Answers · Buying basics

What is the DLD transfer fee in Dubai?

The DLD fee in Dubai is 4% of the sale price, paid to the Land Department when a property changes hands. The regulation splits it 2% seller and 2% buyer unless the parties agree otherwise, and in practice the buyer pays all of it. On an AED 1.5 million apartment that is AED 60,000, plus AED 520 in fixed charges.

Updated September 2026 · By Ahmed Kandil

On paper, both. The Land Department’s own fee schedule lists 2% from the seller and 2% from the buyer, and its buyer guide says the 4% is paid in equal parts unless the two sides agree otherwise. What happens is that almost every resale contract in Dubai agrees otherwise, and the buyer pays the full 4%. That has been the custom for years, and sellers price on the assumption that it will stay that way, which means asking a seller to pay their half is really a 2% price reduction by another name. You can ask, and in a slow building you may get it, but do not build your budget on it.

Fixed charges for an apartment or villa: AED 250 title deed, AED 250 map, AED 10 knowledge fee, AED 10 innovation fee. The trustee charges AED 4,000 plus VAT from AED 500,000 upwards and AED 2,000 plus VAT below that. Broker commission is separate. Source: Dubai Land Department fee schedule, September 2026.

Yes, and earlier than people expect. An off-plan contract has to be entered on the Land Department’s interim register within 90 days of signing, and the same 2% plus 2% is charged at that registration, not at handover, so it does not spread across a post-handover payment plan. When the building completes, the title deed is issued for the fixed charges only, so you do not pay 4% twice on the same purchase. Where it gets confusing is the launch offers. When a developer advertises a DLD waiver, the fee is still due to the Land Department, it is just the developer paying it on your behalf, and on a AED 2 million unit that is a genuine AED 80,000, so it is worth more than most of the other incentives on the brochure. One more thing to note: if you sell that off-plan unit before handover, your buyer registers a new sale and pays 4% on the new price. I go through that in selling off-plan before handover.

Two that matter. If you are borrowing, the mortgage itself is registered at the Land Department for 0.25% of the loan amount, plus AED 270 in fixed charges, and the trustee charges AED 4,000 plus VAT for that registration as well, or AED 5,000 plus VAT on an off-plan mortgage. And if the unit is in a building with a developer or owners’ association, the seller needs a no-objection certificate before the transfer, for which the developer may charge an administrative fee, and by law that fee has to be one the Land Department has approved. Everything else, the broker’s commission, the bank’s valuation, the conveyancer if you use one, is a private charge and not a DLD fee, and I add them all up in the full cost of buying property in Dubai.

Is the 4% negotiable?

The rate is not, it is set by the Land Department. Who pays it is a matter of contract, so a seller can agree to cover part of it, and a developer can pay it for you on a launch.

Do I pay a DLD fee when I sell?

Usually not. The buyer pays the 4% by custom, and as seller you only pay for the developer’s no-objection certificate and your broker, unless your contract says otherwise.

Can I add the DLD fee to my mortgage?

That is a bank and Central Bank question rather than a Land Department one, and the answer changed recently, so I cover it in how much down payment you need in Dubai.