Dubai DLD Fee Calculator
Every cost on a Dubai property purchase — the 4% transfer fee, trustee office fee, title deed, mortgage registration, agency commission and NOC — itemised for ready and off-plan.
Your purchase
Breakdown
| Fee | How it is calculated | Amount (AED) |
|---|---|---|
| Total costs on top of price | 0 |
The fee schedule
| Fee | Ready property | Off-plan |
|---|---|---|
| DLD transfer fee | 4% of price | 4% of price (via Oqood) |
| Trustee office fee | AED 4,200 incl. VAT (AED 2,100 below 500k) | Not applicable |
| Title deed / admin | AED 580 | AED 40 + ~AED 1,000 Oqood |
| Knowledge + innovation | AED 20 | AED 20 |
| Mortgage registration | 0.25% of loan + AED 290 (+ AED 20 levies) | |
| Agency commission | 2% + 5% VAT | Usually none (developer pays) |
| Developer NOC | AED 500–5,000 | Not applicable |
The mistakes this tool is built around
Calculating mortgage registration on the price. It is 0.25% of the loan. On a 2 million purchase with 1.5 million borrowed, that is AED 3,750 — not AED 5,000. The fee also cannot be financed into the loan; it is paid in cash at registration.
Forgetting the trustee tier. AED 500,000 is the threshold: at or above it the trustee office charges AED 4,000 plus VAT, below it AED 2,000 plus VAT. A purchase priced at exactly 499,000 versus 501,000 differs by AED 2,100 in fees alone.
Budgeting 4% when the real number is 6–8%. Once agency commission with VAT, the trustee fee, mortgage registration and the bank's own arrangement and valuation charges are included, a financed resale purchase typically costs 6 to 8 per cent of the price in total transaction costs. Off-plan direct from a developer runs closer to 4.5 to 5 per cent.
What this calculator does not include
Bank-side mortgage costs — arrangement fees of 0.5 to 1 per cent of the loan and a valuation of roughly AED 2,500 to 3,500 — are charged by your lender rather than the DLD, and vary by bank. Ongoing service charges, chiller deposits and moving costs are also outside DLD scope. For the full financed picture, run your numbers through the Mortgage Calculator and check what you can borrow with the Affordability Calculator.
Deciding whether to buy at all? The Rent vs Buy Calculator weighs these transaction costs against renting, and the Property ROI Calculator covers the investment case including yields.
Fee amounts reflect the schedule as commonly applied in 2026. Individual trustee offices and developers set some charges themselves, so confirm the exact figures for your transaction before transferring funds.
Common questions
How much is the DLD transfer fee in Dubai?
Four per cent of the sale price recorded in the contract. Legally it is split two per cent from each party, but in practice the buyer pays the full four per cent by agreement in the overwhelming majority of transactions.
What is the trustee office fee?
Ready-property transfers are processed through an authorised Real Estate Registration Trustee centre, which charges AED 4,000 plus 5 per cent VAT for properties at AED 500,000 or above, and AED 2,000 plus VAT below that. Off-plan purchases registered through Oqood do not go through a trustee office.
Is the mortgage registration fee calculated on the property price?
No — on the loan amount only, at 0.25 per cent plus an AED 290 administration fee. On an AED 2 million property with an AED 1.5 million mortgage, the fee is AED 3,750 plus AED 290, not 0.25 per cent of the full price. It is paid at registration and cannot be rolled into the loan.
Are DLD fees different for off-plan property?
Yes, and lower. Off-plan registration through Oqood skips the trustee office fee, and the admin fee is around AED 40 instead of the AED 580 title deed fee, plus an Oqood registration charge of roughly AED 1,000. There is also usually no buyer-side agency commission, since the developer pays the agent.
What is the developer NOC fee?
Before a resale transfer, the developer must issue a No Objection Certificate confirming service charges are settled. The fee is set by the developer rather than the DLD and typically ranges from AED 500 to AED 5,000. It only applies to secondary-market transactions.
How much should I budget in total on top of the price?
For a ready resale property with a mortgage and an agent, total transaction costs typically land between 6 and 8 per cent of the purchase price once the 4 per cent transfer fee, trustee fee, agency commission with VAT, mortgage registration and bank charges are added up. Off-plan direct from a developer is usually closer to 4.5 to 5 per cent.
Do I pay the 4 per cent again if I sell?
The fee applies to every transfer of title, so the buyer in your onward sale pays 4 per cent on the new price. Frequent flipping therefore incurs the fee repeatedly across the chain.
What are the knowledge and innovation fees?
Fixed AED 10 levies each, applied per DLD transaction. They are charged separately on the sale and on a mortgage registration, so a financed purchase pays them twice.