The True Cost of Buying Property in Dubai (2026): Every Fee

The big one: the DLD fee

The largest transaction cost is the Dubai Land Department transfer fee of 4% of the purchase price, plus a small fixed admin charge. It is due at registration and is usually paid by the buyer. On a AED 1,500,000 home that is AED 60,000 — budget for it from the start.

The rest of the one-off costs

• Property registration / trustee office fee — a fixed fee (typically a few thousand dirhams) paid at the registration trustee to process the transfer.
• Agency commission — commonly around 2% of the price plus VAT, for resale purchases.
• Off-plan: Oqood registration fee — a few thousand dirhams to register an off-plan sale with the DLD.
• Resale: developer NOC fee — a No Objection Certificate from the developer to transfer, charged on secondary sales.
• If you use a mortgage — a mortgage registration fee of 0.25% of the loan amount plus a fixed charge, a bank arrangement fee, and a property valuation fee.

Rule of thumb

For a cash resale purchase, budget roughly 6–7% of the price in one-off costs on top of the price itself (4% DLD + ~2% agency + registration). With a mortgage, add the financing fees. Off-plan swaps the agency and NOC costs for the Oqood fee and spreads the price over a payment plan, but the 4% DLD still applies.

Don’t forget the ongoing costs

After purchase you pay annual service charges (an amount per sqft set by the building, covering maintenance and amenities) and utility connections. There is no annual property tax and no capital gains tax on residential property in Dubai — but service charges vary widely by building, so check them before you buy, especially in amenity-heavy towers where they can meaningfully dent net yield.