Government Fees for UAE Property Buyers, Emirate by Emirate

The Dubai Land Department charges a transfer fee of 4% of the sale price, plus small administrative fees of a few hundred dirhams, when ownership of a property changes. The fee is paid at the time of title deed transfer, typically by the buyer, and applies equally to resale purchases and off-plan sales registered via Oqood.

The fee is fixed by tariff, not negotiable, and is collected at trustee offices or through the Dubai Rest platform during the transfer appointment. Budget it from the start: on a AED 1,500,000 purchase the 4% is AED 60,000, which is why purchase-price-only budgets consistently undershoot reality.

If you finance the purchase, the mortgage registration fee in Dubai is 0.25% of the loan amount plus AED 290, per the official DLD tariff. Trustee office charges apply for processing the transfer, and new title deed issuance carries its own small fee. Together these add up to a few thousand dirhams on typical transactions.

Sellers face their own costs, mainly agency commission of typically 2% plus 5% VAT and any mortgage release formalities. Buyers should also remember that NOC fees on off-plan resales, commonly AED 500 to 5,000 depending on the developer, are part of the transaction's official cost stack rather than the property price.

Generally yes, though every emirate sets its own schedule. Abu Dhabi registers transfers through the Department of Municipalities and Transport, with a transfer fee commonly cited around 2%. Sharjah applies its own registration fees on foreign-ownership transactions, commonly cited around 2%, with ownership structures such as usufruct carrying their own schedules.

Ajman, RAK, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain each maintain their own registration fees, generally lower than Dubai's, applied through their respective land departments. Because schedules change and structures differ, confirm the exact fee for your specific transaction with the registering authority before you sign.