split. Fee rates from Dubai Land Department e-service pages retrieved 24 August 2026. VAT on the trustee fee is not included in the stated total. Rows marked “not quoted” have no published DLD rate and are excluded rather than estimated.
پرسشهای متداول
The questions buyers and sellers ask most often about Dubai Land Department fees.
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Fee schedules are set by the Dubai Land Department and may change without notice — confirm current rates with the DLD or a licensed conveyancer before you transact.
Know Your Total Cost Before You Sign
TruHauz handles the transfer process end to end — trustee booking, NOC coordination, and a full cost sheet built for your specific transaction. No surprises at the counter.
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