UAE property buying cost calculator
DLD fee, registration, trustee and mortgage costs, itemised by emirate.
Fees on top of the price
AED 81,020
4.1% of the purchase price
- Purchase price
- AED 2,000,000
- DLD transfer fee (4%)Paid to the Dubai Land Department on registration. The department lists it as 2% from each party, but contracts almost always pass the full 4% to the buyer, so a developer's '50% DLD waiver' means the developer is paying its own listed half. Off-plan, it is paid when the sale is registered in the Oqood system.
- AED 80,000
- Oqood registration admin feeOqood portal fee of AED 1,000 plus knowledge and innovation fees, for registering the off-plan sale contract.
- AED 1,020
- Total to complete
- AED 2,081,020
Developers may add their own administration charge on off-plan sales. It is set by the developer, not the land department, so it is not included in this estimate: ask for it in writing before you reserve. Estimates only: banks, conveyancers and currency transfers add their own charges.
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Rules last reviewed 12 November 2026. Figures are estimates for planning, not quotations or advice.
Work out the full cost of buying property in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Ras Al Khaimah: DLD transfer fee, registration, trustee, mortgage and agent fees, itemised.
What this calculator assumes
Buying costs in the UAE are low by international standards, but they are paid in cash and mostly up front, so they belong in your budget from day one.
Dubai. The Dubai Land Department (DLD) charges a transfer fee of 4% of the purchase price. The department lists it as 2% from each party, but contracts almost always pass all 4% to the buyer. On an off-plan purchase it is paid when the sale is registered in the Oqood system, usually at or soon after booking, together with an Oqood fee of about AED 1,020; developers sometimes pay their listed half as a launch incentive. On a resale, the transfer goes through a registration trustee office, which charges AED 4,200 including VAT on properties of AED 500,000 or more (AED 2,100 below that), and there are title deed and administration fees of AED 520 to AED 580. If you borrow, the land department charges 0.25% of the loan to register the mortgage.
Abu Dhabi. The registration fee is 2% of the purchase price. Mortgage registration is widely quoted at 0.1% of the loan; confirm it with your lender.
Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah. Fees are most often quoted at 2% for the buyer, but official and market sources disagree and master developers can add their own registration charges. The calculator labels these results as indicative; confirm the figure for the specific project.
What the calculator leaves out. Any administration fee the developer adds on an off-plan sale, the registration office's service fee on a mortgage, a bank's arrangement and valuation fees, conveyancing if you instruct a lawyer, and the cost of moving currency. On resale purchases a buyer's agent fee of 2% plus VAT is the convention and is included when you tick the box; on off-plan purchases the developer pays the broker.
Questions buyers ask
How much are DLD fees in Dubai?
The Dubai Land Department transfer fee is 4% of the purchase price, plus administration and title deed fees of a few hundred dirhams (about AED 1,020 for off-plan registration). On a resale there is also a registration trustee fee of AED 4,200 including VAT for properties of AED 500,000 or more.
Who pays the 4% DLD fee, the buyer or the seller?
The land department lists the fee as 2% from the buyer and 2% from the seller, but in practice the contract passes all 4% to the buyer. Some developers pay half or all of it on off-plan launches as an incentive.
Is there stamp duty or VAT on residential property in the UAE?
There is no stamp duty. The first sale of a new residential property within three years of completion is zero-rated for VAT, and later residential sales are exempt, so buyers of homes do not pay VAT on the price. VAT at 5% does apply to agents' and trustees' fees.
Do off-plan buyers pay agent commission?
Not normally. On off-plan sales the developer pays the broker's commission, so the buyer pays nothing for the broker's service. On resale purchases the buyer typically pays 2% plus VAT.
Want these numbers for a real development?
Send us the development or budget and we'll run the figures on live prices.
- Current price list and availability, direct from the developer
- No fee to you on off-plan purchases: the developer pays us
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