Dubai property registration fees in 2026: DLD, trustee and mortgage costs

DLD lists seller 2% and buyer 2% of the sale value, a combined 4%, plus applicable document, property/map and service-partner charges as of 16 October 2026. Contract F records the parties' agreed transfer-fee allocation. A mortgage adds 0.25% of its registered value and applicable channel/output charges (DLD sale schedule, Contract F, clause 11, DLD mortgage schedule).

Last verified: 16 October 2026. Checked by the publication's independent check, 16 October 2026.

What are the DLD sale charges?

DLD's sale schedule separates the seller and buyer percentage lines from document, property/map, government and service-partner charges. The following amounts were verified on 16 October 2026.

Source: withlida.com, 16 October 2026, from DLD Property Sale Registration. The property/map categories are applied to the relevant file; both service-partner tiers are alternatives.

The percentage calculation and the document charges answer different questions. A title deed is the ownership record; its issuance line is separate from the applicable property/map line. The worked apartment ledgers use the villa/apartment line alone, alongside the title deed issuance line.

Who pays each line?

The DLD schedule labels the percentage fees by party, while clause 11 of Contract F records their agreed transfer-fee allocation. Contract F is DLD's sale agreement between seller and buyer, also commonly called the MOU, or memorandum of understanding.

Clause 11 identifies the combined 4% transfer fee and provides separate seller and buyer allocation fields, including percentages and AED amounts. The signed allocation is the basis for reconciling which party funds that charge; a buyer-only allocation is not assumed here (DLD Contract F, clause 11, verified 16 October 2026).

The sale card does not assign every fixed document, map and partner line to a contractual payer. Those lines therefore also need an identified payer in the agreed closing statement. The ledgers below explicitly assume that the buyer funds the fixed sale charges and the borrower funds the mortgage charges. These are example contract terms, not a published allocation rule.

The Dubai buying guide covers the wider sequence from contracting to registration. This page remains the reference for matching an itemised fee statement to the registration schedules.

Which trustee and map charges apply?

The sale value selects the trustee tier, while the property's category and jurisdiction identify the relevant property/map line. A Real Estate Registration Trustee is a DLD service partner that processes registration through its service centre.

The unified-map, land-map and villa/apartment entries are applicability categories. They are not all added to the apartment example. Its assumed ready apartment uses AED 250 for the villa/apartment line and AED 250 for title deed issuance; neither land-map line is included (DLD sale schedule, as of 16 October 2026).

For the trustee line expressly quoted plus VAT, the UAE government's published standard VAT rate is 5%. Calculated amounts are AED 4,000 + AED 200 = AED 4,200 at or above the sale-value boundary, and AED 2,000 + AED 100 = AED 2,100 below it (UAE government VAT explanation and DLD sale schedule, verified 16 October 2026).

These calculations apply VAT only to the partner lines expressly quoted plus VAT. They do not add VAT automatically to the percentage, title, map, Knowledge or Innovation amounts in the DLD schedule.

What changes with a mortgage or Oqood?

Mortgage registration adds 0.25% of the mortgage value, with applicable document, drawing and service-partner lines. Oqood is the provisional sale-registration record named in DLD's mortgage service; its partner fee differs from the ordinary mortgage line.

Source: withlida.com, 16 October 2026, from DLD Mortgage Registration and the UAE government VAT explanation. VAT-inclusive partner amounts are calculations using the published 5% standard rate.

DLD repeats the ordinary title-deed wording on the mortgage card. That repetition does not establish two issuance charges for a single deed. The example counts one mortgage deed once. Its separate sale issuance line represents an explicitly assumed sale output; an additional mortgage issuance charge requires an additional charged output in that file (DLD mortgage schedule, verified 16 October 2026).

Bank electronic and trustee routes

DLD describes two submission routes. In the bank electronic route, the bank uploads and audits the documents, sends the transaction to DLD for audit, and DLD deducts its fees from the bank account. This operational debit does not establish who ultimately bears the fees under the bank's agreement with the borrower.

In the trustee route, the customer submits the documents at the service centre, the transaction is entered and audited, and the customer pays and receives a receipt. The card lists partner fees separately but does not establish that every financed sale attracts two partner charges, or that the bank electronic route has a universal partner-fee waiver (DLD mortgage service, as of 16 October 2026).

The financed ledger below assumes a separately billed ordinary trustee mortgage service. A combined sale-and-mortgage statement or an electronic bank submission needs its own channel and output reconciliation. For the wider lending process, see the non-resident mortgage guide; registration amounts are itemised here.

For a provisional file, the Oqood partner category is used where applicable, and the output follows that provisional service. The ready-property sale ledger below does not establish a universal off-plan registration total (DLD mortgage service, as of 16 October 2026).

The documents that make the fee payable

The sale card describes document verification and transaction audit before fee payment and receipt; its published service time is a registration target, not the duration of the purchase.

For individual sale parties, DLD lists Emirates ID for verification, or a valid passport for non-resident foreigners. In freehold areas, where the relevant ownership right can be held outright, it also lists the developer's e-NOC, an electronic no-objection certificate through Dubai REST, DLD's property-services app (DLD sale service, as of 16 October 2026).

For individuals using the mortgage trustee route, DLD lists the mortgagee bank's letter, three bank-certified mortgage contracts signed by both parties, owner identification, developer e-NOC for provisional-sale properties, and legal power of attorney where a representative acts. Its bank electronic document section separately lists the developer e-NOC for provisional-sale properties (DLD mortgage service, as of 16 October 2026).

Source: withlida.com, 16 October 2026, from the DLD sale card and DLD mortgage card. Mortgage outputs are alternatives by transaction type, not a bundle issued to every applicant.

