Budgeting Beyond the Price: Every Fee on a Dubai Home Purchase

When we sit down with a buyer to set a budget, the agreed price is only the starting line. A series of fees is payable before the keys change hands, and together they add a meaningful amount to the cash you need. We build every one of them into the plan from the first meeting so the final figure holds no surprises.

The fee list we work from

The last three rows apply only in particular cases. Valuation, arrangement and mortgage registration arise when you borrow. The NOC arises when you buy a resale home and the developer must issue a no-objection letter.

A worked example for a cash buyer

Consider a AED 1,500,000 apartment bought without a mortgage:

• DLD land registration at 4%: AED 60,000
• Agency fee at 2% plus VAT: approximately AED 31,500
• Registration trustee fee: approximately AED 4,200
• Plus the smaller admin items

Added up, the buyer should expect to spend somewhere in the region of AED 96,000 to AED 100,000 before collecting the keys. Anyone financing the purchase would then add the bank and mortgage-related charges on top.

Which fees apply in your case

Not every buyer pays every line in the table. We sort the list by scenario so you only budget for what is relevant.

Paying cash for a new or ready home. Your core costs are the 4% registration fee with its admin charges, the agency fee with VAT, and the trustee fee with VAT. This is the scenario behind the 7–8% guide figure.

Borrowing to buy. Add the bank's valuation charge, its arrangement fee and the 0.25% mortgage registration with the Dubai Land Department. That is why mortgage buyers should allow a little more than cash buyers.

Buying a resale unit. Ask early what the developer charges for its NOC, since the amount is set by each developer rather than by a fixed schedule.

Why holding period matters

None of these fees comes back to you when you sell. That makes the length of ownership one of the most important inputs in any purchase decision.

If you sell after two years, the entire fee bill is effectively spread over just those two years, so the cost per year is high. Hold for longer and the same total is divided across more years, so each year carries a much smaller share. For that reason, one of our first questions to any buyer is how long they expect to keep the property.

Our budgeting checklist

Before you make an offer, we confirm the following with you:

1. The deposit or down payment, separate from the fees.
2. The 4% DLD fee and admin charges, calculated on your actual price.
3. Agency and trustee fees, including VAT.
4. Finance costs, if borrowing: valuation, arrangement fee and mortgage registration.
5. Any developer NOC charge on a resale.
6. Your expected holding period, so you can see what the fees cost you per year.

The short version: set aside the purchase price, your deposit and roughly 7–8% extra to cover fees.

Keep the numbers current

The fixed AED amounts above are approximate and do change. Before you transfer anything, check today's figures with your bank and on dubailand.gov.ae. We do the same on every transaction we handle.

How we help

From the first conversation, we prepare a written cost sheet for the specific property you are considering, with each fee shown separately and VAT included where it applies. That way you can see the full cash requirement before you commit, and compare options on a like-for-like basis.

*Sources: Dubai Land Department fee schedule; bank tariffs. Fixed AED amounts are approximate and subject to change. Last checked 1 October 2026.*

General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Check current rules with DLD/RERA before acting.