Guide
What it costs to buy
On a Dubai purchase with a mortgage the fees add 8.6% to the price, and they are paid in cash. This is every line, and where each figure comes from.
Reviewed
Each term is defined in the glossary. All guides.
The fees, line by line
The example is a flat in Dubai bought for AED 1,000,000 with a loan of AED 800,000. That is the most a bank may lend an expatriate on a first mortgaged property at that price.
| Fee, and how it is set | AED |
|---|---|
| DLD transfer fee4% of the price | 40,000 |
| Mortgage registration0.25% of the loan plus AED 270 | 2,270 |
| Title deed and registry adminDeed AED 250, map AED 250, knowledge and innovation fees AED 20 | 520 |
| Registration trustee (incl. VAT)AED 4,000 and VAT | 4,200 |
| Agent commission (incl. VAT)2% of the price and VAT. The usual rate | 21,000 |
| Bank arrangement fee (incl. VAT)1% of the loan and VAT. An allowance | 8,400 |
| Valuation (incl. VAT)An allowance for the bank’s valuer | 3,150 |
| Life cover, first yearAn allowance for the cover a bank asks for | 3,000 |
| DEWA connectionAn allowance for connecting water and power | 2,500 |
| Ejari registrationRegistering the tenancy | 220 |
| Other administrationAn allowance for small charges | 1,000 |
| All fees8.6% of the price | 86,260 |
Source: Dubai Land Department, service fees for registering a sale and a mortgage, read . The department sets the first four lines. The others are what the calculator counts for agents, banks and utilities, who each set their own.
What the Land Department sets
The transfer fee is 4% of the price. The department’s schedule divides it equally between seller and buyer. Contracts usually put the whole of it on the buyer, and the calculator counts it that way.
The title deed costs AED 250, the map AED 250 and the knowledge and innovation fees AED 20: AED 520 in all.
The registration trustee is the office where the transfer is done. It charges AED 4,000 and VAT, or AED 2,000 and VAT for a property under AED 500,000. With VAT that is AED 4,200 or AED 2,100. A cash buyer pays it too.
Registering a mortgage costs 0.25% of the loan plus AED 270.
What agents and banks set
The calculator counts the agent’s commission at 2% of the price, with VAT at 5% on top. That is the usual rate. Ask what your agent charges.
The bank’s fees are the bank’s own. The calculator allows 1% of the loan and VAT for arranging it, AED 3,150 for the valuation and up to AED 3,000 for the first year of the cover a bank asks for. Treat all three as allowances until the bank’s offer gives you the real figures.
Legal fees are not in the table. If you use a conveyancer, add the fee: it is a quote, not a rate.
A cash buyer and a borrower
A cash buyer skips the four lines that belong to the loan: mortgage registration, the arrangement fee, the valuation and the cover.
- Fees with a loan of AED 800,0008.6% of the price.
- AED 86,260
- Fees buying with cash6.9% of the price.
- AED 69,440
Both are worked by the calculator’s fee model on the same price of AED 1,000,000 in Dubai.
The cash you need to complete
The calculator counts every fee as cash you must find on top of the deposit. None of it is added to the loan.
- Deposit20% of the price, the least a bank may accept here.
- AED 200,000
- Fees
- AED 86,260
- Cash needed to complete
- AED 286,260
That is 28.6% of the price. A buyer who has saved the deposit and nothing else is short by the whole of the fees: AED 86,260 here.
Furniture, repairs and a reserve for empty months come on top. The deposit rules are set out in how much a bank may lend.
Outside Dubai
Each emirate has its own land department and its own schedule. The calculator applies the rates for the emirate you choose.
| Emirate | Transfer fee, % of price | Mortgage registration, on the loan |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai | 4.00 | 0.25% + AED 270 |
| Abu Dhabi | 2.00 | 0.10% |
Source: Dubai Land Department, service fees; Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre, registration fee schedule and mortgage calculator, read . Abu Dhabi’s schedule allows a sale fee of 1% to 4%. The regulator’s own calculator applies 2%.
Take care
Sharjah and the northern emirates
We have not confirmed the rates for Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah against an official schedule. The calculator applies a rate for each. Check it with the emirate’s land department before you rely on it.
What it costs to sell
Selling has costs of its own, and the return over a hold is worked after them. The example is a sale at AED 1,000,000 with AED 700,000 still owed to the bank.
- Agent’s commission2% of the sale price and VAT.
- AED 21,000
- Early settlement of the mortgage1% of the balance. The Central Bank of the UAE caps it at AED 10,000.
- AED 7,000
- Developer’s consent and mortgage releaseAn allowance. Each developer sets its own fee for a no objection certificate.
- AED 3,000
- Selling costs
- AED 31,000
Worked by the calculator’s fee model for Dubai. The cap on early settlement fees is the Central Bank’s.
The UAE charges an individual no capital gains tax on a sale. Tax on rent in the UAE sets out the position.