These service targets do not measure contract negotiation, developer clearance, bank credit assessment or the entire purchase. The sale card's service-fee payment methods are ePay, Dubai Pay, Noqodi Wallet and manager cheque. Those methods are distinct from the contract's arrangements for paying the property price to the seller (DLD sale card, as of 16 October 2026).

Which costs sit outside registration?

Brokerage, bank arrangement and valuation, developer clearance, insurance, currency conversion and any separately appointed professional services sit outside the registration subtotals below. Their applicable written quotes and agreed payers complete the transaction's wider cost record; no private fee rate is inserted into these examples.

Service charges are building or community running costs, rather than sale-registration charges. DLD's Service Charge Index provides approved jointly owned property service-fee information by project, use and year through its website, Mollak, the jointly owned property management system, or Dubai REST (DLD Service Charge Index, verified 16 October 2026).

Residency is a separate application process. The existing Golden Visa property guide covers the authority-specific eligibility evidence and application fees. Residence eligibility is not reproduced as a registration-fee line here.

Worked cash-sale and buyer-mortgage ledgers

On the assumptions below, the calculated buyer registration subtotal is AED 34,720 for the cash sale and AED 41,440 with the separately billed ordinary trustee mortgage service. These figures exclude the purchase price and the separately quoted costs listed above.

Both examples assume a hypothetical AED 1,500,000 ready apartment, a sale through a registration trustee, no existing seller mortgage, and a contract assigning the seller's percentage line to the seller, the buyer's percentage line to the buyer, and all fixed sale-service charges to the buyer. The apartment property/map category is the only such category used.

Cash-sale ledger

No loan or mortgage-registration service is assumed in this example.

Source: withlida.com, 16 October 2026, calculations from the stated hypothetical inputs, DLD sale schedule, Contract F and UAE VAT rate.

The fixed sale-service subtotal is AED 250 + AED 250 + AED 10 + AED 10 + AED 4,000 + AED 200 = AED 4,720. Adding the buyer's assumed percentage allocation gives AED 30,000 + AED 4,720 = AED 34,720. Across both parties, the calculated registration subtotal is AED 34,720 + AED 30,000 = AED 64,720.

Buyer-mortgage ledger

This example additionally assumes an already approved AED 900,000 mortgage, with the borrower paying all mortgage-registration lines. The amount is an illustration input, not a lending offer. The ordinary mortgage is processed as a separately billed trustee service, producing one additional charged title deed and one chargeable drawing.

Source: withlida.com, 16 October 2026, calculations from the stated hypothetical inputs, DLD sale schedule, DLD mortgage schedule and UAE VAT rate.

The buyer subtotal is AED 34,720 + AED 6,720 = AED 41,440. Across both parties, the calculated registration subtotal is AED 41,440 + AED 30,000 = AED 71,440. A different channel, partner invoice or charged output count changes the applicable ledger; the example does not establish a universal second trustee or title charge.

If a different signed allocation expressly shifts the seller's AED 30,000 percentage amount to the buyer, the buyer's calculated registration subtotals become AED 64,720 for cash or AED 71,440 under the same separate mortgage-service assumptions. This reallocates the same combined fees between the parties; it is an alternative contract assumption, not a payment instruction (DLD Contract F, clause 11, verified 16 October 2026).

Fees FAQ, verified 16 October 2026

Who pays DLD fees in Dubai?

The sale card labels seller 2% and buyer 2% of the sale value. Contract F clause 11 records the parties' agreed allocation of the combined transfer fee. Fixed document and partner costs also need an agreed payer; this guide does not assume that the buyer funds every line (DLD sale schedule and Contract F, as of 16 October 2026).

How much is the DLD fee?

The combined sale percentage is 4% of sale value, before applicable fixed charges. The sale partner fee is AED 4,000 plus VAT at AED 500,000 or more, or AED 2,000 plus VAT below that boundary. Property/map and output lines follow the file (DLD sale schedule, as of 16 October 2026).

How is DLD calculated?

The sale percentage is calculated from the sale value, then allocated under the contract and combined with applicable fixed lines. In the hypothetical AED 1,500,000 example, each scheduled 2% line is AED 30,000. Mortgage registration uses the mortgage value instead (DLD sale and mortgage schedules, as of 16 October 2026).

Does a mortgage add another DLD fee?

Yes. DLD lists 0.25% of mortgage value and applicable document, drawing and partner lines. It describes bank electronic and trustee routes separately. A second partner or issuance charge depends on the separately billed service and charged outputs; the repeated deed wording is not a basis for charging twice for one deed (DLD mortgage service, as of 16 October 2026).

Is Oqood mortgage registration priced the same as an ordinary mortgage?

The mortgage card lists a provisional Oqood service-partner fee of AED 5,000 plus VAT, compared with AED 4,000 plus VAT for the ordinary partner line. Those are alternative partner categories. The applicable provisional certificate and other charged outputs follow the transaction (DLD mortgage service, as of 16 October 2026).

How much is the real estate commission in Dubai?

This registration reference does not set a brokerage tariff. Any brokerage amount and its payer belong in the separately agreed agency quote or agreement. Brokerage is excluded from both registration ledgers; neither the DLD sale nor mortgage service card supplies a universal private-cost package, as checked on 16 October 2026.

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Change log: 2026-10-16 · refreshed · Replaced the buyer-payment assumption with DLD Contract F clause 11; reconciled sale/property-map applicability, mortgage channels and charged outputs with the DLD service cards; dated VAT arithmetic and conditional ledgers; routed wider buying, lending and residency topics to their existing guides. Sources verified 16 October 2026.