Dubai property buying costs in 2026: every fee, off-plan and resale

Buying a home in Dubai costs about 4.1% of the price on top for an off-plan purchase and about 6.2% to 6.6% for a resale bought through an agent, before any mortgage costs. The 4% Dubai Land Department (DLD) transfer fee is the bulk of it. Everything else is either a small flat charge or a fee that only applies to resale or financed purchases. This guide itemises each cost, says who is paid, and gives worked totals. Fees were checked against DLD service pages on 12 November 2026. This is general information, not legal or financial advice.

Pounds are shown at £1 = AED 4.88, the rate on 12 November 2026.

How much does it cost to buy property in Dubai?

To see how these costs compare with buying the same home in England or Singapore, use our cost to buy comparison.

What is the 4% DLD fee and who pays it?

The DLD charges 4% of the sale value to register a change of ownership. Its own service pages list this as 2% from the seller and 2% from the buyer. That split is rarely what happens. Standard practice, in developer contracts and in resale agreements, is for the buyer to pay the full 4%, and PwC's tax summary describes the fee as generally borne by the buyer.

The fee is calculated on the price in the contract. There is no reduced rate for first-time buyers, non-residents or cheaper homes, and no stamp duty or annual property tax on top. See the UAE property tax guide for what is and is not taxed after you buy.

What fees do you pay on an off-plan purchase?

When you buy from a developer before completion, the sale is recorded in the DLD's provisional register, known as Oqood, instead of a title deed being issued. The DLD requires the sale contract to be registered within 90 days of signing. Its published charges for this are:

• 2% from the seller and 2% from the purchaser (in practice, 4% from you)
• AED 10 knowledge fee and AED 10 innovation fee
• AED 1,000 for registration through the Oqood developer portal

The developer collects the 4% from you, usually with or shortly after the booking deposit, and pays it to the DLD. It is due at registration, not at handover, so it is an early cash cost even on a plan that spreads the price over several years. Our payment plan calculator shows where it falls.

When the building completes and your title deed is issued, the DLD's FAQ gives a first-registration charge of AED 540 per unit: AED 250 for the title deed, AED 250 for the map, and knowledge and innovation fees.

Why Oqood and admin fees are quoted inconsistently

Guides and price lists quote anything from a nominal sum to several thousand dirhams for "Oqood" or "admin" fees. The reason is that three different things get the same label:

1. The DLD's Oqood portal fee of AED 1,000, which is published.
2. The small knowledge and innovation fees of AED 10 each.
3. The developer's own administration charge for handling the registration, which is not regulated or published and differs by developer.

The first two total AED 1,020. The third is whatever the reservation form says. Ask for every non-price charge to be listed in writing before you pay a deposit. Our purchase cost calculator leaves the developer's charge out for that reason. We treat the DLD service page as the authority for the government element.

What a "DLD fee waiver" is worth

Developers sometimes advertise that they will pay half or all of the DLD fee. Since the DLD's schedule already assigns 2% to the seller, a "50% waiver" means the developer is paying its listed share. It is still a real saving of AED 40,000 on a AED 2 million home. Compare the net price against similar units before treating it as a discount, because an incentive can be built into the asking price.

There is normally no agent commission for the buyer on off-plan: the developer pays the broker.

If you later sell before completion, the next buyer pays the registration fee again: our guide to selling off-plan property before handover works through what that does to the price.

What fees do you pay on a resale property?

Resale (also called ready or secondary) purchases complete at a DLD-approved registration trustee office, where the transfer is registered and the title deed issued the same day. The DLD lists:

• 4% transfer fee (2% plus 2%, paid by the buyer in practice)
• AED 250 title deed fee
• AED 250 map fee for villas and apartments
• AED 10 knowledge fee and AED 10 innovation fee
• Trustee office fee of AED 4,000 plus VAT where the price is AED 500,000 or more, or AED 2,000 plus VAT below that

The itemised DLD lines for an apartment add up to AED 520. Agents and portals usually quote AED 580 for the same bundle, and the DLD's own FAQ gives AED 540. The difference is immaterial; budget AED 580.

