When a buyer and I agree on a price for a prime residence, the next question is almost always the same: what will it actually cost me on the day? The purchase price is the number everyone remembers, but at this level the costs around it run to hundreds of thousands of dirhams, and it is far better to know them before an offer than after. This is how I set them out for clients, using the fees the Dubai Land Department publishes today.
The transfer fee: the largest single cost
The Dubai Land Department (DLD) charges a transfer fee of 4% of the sale value when ownership is registered. On its own sale registration service page, the DLD shows this as 2% for the seller and 2% for the buyer. In practice, on the resale market, the contract between the parties decides who pays, and it is common for the buyer to cover the full 4%. I always make sure this is written clearly in the sale agreement so there is no misunderstanding at the trustee office.
The same 4% applies when an off-plan purchase is pre-registered with the DLD through its interim register, known as Oqood. Some developers absorb part or all of it as a launch incentive, so it is worth asking before you sign rather than assuming.
The smaller registration fees
Around the transfer fee sit a handful of fixed charges. The DLD lists them on its sale registration page, and they are modest next to the 4%, but they belong in the budget:
- Title deed issuance: AED 250.
- Knowledge fee and innovation fee: AED 10 each.
- A map or plan fee of AED 100 to AED 250, depending on the property.
- The registration trustee (the DLD's service partner) fee: AED 4,000 plus VAT for sales of AED 500,000 or more.
If you are buying with a mortgage, the DLD also charges a mortgage registration fee of 0.25% of the loan amount, plus its own fixed charges. Your bank will add its arrangement and valuation fees on top, and those vary by lender.
Agency fees and VAT
On a resale, the brokerage fee is agreed in writing before viewings begin, on the RERA forms that every licensed agent must use. The figure most commonly agreed in Dubai is 2% of the price, and VAT at 5% is charged on the fee, not on the property. On a primary purchase bought directly through a developer's appointed agent, the buyer usually pays no agency fee at all.
To put the main items side by side, take an illustrative resale at AED 20 million, paid in cash, where the buyer has agreed to cover the full transfer fee and a 2% agency fee:
Transfer fee: AED 800,000. Agency fee: AED 400,000, plus AED 20,000 VAT. Trustee and registration charges: a little over AED 4,700 including VAT. The total comes to roughly AED 1.22 million, or just over 6% on top of the price. That is an example of the arithmetic, not a quote, and the split between buyer and seller is always a matter for the contract.
The costs that continue: service charges
Once the keys are handed over, the main recurring cost is the annual service charge, set per sq ft and approved for each building. Buyers often underestimate how much this varies between towers, even on the same stretch of the Palm or the canal. Branded residences with full hotel services, staffed lobbies and private amenities sit at the upper end, and they should.
I do not quote service charges from memory or from a seller's word. The DLD publishes approved charges for each project through its Service Charge Index, available on the DLD website and the Dubai REST app, and owners pay through the DLD's Mollak system. Before any of my clients commits, we look up the approved figure for that exact building and the year in question, and I ask the seller for a clearance showing nothing is outstanding. Any arrears must be settled before transfer.
If the residence will be let, the gross yield should be read after these costs, not before. My Rental Index tracks registered rents at One at Palm and The Lana, and past rents do not guarantee future income.
How I would budget
For a cash resale at the top of the market, I suggest clients keep around 6% to 7% of the price available above the agreed figure to cover the transfer fee, agency, VAT and registration, and then budget the first year's service charge separately. For an off-plan allocation, the upfront cost can be much lower if the developer is covering part of the transfer fee, but the payment plan then becomes the thing to read carefully.
None of this is complicated once it is on one page, and it is much better seen before an offer than at the trustee office. If you would like me to set out the full cost for a specific residence, send me a private enquiry.
Fees as published by the Dubai Land Department on its sale registration and mortgage registration service pages (dubailand.gov.ae), checked 14 October 2026. Agency fee shown is the commonly agreed market rate, not a regulated figure. The AED 20 million example is illustrative only. Fees can change; confirm the current schedule with the DLD before transfer. This is general information, not legal or financial advice.