What is DLD Fees (Complete List)?
DLD fees are the Dubai Land Department charges due when a property transaction registers: a 4% transfer fee, an AED 580 title deed fee, a trustee office fee of AED 4,200 (AED 2,100 below AED 500,000), AED 260 in knowledge and innovation fees, and 0.25% mortgage registration where a loan is involved.
Description
Every registered Dubai property purchase pays the same published fee stack to the Dubai Land Department. The headline item is the transfer fee at 4% of the purchase price, due at the point the sale registers. In market practice the buyer pays the full 4%, although the law frames it as shared between the parties unless agreed otherwise.
Around the 4% sit the fixed charges, per DLD's published fee schedule (2026): AED 580 for issuing the title deed on an apartment, a registration trustee office fee of AED 4,200 plus VAT for properties priced at AED 500,000 or above (AED 2,100 plus VAT below that line), and the knowledge fee of AED 250 plus the innovation fee of AED 10 that attach to the transaction.
Financed purchases add mortgage registration: 0.25% of the loan amount plus AED 290, paid to DLD so the bank's charge is recorded against the title. This is separate from anything the bank itself charges for arranging the loan.
Off-plan purchases pay the same 4% at Oqood registration, the interim register for unbuilt units, so buying before completion does not avoid the transfer fee. It simply moves the payment to the contract registration stage.
How to interpret
Read the 4% as the floor of your closing costs, not the total. On a resale you add the trustee office, deed and knowledge fees, the agent commission of 2% plus 5% VAT, and mortgage fees if financed, which is how all-in costs reach the 7 to 8% range.
Because most of the stack is either a percentage or a small fixed amount, the effective burden falls slightly as prices rise: the fixed AED 5,000 or so of admin charges weigh more on an AED 600,000 studio than on an AED 2M two-bed.
दुबई मार्केट संदर्भ
On an AED 1.2M resale apartment the DLD side alone comes to about AED 53,250: AED 48,000 transfer fee, AED 580 title deed, AED 4,410 trustee office including VAT, and AED 260 knowledge and innovation fees. Agent commission and bank charges sit on top of that.
Developers periodically market off-plan launches with a DLD fee waiver or rebate, where the developer absorbs the 4% as an incentive. Treat that as a discount funded by the developer, not a change to the fee itself: the registration still happens and the fee is still paid.
All of these amounts are collected at a registration trustee office at the point of transfer, which is why transfer appointments are settled with manager's cheques made out precisely to the fee schedule.
Frequently asked questions
The core stack is 4% of the purchase price, plus AED 580 for the title deed on an apartment, a trustee office fee of AED 4,200 plus VAT (AED 2,100 plus VAT below AED 500,000), and AED 260 in knowledge and innovation fees. Mortgaged purchases add 0.25% of the loan plus AED 290.
By convention in the Dubai market the buyer pays the full 4%. The regulation allows the parties to split it, but a buyer should budget the whole amount unless the contract explicitly says otherwise.
Yes. The 4% is paid at Oqood registration when the sale contract is recorded, so off-plan buyers pay the same transfer fee as resale buyers, unless the developer is running a fee waiver promotion and absorbs it.
About AED 53,250 in total DLD-side charges: AED 48,000 at 4%, AED 580 title deed, AED 4,410 trustee office including VAT, and AED 260 knowledge and innovation fees. Agent commission and mortgage costs are separate.
0.25% of the loan amount plus AED 290, per the published schedule. On an AED 840,000 loan that is AED 2,390.
The transfer fee is only paid when the transaction registers, so a deal that collapses before transfer never triggers it. Amounts already paid on a registered transaction are not refunded in the ordinary course.
This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment, financial, legal, or tax advice. Yields, returns, and market data referenced are historical or estimated and are not guaranteed. Capital is at risk. Seek independent professional advice before making investment decisions. Oliva is a licensed Dubai real estate advisor (DLD Broker Card: 92025, RERA BRN: 1573501). Read our Key Risks Disclosure and Disclaimer.