Where the money goes on an AED 1.5m resale
Cash purchase, using the fees above. Calculated by the same formulas as the returns calculator.
Buying guide
Buying property in Dubai, step by step
The process, every cost, mortgage limits, visa rules and the risks, with the official source for each figure. Fees checked 3 Oct 2026.
Process
How buying works
A ready resale ends at a DLD trustee office. An off-plan purchase is registered on Oqood, and the title deed follows handover.
Ready resale
- Agree terms and sign the MOU (Form F)Price, deposit (commonly 10%, held by the agent or trustee) and transfer date.
- Developer NOCThe seller requests a no-objection certificate confirming no service-charge arrears.
- Mortgage, if anyValuation, final offer and the seller's loan release are arranged.
- Transfer at a DLD trustee officeFees are paid, the price is settled by manager's cheque and DLD issues the new title deed.
Off-plan
- ReservationBooking form and deposit with the developer.
- Sale and purchase agreement (SPA)Check the payment plan, handover date, delay clauses and specification.
- Oqood registrationThe interim register at DLD. The 4% DLD fee is usually due now.
- Payment planInstalments are paid into the project's escrow account as construction progresses.
- Handover and title deedSnagging, final payment (or mortgage), keys, and the title deed is issued.
Fees
Total cost of buying
On top of the price. Official fees link to their source. Market-practice items are conventions you can negotiate. Amounts we could not confirm on an official page are marked for verification.
DLD transfer fee4%of the priceBuyer (by convention)
Title and admin520AEDConfirm Working assumption is the itemised DLD schedule of AED 520. Some trustee offices quote a bundled AED 580.
Trustee office4,200AED incl. VAT at 500,000 or more · 2,100 belowBuyer
Agency, resale2%of the price + 5% VATMarket practice Buyer
Mortgage registration0.25%of the loan + AED 290Confirm Working assumption: AED 290 admin on top of 0.25%. Secondary sources quote this admin amount. Confirm it on the trustee receipt.
Bank arrangement1%of the loan + 5% VATMarket practice Buyer, if financed
Bank valuation3,000AEDMarket practice Confirm Working assumption: AED 3,000, inside a common AED 2,500–3,500 range. Use the bank's quote.
Developer NOC2,000AEDMarket practice Confirm Working assumption: AED 2,000, inside a common AED 500–5,000 range. Use the developer's quote.
| Cost | Amount | Who pays | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| DLD transfer fee DLD lists 2% for the seller and 2% for the buyer. By market convention the buyer pays the full 4% on ready and off-plan (Oqood) purchases, unless the contract splits it | 4% of price | Buyer (by convention) | Dubai Land Department Checked 3 Oct 2026 |
| Title deed, map and DLD admin fees Ready property (title deed AED 250 + apartment/building map AED 250 + knowledge and innovation fees AED 20) Working assumption is the itemised DLD schedule of AED 520. Some trustee offices quote a bundled AED 580. | AED 520 | Buyer | Dubai Land Department Checked 3 Oct 2026 |
| Registration trustee office fee (incl. VAT) AED 4,200 if price is AED 500,000 or more; AED 2,100 below | AED 4,200 / AED 2,100 | Buyer | Dubai Land Department Checked 3 Oct 2026 |
| Agency commission Market practice Resale purchases. Usually nil for a buyer buying off-plan directly (the developer pays the agent) | 2% of price + 5% VAT | Buyer | Market practice in Dubai, negotiable Checked 3 Oct 2026 |
| Mortgage registration 0.25% of the loan + AED 290 admin Working assumption: AED 290 admin on top of 0.25%. Secondary sources quote this admin amount. Confirm it on the trustee receipt. | 0.25% of loan + AED 290 | Buyer, if financed | Dubai Land Department Checked 3 Oct 2026 |
| Bank arrangement fee Market practice Up to 1% of the loan, set by the bank | 1% of loan + 5% VAT | Buyer, if financed | Bank-dependent (typical cap quoted by lenders) Checked 3 Oct 2026 |
| Bank valuation Market practice About AED 2,500–3,500, set by the bank's valuer Working assumption: AED 3,000, inside a common AED 2,500–3,500 range. Use the bank's quote. | AED 3,000 | Buyer, if financed | Bank-dependent Checked 3 Oct 2026 |
| Developer NOC (resale) Market practice Set by each developer, commonly AED 500–5,000 Working assumption: AED 2,000, inside a common AED 500–5,000 range. Use the developer's quote. | AED 2,000 | Seller (usually) | Developer-set Checked 3 Oct 2026 |
Fees change. Confirm the final figures with your trustee office, bank and developer before you sign. Off-plan purchases pay the DLD 4% at Oqood registration; developer admin or Oqood fees vary by developer.
