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Dubai property purchase costs: your real budget
The asking price is not the sum you pay. Between the Dubai Land Department transfer fee, the commission, the registration fees and, if you borrow, what the bank takes, there is always an amount nobody costs before the day of signing. This calculator sets it out line by line, with assumptions you can correct one at a time.
Cash to set aside
Purchase costs cannot be financed. The bank lends against the value of the property; the transfer fee, the commission and the registration fees come out of your own pocket on the day of the transaction. This is the first sum to secure, before you even discuss an interest rate.
The cost of entry is only one part of the picture. For the wider context — market, areas, resale — see our guide to real estate investment in Dubai.
Calculator
Cost your purchase
Enter the price, the type of purchase and how you are paying. The breakdown, the total and the budget to plan for update as you type, and the page address keeps your scenario.
The agreed price, before fees. All amounts are entered and shown in dirhams.
Purchase costs cannot be financed: the bank lends against the property, not the fees. This amount is only used to cost the loan-related lines.
Estimated fees: AED 97,580, or 6.51% of the price. Total budget to plan for: AED 1,597,580.
- AED 97,580
- Total fees
- Paid on top of the price
- 6.51%
- Fees as a share of the price
- Excluding service charges and furnishing
- AED 1,597,580
- Total budget to plan for
- Property price plus fees
| Item | Basis | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| DLD transfer fee | 4% of the price | AED 60,000 |
| DLD admin fee | Flat fee for issuing the title deed | AED 580 |
| Agency commission | 2% of the price | AED 30,000 |
| VAT on commission | 5% of the commission | AED 1,500 |
| Registration trustee office | Higher band, from AED 500,000 | AED 4,000 |
| Developer NOC | Flat fee, required from the seller before transfer | AED 1,500 |
| Total fees | 6.51% of the price | AED 97,580 |
| Total budget to plan for | Property price + fees | AED 1,597,580 |
Scroll the table sideways.
The page address updates with every change: copy it to share this estimate or come back to it later.
Assumptions: all editable
None of the values below is an official figure that we have checked. They are working assumptions, logged in our verification register and shown here so that you can replace them with the amounts your agent, your bank, the developer and the Dubai Land Department give you in writing.
Percentage of the price collected by the Dubai Land Department on transfer.
Flat fee for issuing the title deed. It varies with the type of property.
The broker’s fee, as a percentage of the sale price.
Commission pays for a service, so it carries UAE VAT.
The price from which the trustee office charges its higher fee.
Flat fee charged below the threshold.
Flat fee charged from the threshold upwards.
Varies widely from one developer to another. Ask for the amount in writing.
Percentage of the amount borrowed, charged when the mortgage is registered.
Flat fee added to the percentage above.
Flat fee the bank charges to have the property valued.
Percentage of the amount borrowed. Negotiable, sometimes capped.
Flat fee for registering an off-plan sale.
Property priced at AED 1,500,000, resale purchase, cash purchase. Assumptions used: DLD transfer fee: 4% · Your share of the DLD fee: 100% · DLD admin fee: AED 580 · Agency commission: 2% · VAT on commission: 5% · Trustee fee threshold: AED 500,000 · Trustee fee below threshold: AED 2,000 · Trustee fee above threshold: AED 4,000 · Developer NOC: AED 1,500 · Mortgage registration: 0.25% · Mortgage fixed fee: AED 290 · Bank valuation: AED 3,000 · Bank arrangement fee: 1% · Oqood registration: AED 1,090. These are unverified working values: confirm them with the Dubai Land Department, your bank and the developer.
Method and assumptions
Each line in the table is the result of a visible formula applied to an assumption you can replace. In table order:
- DLD transfer fee — a percentage of the price, multiplied by the share you pay. The share setting exists because the split between seller and buyer is negotiated, contract by contract.
- DLD admin fee — a flat fee charged when the title deed is issued. It varies with the type of property.
- Agency commission — a percentage of the sale price, plus UAE VAT, because a commission pays for a service.
- Registration trustee office — a flat fee in two bands, depending on whether the price reaches a threshold. All three values are editable.
- Developer NOC — a flat fee required from the seller before transfer, on a resale. The amount varies from one developer to another: we ask for it in writing.
- Oqood registration — the off-plan counterpart of registering the sale with the Dubai Land Department.
- Mortgage — a percentage of the amount borrowed, plus a fixed part, on registration. On top of that come the bank’s valuation and its arrangement fee, the latter as a percentage of the loan.
Total fees are then divided by the property price to give a percentage, and added to the price to give the total budget to plan for. That last figure is the one that matters for your cash.
The status of the default values
None of the pre-filled values is a fee scale we certify. They are working assumptions, logged line by line in our internal register with the status ‘to verify’, and shown in the calculator precisely so that you replace them with the amounts the developer, the agency, the bank and the Dubai Land Department give you in writing. This calculator is asking you to prove it wrong.
What this calculator does not tell you
The limits, plainly
A correct total built on wrong assumptions is still a wrong figure. Here is what this calculation does not cover, and what is decided elsewhere.
- The split of the transfer fee is negotiable. It is due on the transaction, not on the buyer as such. In practice it is often shared, and sometimes absorbed by a developer on new builds. The default puts all of it on you because that is the most common case, not because it is the rule.
- The Dubai Land Department uses its own valuation. The basis it adopts can differ from the price in your contract. On an off-plan sale or between related parties, the gap is far from theoretical.
- Service charges are payable in advance at handover. Often for the current year, pro rata. They are not included here because they depend on the tower, not on the transaction — but they fall due at the same time as the fees, and they then weigh on your yield.
- What a bank charges is not standard. Borrower insurance, currency conversion fees, early repayment penalties, drawdown conditions: two offers at the same rate do not cost the same.
- Your personal tax position is not part of this calculation. The country where you are tax resident has its say on holding and selling the property. Deal with it before you buy, never after.
- This is not a quote. It is an order of magnitude, built on assumptions you can read and change. The binding figure is the one the trustee office and your bank confirm in writing.
Frequently asked questions
Who pays the DLD transfer fee in Dubai?
The 4% is due to the Dubai Land Department on the transaction, not on the buyer as such. In practice the buyer almost always pays all of it, but the split is negotiable and some developers cover it on new-build sales. That is why the calculator lets you set your share.
Can the bank finance the purchase costs?
As a rule, no. The bank lends a percentage of the property value set by its valuer, and the fees come out of your own cash on the day of the transaction. A financing plan that forgets this sum comes unstuck at the trustee office counter. Confirm this with your bank.
Are the fees the same for off-plan and resale?
No. An off-plan sale is registered by the developer through Oqood, with no trustee office and no no-objection certificate from a seller, and the commission is usually paid by the developer. The Dubai Land Department transfer fee, however, is due in both cases.
What value is the transfer fee calculated on?
On the value the Dubai Land Department adopts, using its own valuation. It usually matches the contract price, but it can differ, particularly on an off-plan sale or between related parties. We have the basis confirmed before your budget is fixed.
Should service charges be added to the purchase budget?
Yes, in your cash planning. They are not purchase costs, but they are payable in advance at handover, often for the current year pro rata, and they vary widely from one tower to the next. This calculator does not include them: we check the actual amount for the building you are considering.
Independent advice
Have this estimate checked before you sign
Send us the property, the building and the offer you have in hand. We go through every line with the amounts the developer and the trustee office actually charge, and tell you what is missing from your budget.