What it actually costs to sell a property in Dubai

What comes out of a Dubai sale, and in what order?

The order matters more than the total, because these costs do not arrive together. Two of them can be settled before a buyer is anywhere near the file. One applies only if a bank is involved. Only the last of them is paid in the room on transfer day, and by then it is too late to be surprised by any of the others.

The list below assumes a completed, ready property sold on the secondary market. An off-plan resale before handover runs on a different track, because the developer's own transfer rules and the interim register stand in place of a title deed.

1. 01

   Service charges, cleared to the day

   The owners association account has to be settled to the transfer date, not to the last invoice issued. Request a clearance statement in the first week of the listing: it is the figure most sellers have never checked, and it is what the certificate below waits on.

2. 02

   The developer no-objection certificate

   Set by each developer, paid by the seller, and issued only once the developer is satisfied the unit is clear. The Land Department does not publish it and it varies by developer, so ask the developer for the current fee in writing rather than assuming last year's.

3. 03

   Mortgage settlement, if there is one

   The outstanding balance plus the lender's own settlement and release charges, both stated on the liability letter, and the Land Department's mortgage release fees. Early settlement charges are capped under the UAE Central Bank's regulations, so ask the lender to state its charge in writing.

4. 04

   Agency commission

   2% of the sale price plus 5% VAT on the fee, so 2.1% in practice, payable on completion rather than on listing. It is agreed with the agency, which means it is negotiable and belongs in writing before the property is advertised.

5. 05

   The trustee office and the transfer fee

   AED 4,000 plus VAT to the registration trustee on a sale of AED 500,000 or more (AED 2,000 plus VAT below), and 4% of the price plus AED 520 in title deed and registration fees to the Dubai Land Department. The trustee fee is usually paid by the buyer, and both are paid at the transfer appointment itself.

Who pays the 4% transfer fee?

The Land Department's fee schedule sets the registration fee at 4% of the price and shares it equally between seller and buyer, 2% each, unless they agree otherwise. In practice the buyer usually agrees to carry all of it, which makes that an agreed practice rather than the law.

Which is worth knowing in two situations. In a slow segment, a seller offering to carry part or all of their legal half is a concession with a precise number attached, and often a cheaper one than the price reduction a buyer would otherwise ask for. And a buyer who proposes an equal split is asking for the legal default, which the seller should answer as a price question.

Whatever is agreed goes into the memorandum of understanding in figures. A sale that arrives at the trustee office with the fee unresolved does not complete that day.

Why do sales stall at the no-objection certificate?

The NOC is a short letter from the developer confirming it has no objection to the transfer, and the Land Department requires it for the sale to register. It is also, by a distance, the most common reason a Dubai sale with a signed contract and a funded buyer fails to complete on the date everyone had booked.

The developer will not issue it while anything at all is outstanding against the unit. Service charges are the usual cause, but the list is longer than most sellers expect.

1. 01

   Service charge arrears

   Including the current quarter, and including any amount in dispute. A disputed invoice still blocks the certificate for as long as it is being disputed.

2. 02

   District cooling and utility accounts

   Chilled water is billed separately from service charges in many communities and has to be settled separately. Closing the DEWA account is a further step again.

3. 03

   Unapproved alterations

   A removed wall, a glazed balcony, a changed kitchen layout that was never submitted for approval. The developer can require the unit reinstated before it will sign.

4. 04

   Open handover or snagging items

   In a recently handed over building, an item still logged against the unit can sit on the developer's file long after the owner has forgotten about it.

5. 05

   A validity window

   Most developers issue the certificate valid for a limited period. A transfer that slips past it means applying again, and paying again.

What does a mortgage add to the sale?

If the property is mortgaged, the bank sits between the seller and the transfer and sets the pace. The sequence is fixed, and the timings belong to the lender rather than to you.

1. 01

   The liability letter

   The seller asks their bank for a letter stating the exact settlement figure and the charges attached to it. It is issued with an expiry date, and everything downstream is timed against that date.

2. 02

   Settlement of the balance

   Paid by the buyer, by the buyer's bank, or by the seller in advance if the funds are there. Who pays it and at what point is a commercial term that belongs in the contract, never an assumption.

3. 03

   Release and the original title deed

   The bank issues its clearance and releases the deed. This takes days rather than hours, and longer across a long weekend.

4. 04

   Then, and only then, the NOC

   A developer will not issue its certificate on a unit the bank still holds. A mortgage therefore adds its whole timeline in front of the certificate rather than alongside it.

What does selling an AED 2,000,000 apartment cost?

Numbers show the shape of this better than percentages do. The example below is a mortgage-free apartment with a current service charge account, sold where the contract has the buyer carry the whole Land Department fee, as buyers usually agree to.

1. 01

   Agency commission: AED 42,000

   2% of 2,000,000 is 40,000, plus 5% VAT on the fee.

2. 02

   Developer NOC: set by the developer

   It varies by developer and the Land Department does not publish it, so ask the developer for the current fee, and whether it is refundable, in writing.

3. 03

   Service charges to the transfer date: varies

   The pro rata amount from the last settled period to the day of transfer. In a well run building this is a known figure. In a badly run one it is the surprise.

4. 04

   Seller's total: AED 42,000 plus the NOC fee

   Commission plus the developer's fee and any service charges to the transfer date, before anything the contract shifts onto the seller.

5. 05

   The buyer's side, for context: about AED 84,720

   AED 80,000 transfer fee, AED 520 in title deed and registration fees and AED 4,200 to the trustee office including VAT. Worth knowing, because that money has to be available on the day, and a buyer who has not budgeted for it is a buyer who postpones.

What do we do before a property goes on the market?

Every cost above is knowable in week one. Most of them are found in week nine, with a buyer waiting and a certificate refused.

So a listing with us starts with the ledger rather than the photographs. We pull the service charge position, get the developer's current NOC requirements and fee in writing, and where there is a mortgage we establish the settlement figure and the lender's release timeline before the property is advertised. The seller gets one page with every cost on it and a date the transfer can realistically happen.

It is unglamorous, and it is the part that decides whether the transfer happens on the date in the contract. Everything else in a sale is easier to fix than a refused certificate on the morning of the appointment.