After you buy
Running costs
The owner pays the building. A tenant usually pays Ejari and the housing fee. Short-term letting needs its own permit.
Working assumption
Empty service-charge field
If the calculator field is left empty and a size is entered, it uses AED 15 per sq ft, the midpoint of a typical AED 10–25 band. That is a working assumption, not the building's figure, and district cooling can sit on top.
Service charges
Set per building by the owners' association and published through DLD's Mollak system as AED per sq ft per year. They vary widely, so ask for the unit's exact figure. Look it up on the DLD Service Charge Index.
Ejari
Every lease must be registered with Ejari; DLD lists AED 100 plus AED 20 in knowledge and innovation fees, about AED 178 in total online after the service-partner fee and VAT (DLD, checked 3 Oct 2026). Usually paid by the tenant or agent.
Dubai Municipality housing fee
Charged through the DEWA bill in monthly instalments: tenants pay 5% of the Ejari annual rent (Dubai Municipality, checked 3 Oct 2026). Owner-occupiers, and sometimes an owner whose DEWA account is still in their name while the unit is empty, pay a fee based on an estimated rental value.
Renewal rent
Decree No. 43 of 2013 caps how much a renewal can rise, using the DLD rental index. A new-lease median is the comparison for a vacant unit. It is the wrong rent for a unit that already has a tenant.
District cooling
In some buildings a capacity charge is billed to the owner on top of the service charge, including in months when the unit is vacant. Ask which charges are inside Mollak and which are not.
Letting and management
Commonly about 5% of the annual rent for finding a tenant, and 5–8% a year for full management (market practice, negotiable). A letting fee in year one can sit on top of the annual management fee. MNS Homez is licensed for buying and selling brokerage only, and does not let or manage property.
Maintenance and insurance
Budget something every year; our calculator defaults to 0.5% of the price as an assumption you can change.
Holiday homes need a permit
Short-term letting needs a permit from Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism, and many buildings prohibit it. The Ejari rents on this site are annual leases, not holiday-home income.
Borrowing
Mortgages
The UAE Central Bank sets maximum loan-to-value ratios for residents. The higher band is for a first home the buyer will live in. A first purchase that will be rented is an investment property.
Maximum term 25 years. Source: CBUAE Rulebook – Mortgage Regulations, Article 3, checked 3 Oct 2026.
Caps, not a loan offer
These limits are regulatory caps, not a loan offer. The amount, rate and fees in the returns calculator are estimates. Check them with a mortgage broker.
| Buyer and property | Maximum LTV |
|---|---|
| Resident expatriate, first owner-occupied home, below AED 5m | 80% |
| Resident expatriate, first owner-occupied home, above AED 5m | 70% |
| Resident expatriate, second home or any property bought to rent | 60% |
| UAE national, first owner-occupied home, up to AED 5m | 85% |
| UAE national, first owner-occupied home, above AED 5m | 75% |
| UAE national, second home or any property bought to rent | 65% |
| Any buyer, off-plan property | 50% |
Non-residents
Not set by the Central Bank. Bank-dependent; lenders commonly offer about 50–60% on ready property and rarely finance off-plan for non-residents.
What your income allows
- Monthly debt repayments cannot exceed 50% of gross income.
- The maximum loan is also 7 years of income for an expatriate and 8 years for a UAE national.
- The deposit has to come from the borrower's own money, not from another loan.
- Banks test whether the borrower can still pay at a higher rate than the starting rate.
- A permitted loan-to-value is not the same as a permitted loan size.
Residence
Visas via property
A completed home can support a 10-year Golden Visa or a separate 2-year investor visa. An off-plan Oqood usually does not.
Thresholds to remember
- Golden Visa, wholly owned
- AED 2,000,000
- Golden Visa, your share if joint
- AED 2,000,000
- 2-year visa, sole owner
- No minimum
- 2-year visa, joint share
- AED 400,000
Golden Visa
- Property with a purchase value of at least AED 2 million, wholly owned in the applicant's name, can support a 10-year renewable residence permit.
