Buying a ready apartment in Dubai typically adds approximately 6.5% to the purchase price: 4% for the DLD transfer, about 2.1% for agency commission including VAT, with the rest made up of fixed fees.
Rather than relying on one headline rate, this calculator reflects the transaction procedure. Enter the price, deal type, property type, cash or mortgage payment, and loan amount, and the result is recalculated in the browser. No contact details are requested, and no information is sent anywhere.
| Government fees | |
|---|---|
| DLD transfer fee, 4% | 60 000 |
| Administrative fee | 580 |
| Title deed issuance | 250 |
| Property map | 250 |
| Knowledge and innovation fees | 20 |
| Trustee centre fee incl. 5% VAT | 4 200 |
| Agency commission incl. 5% VAT | 31 500 |
| Total on top of the price | 96 800 |
| 6.5% of the property price | |
Our fee: 2% + VAT on resale and on an off-plan assignment, 0% when buying direct from the developer (the developer pays). We charge no admin fee.
For a villa we apply AED 580, which is how it runs in practice. Note that trustee offices themselves publish different villa figures (AED 430 and AED 580), so other calculators and guides may show a different number.
An off-plan resale goes through a trustee centre: AED 3,500 + VAT below AED 500,000 and AED 5,000 + VAT at or above (AED 3,675 and AED 5,250 including VAT). This is a separate tariff from ready property, and it is rarely published anywhere.
On off-plan the trustee fee is normally not charged — the developer registers the initial sale (AED 1,000 via the Oqood portal). If you take a mortgage on an off-plan unit, the DLD service partner fee is AED 5,000 + VAT.
The administrative fee and the AED 290 mortgage fee are published by trustee centres; they do not appear on the DLD service pages.
This is an estimate. It excludes charges DLD does not set: developer NOC, conveyancing, bank fees, valuation, DEWA and chiller deposits.
What the calculator counts — and what it leaves out
The calculator begins with the DLD transfer charge of 4% of the price, then applies the registration admin fee for the selected procedure: AED 580 for an apartment or villa, AED 430 for land, and AED 40 for off-plan.
Next come the AED 250 title deed fee, the AED 250 map fee or AED 225 for land, and AED 10 Knowledge plus AED 10 Innovation fees. The trustee fee matches the exact procedure and is shown with VAT. A mortgage purchase adds 0.25% of the loan and AED 290. Agency commission is 2% + VAT, while it is zero for a unit bought from the developer.
The result changes with the price, deal type, property type, payment method and loan amount. It is recalculated in the browser, without requesting contact details.
Several charges have no fixed figure in the calculator: the developer or community NOC fee, bank arrangement and valuation fees, conveyancing, service charge paid forward at handover, and DEWA and district cooling connection deposits.
Developers, communities and banks set these amounts case by case, rather than through a single public tariff. The calculator therefore uses a figure only where a public tariff exists.
Why the percentage shifts with the price
Because the total is measured against the purchase price, fixed charges take up more of the bill on lower-priced transactions.
A ready apartment bought for AED 400,000 in cash comes to AED 27,600, or 6.90%. For the same type of cash purchase at AED 1,500,000, the total is AED 96,800, or 6.45%. The transfer charge and agency commission increase with the price, while the title deed, map, Knowledge and Innovation fees, registration administration and trustee service follow a different pattern.
At the upper end, the gap is still there: a ready villa at AED 3,000,000 in cash has a total of AED 188,300, equal to 6.28%.
For sale registration, the AED 500,000 trustee threshold changes the fixed element. Below AED 500,000, the trustee fee is AED 2,000 + VAT; at or above AED 500,000, it is AED 4,000 + VAT. Mortgage registration has no such threshold: the service fee is AED 4,000 + VAT at any value.
Off-plan: two different deals, two different totals
Both transactions involve an under-construction unit, but their cost structures are different.
A direct purchase from the developer is an initial sale registered through the Oqood Portal. It carries no trustee service partner fee, and the buyer pays 0% agency commission because the developer covers it. For an AED 1,500,000 cash purchase, the total is AED 60,060, or 4.00% of the price.
An assignment is the resale of an under-construction unit, not an initial sale from the developer.
That distinction changes the calculation. The trustee tariff is AED 5,000 + VAT at or above AED 500,000 — AED 3,500 + VAT below that level — higher than for a ready sale, while the buyer’s agency commission is 2% + VAT. On an AED 1,500,000 cash assignment, the total is AED 96,810. Using the direct-from-developer calculation for an assignment omits resale charges; adding assignment fees to an initial sale creates costs that do not apply.
Select the deal type before comparing totals, even if the property and price are identical.
How to check the figure you are quoted
Start by separating the agency fee from government and trustee charges. For a ready resale, Continental Club’s buyer commission is 2% + VAT; for a unit bought off-plan from the developer, it is 0% — paid by the developer. With VAT at 5%, AED 4,200 breaks down as AED 4,000 plus VAT.
Before signing, the agreed agency rate belongs in Form A, Form B or Form F. RERA does not set a commission rate, so 2% is a market custom rather than a statutory tariff. Continental Club has no admin fee and no hidden charges.
Pay government and trustee fees at a Real Estate Trustee Centre and obtain a receipt issued in the buyer’s name. Cash transfers to an agency are not needed for these payments. The DLD registry lists 41 Properties Trustee centres and 27 Registration Trustee centres, including licence numbers, telephone numbers and coordinates.
For sale registration, the service partner fee is AED 2,000 + VAT below AED 500,000 and AED 4,000 + VAT at or above AED 500,000. Mortgage registration costs AED 4,000 + VAT at any value, alongside 0.25% of the mortgage value.
What we charge, in one line
Continental Club charges 2% + VAT to the buyer on resale, 2% + VAT to the seller on resale, and 0% to the buyer on off-plan bought from the developer. There is no admin fee and no hidden charges, and the rate goes into Form A, B or F before anything is signed. The reasoning behind each of those numbers, and the three places the famous AED 5,000 “admin fee” comes from, are set out in what agencies actually charge in Dubai.
Questions about the numbers
How much are the fees when buying property in Dubai?
For a ready apartment priced at AED 1,500,000 and bought with cash, the total is AED 96,800, or 6.45% of the price. This includes AED 65,300 in government and trustee fees and AED 31,500 agency commission at 2% + VAT. An off-plan purchase from the developer at the same price totals AED 60,060, or 4.00%.
How much is the DLD transfer fee?
The DLD transfer fee is 2% of the sale value for the buyer and 2% of the sale value for the seller. The calculator includes a combined 4% of the price for DLD transfer.
Do I pay agency commission when buying off-plan?
Agency commission is 0% for the buyer when an off-plan unit is bought from the developer. The developer pays the broker; for a resale purchase, Continental Club’s buyer commission is 2% + VAT.
How much is the trustee fee in Dubai?
The trustee fee is AED 2,000 + VAT for sale registration below AED 500,000 and AED 4,000 + VAT at AED 500,000 or more. Mortgage registration carries AED 4,000 + VAT at any value; mortgage discharge and lease-to-own discharge cost AED 300 + VAT.