On top of the government fees:

• Agent commission. The convention is 2% of the price plus 5% VAT, paid by the buyer to the buyer's broker. It is a convention, not a regulation, so it can be negotiated.
• Developer NOC. The DLD requires a no-objection certificate from the developer before a freehold resale can transfer. It confirms service charges are paid up. Property Finder puts the cost at AED 500 to AED 5,000 plus VAT depending on the developer. The seller normally arranges and pays for it; check your sale agreement.
• Conveyancing. Not compulsory. Mortgage broker Holo puts a standard transaction at AED 6,000 to AED 10,000. Overseas buyers who cannot attend the transfer often use a conveyancer under a power of attorney.

What extra costs does a mortgage add?

• DLD mortgage registration: 0.25% of the loan, plus AED 250 for the title deed and AED 20 in knowledge and innovation fees. The DLD page also lists a service-partner fee of AED 4,000 plus VAT (AED 5,000 plus VAT for a mortgage over an off-plan Oqood registration). Ask your bank whether this is charged separately in your case.
• Bank arrangement fee: up to 1% of the loan plus VAT at Emirates NBD (February 2026 key facts statement); HSBC charges 1%, or 0.5% for Premier customers, with a AED 5,000 minimum, plus VAT.
• Valuation: AED 2,625 at HSBC and AED 3,150 at Emirates NBD, both including VAT.
• Mortgage release when you repay: AED 1,000 plus AED 270 and a AED 300 service fee plus VAT, per the DLD.

Banks lend against the property value, not the fees, so all of the above is paid from your own funds. Our non-resident mortgage guide covers deposits and rates.

Worked totals at AED 1 million, 2 million and 5 million

Cash purchases, apartment, fees as published on 12 November 2026.

Off-plan from a developer

Add any developer administration fee. Subtract any DLD fee the developer has agreed in writing to pay.

Resale through an agent

With a mortgage. A non-resident borrowing 50% of a AED 2 million resale (a AED 1 million loan) would add roughly AED 2,770 for DLD mortgage registration, up to AED 10,500 for the bank's arrangement fee and about AED 3,150 for the valuation: around AED 16,400 (£3,370), taking the total to about AED 143,000, or 7.2% of the price.

Which costs do buyers forget?

• Utilities and cooling connections. Betterhomes lists a refundable DEWA (electricity and water) deposit of AED 2,000 for an apartment and AED 4,000 for a villa, plus a AED 130 activation charge. District cooling providers charge their own connection fees and deposits.
• Service charges. Billed from handover, and Holo notes a service charge deposit may be required when you collect the keys. See service charges in Dubai.
• Currency transfer. If you are paying from sterling or euros, the exchange-rate margin can cost more than every flat fee combined. Each 1% of margin on AED 2 million is AED 20,000 (£4,100). Get a quote from a regulated currency specialist as well as your bank, and check the receiving bank's charges. Our currency budget converter shows your budget in dirhams.
• Power of attorney. If you cannot attend the transfer, a notarised and attested power of attorney has its own legalisation costs at home and in the UAE.

How do Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah compare?

Abu Dhabi's lower fee halves the main cost of buying. For Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah, do not rely on a percentage from a brochure or a blog: ask the developer for the registration fee and any administration charges in writing as part of the reservation. Our guides to buying in Abu Dhabi and buying in Ras Al Khaimah cover the process in each.

How to check a cost quote before you commit

1. Ask for a single schedule of every charge on top of the price, with who is paid and when.
2. Match the government lines against the DLD service pages listed in the sources below.
3. On off-plan, get the developer's administration fee and any DLD fee contribution written into the reservation form or the sale and purchase agreement.
4. On resale, confirm in the agreement who pays the NOC and whether the 4% is all yours.
5. Run the numbers in the purchase cost calculator, then add currency costs.

If you would like a costed comparison for a specific development, ask us.