- More than one property can be combined when each is in that name.
- Mortgaged property is accepted with a bank no-objection letter; DLD's page asks for proof that AED 2 million has been paid.
- The applicant must be in the UAE.
- Off-plan. DLD's document list asks for a title deed or e-Certificate of Title. An off-plan purchase that only has an Oqood registration may not be accepted. Confirm with DLD before you buy off-plan in order to get this visa.
- Joint owners. GDRFA requires each applicant's own share to be worth at least AED 2 million. Two names on a single AED 2 million title do not each qualify.
- You have to keep it. GDRFA requires a restriction on the property for the life of the visa so the ownership continues. Selling can end the visa.
Sources: Dubai Land Department – Golden Visa application (Investor) and GDRFA Dubai – golden residence, real estate investment, checked 5 Oct 2026. Rules change; confirm with DLD or GDRFA before you buy for a visa.
Investor visa
- DLD's investor residence service is a separate 2-year visa.
- A sole owner of a completed property can apply with no minimum value.
- A joint owner needs a share of at least AED 400,000.
- The service asks for an electronic title deed, so off-plan does not qualify until handover.
Source: Dubai Land Department – Investor Residence Application (Taskeen), checked 5 Oct 2026.
Compare
Off-plan vs ready
Off-plan spreads the price and delays the rent. A ready home costs more up front, and you can check today's rents.
| Off-plan | Ready | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash flow | Instalments over the build, often a large payment at handover | Full price (or deposit plus mortgage) at transfer |
| Rent | None until handover, then a market you cannot know today | From day one, and you can check today's rents |
| Main risks | Handover delay, developer, specification, supply at handover | Condition, service charges, vacancy |
| Price | In these 2026 sales, higher per sq ft than ready. A payment plan does not make the foot cheaper | Set by registered resale comparables |
| Resale before handover | Often allowed only after a set share is paid (developer-dependent) | Free to sell, subject to NOC |
| Protection | Payments go into a regulated project escrow account (Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007) | Title deed transferred at DLD on payment |
| Financing | Central Bank LTV cap 50%; few lenders for non-residents | Up to the LTV caps above. The higher cap is only for a home you will live in |
Before you buy
Risks to weigh
These are the checks that change the numbers.
Handover delay
Rent starts later and the handover payment moves. Check the developer's delivery record and that payments sit in the project escrow account.
Off-plan share
From January to September 2026, 75% of registered home sales were off-plan (79,582 of 106,172, Dubai Land Department open data). Those buyers are waiting on homes that are not earning rent yet.
Rent on a comparable unit
The citywide median of new flat leases went from AED 72,000 in January 2026 to AED 75,000 in September (+4.2%, Dubai Land Department Ejari). Rent per sq ft went from AED 96.9 to AED 97.6. Flats under 600 sq ft went from AED 48,000 to AED 45,000. That citywide median is not one building. Underwrite the unit. A tenanted unit is also limited by the RERA index.
Prices
The median ready-flat price per sq ft went from AED 1,425 in January 2026 to AED 1,373 in September (3.6% below January, Dubai Land Department). That is a lower entry than at the start of 2026. This is the same year, not a comparison with 2025.
Also weigh
- Developer risk.
- Service-charge increases.
- Liquidity. A resale can take months. Quieter months than the January peak are when buyers have more room to negotiate.
- Regulatory change.
- Currency. The dirham is pegged to the US dollar, so returns in your currency move with USD.
Tax
Tax
Holding a home in your own name is not the same as holding it through a company or a holiday-home licence.
In your own name
The UAE has no personal income tax and no annual property tax on an individual who holds property in their own name and does not need a trade licence.
Corporate tax can apply
Rent received through a company, or through a licensed activity such as holiday-home letting, can fall under UAE corporate tax at 9% above the applicable threshold.
VAT and tax at home
- VAT at 5% applies to agency commission and some fees.
- Residential rent and residential resales are generally exempt from VAT.
- Your home country may tax the rent or the gain. Take advice where you are tax resident.
Title
Ownership and inheritance
How the name on the title is written changes who can sell and who inherits.
A will signed abroad does not automatically apply
Dubai property does not automatically follow a will signed abroad. Without a will registered here, or a choice of the UAE's civil personal-status rules, the estate can be handled under UAE law.
- Non-Muslim owners
- Can register a will, including through the DIFC Courts Wills Service. The UAE's civil personal-status rules can apply where the owner has chosen them.
- If neither is in place
- The estate can be handled under UAE law.
- Joint, company or one name
- Joint names, a company name and a single name each change who can sell and who inherits.
- Before you choose
- Take advice before you choose how to hold the title.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers. The sections above carry the detail and the sources.
Can foreigners buy property in Dubai?
Yes, in designated freehold areas. The communities profiled on this site are in those zones. Confirm the title on the specific unit. You do not need to be a UAE resident to buy. Leasehold and restricted areas exist elsewhere in Dubai.
What does buying cost on top of the price?
Budget for the DLD transfer fee of 4% of the price. DLD lists 2% for the seller and 2% for the buyer; by market convention the buyer pays all of it unless the contract says otherwise. Add a trustee office fee (AED 4,200 incl. VAT at AED 500,000 or more), title deed and admin fees, and usually 2% + VAT agency commission on a resale. Mortgage buyers add registration, bank and valuation fees.
How much can I borrow?
For a resident expatriate, 80% is only for a first home they will live in, and only below AED 5 million (70% above that). A property bought to rent is capped at 60%, even if it is their first purchase. Off-plan is capped at 50% for everyone. Non-resident lending is set by the bank, commonly 50–60% on ready property. Repayments cannot exceed 50% of income, and an expatriate loan is also capped at 7 years of income.
Does buying property give me a visa?
A completed property worth at least AED 2,000,000, wholly in your name, can support a 10-year Golden Visa. If it is mortgaged, DLD asks for proof that AED 2 million has been paid. A joint owner's own share must be worth at least AED 2 million. DLD asks for a title deed, so an off-plan Oqood may not qualify, and selling can end the visa. A separate 2-year investor visa is open to a sole owner of a completed property with no minimum value, or a joint owner whose share is at least AED 400,000. Confirm with DLD or GDRFA before you buy for a visa.
Is off-plan cheaper than ready?
In these 2026 sales, off-plan prices per sq ft are higher than ready prices. On the Palm the off-plan median is AED 5,831 per sq ft and the ready median is AED 2,651. In Dubai South the off-plan median is AED 1,690 and the ready median is AED 1,078. The payment plan is paying more per foot for a home that earns no rent until handover. You also take on handover delay and developer risk, and a resale may be blocked until a set percentage is paid. From January to September 2026, 75% of registered Dubai home sales were off-plan (79,582 of 106,172, Dubai Land Department open data).
Where do ready-flat prices sit versus January?
On this site's Dubai Land Department records, the median ready-flat price per sq ft went from AED 1,425 in January 2026 to AED 1,373 in September, 3.6% below January. That is a lower entry than at the start of 2026. That is within 2026, not a comparison with 2025. A large Q1-to-Q3 move on one area page is which buildings sold, not a revaluation of every unit.
What rental yield can I expect?
It varies by area, building and unit. Area pages show a gross yield on ready-flat prices, and, where the typical 2026 sale was priced differently, the gross yield at that median sale price. Neither deducts service charge, vacancy or management. A tenanted unit may stay below the new-lease rent because of the RERA index. Use the returns calculator with the building's Mollak service charge.
Who pays service charges and how much are they?
The owner pays annual service charges set by the owners' association and published through DLD's Mollak system. They vary widely by building. A charge of roughly AED 10–25 per sq ft per year is common and can remove about 1 to 2.5 points from a gross yield. Ask for the exact figure, and ask whether district cooling is extra.
Can I raise the rent to the area median?
Only if the unit is vacant and you sign a new lease. If a tenant is in place, Decree No. 43 of 2013 caps the renewal increase by how far the current rent sits below the RERA index for a similar unit. The new-lease median on an area page is the wrong rent for a tenanted unit.
Do I pay tax on rental income?
The UAE has no personal income tax and no annual property tax on an individual who holds the property in their own name and does not need a trade licence. Rent received through a company, or through a licensed activity such as holiday-home letting, can fall under UAE corporate tax. Your home country may tax the rent or the gain.
How long does a resale transfer take?
Typically a few weeks from signed MOU (Form F) to transfer, depending on the developer's NOC and any mortgage. Cash deals are usually faster than mortgaged ones.