For resales, Continental Club charges 2% + VAT to the buyer and 2% + VAT to the seller. For off-plan purchases, the buyer pays 0%; the developer covers the fee. There is no admin fee and no hidden charges.
Across Dubai, an agency’s commission and administrative charges may only emerge during a call, viewing or paperwork. This can blur the difference between a broker’s fee and payments for DLD, a trustee centre, the developer or mortgage registration.
Continental Club states its fee upfront, before Form B, Form F or an invoice is signed.
How much commission does Continental Club charge?
For a resale purchase, the buyer pays Continental Club 2% + VAT. For a resale sale, the seller’s commission is also 2% + VAT.
Off-plan buyers pay 0%, as the developer pays the broker. This is the usual arrangement for off-plan transactions rather than a special concession. There is no admin fee or hidden charge.
| Transaction | Continental Club commission |
|---|---|
| Resale buyer | 2% + VAT |
| Resale seller | 2% + VAT |
| Off-plan buyer | 0% — paid by the developer |
| Admin fee | None |
RERA does not prescribe a commission rate. The commonly used 2% is a market practice, not a legal tariff. What RERA requires is that the agreed rate appears in Form A, Form B or Form F.
An agency admin fee is separate from DLD fees and from any RERA rate. Some agencies add a flat AED 2,000–5,000 + VAT to the 2%; this is lawful only if it is set out in writing in Form B, Form F or the invoice before signing. Continental Club does not charge this fee.
DLD and trustee fees are paid at a Real Estate Trustee Centre, with a receipt issued in the buyer’s name. They are not agency commission.
Who pays the agency fee in Dubai?
In a resale transaction, Continental Club charges the buyer 2% + VAT and the seller 2% + VAT. There is no admin fee or hidden charge.
The 2% rate follows market custom and is not set by RERA. The agreed commission appears in Form A, Form B or Form F, separately from Dubai Land Department charges, trustee-centre fees and any mortgage-registration costs.
For off-plan purchases, the buyer pays 0% agency fee. The developer pays the broker.
This is the standard commercial structure for off-plan sales rather than a concession for the buyer. Developers appoint and remunerate brokers who introduce purchasers to their projects, so the broker’s payment is not added to the buyer’s side of the transaction.
Government and trustee fees are paid at a Real Estate Trustee Centre against a receipt issued in the buyer’s name, and they are not agency charges. If an agency fee applies, it is stated directly; if it does not, Continental Club adds no separate processing or administration amount.
What is an admin fee, and when is AED 5,000 legitimate?
“Admin fee” is not a single fixed charge in Dubai. AED 5,000 can refer to three different payments, each with its own recipient, paperwork and legal basis.
A developer may apply an administration or processing fee where it is included in the SPA. These fees are typically AED 1,000–5,250, with higher amounts on premium projects. This is a developer charge, not a brokerage commission or a DLD registration tariff.
For an off-plan purchase financed by a mortgage, AED 5,000 + VAT is the official DLD service-partner fee for provisional (Oqood) mortgage registration. It is a published DLD tariff rather than an agency-created charge. Standard mortgage registration carries an AED 4,000 service fee + VAT, with no AED 500,000 threshold; AED 5,000 + VAT applies only to the provisional Oqood mortgage procedure.
An agency admin fee is a separate matter. It is commonly a flat AED 2,000–5,000 + VAT on top of the 2% commission, and it is neither a DLD tariff nor a RERA rate. RERA does not set a commission rate: 2% is market custom, while the agreed rate must appear in Form A, Form B or Form F. An agency can charge an admin fee only if it is stated in writing in Form B, Form F or the invoice before signing.
Continental Club charges no admin fee and no hidden charges. For resale, the buyer commission is 2% + VAT and the seller commission is 2% + VAT. For off-plan purchases, the buyer commission is 0% — paid by the developer.
Agency administration can also be confused with the DLD sale-registration service-partner fee. This fee is AED 4,000 + VAT where the sale value is AED 500,000 or more, and AED 2,000 + VAT below AED 500,000. AED 4,200 is AED 4,000 plus VAT; AED 2,100 is AED 2,000 plus VAT.
All DLD and trustee fees are paid at a Real Estate Trustee Centre against a receipt issued in the buyer’s name. Government fees do not need to be handed to an agency in cash.
What government fees apply to a property transaction?
DLD fees sit alongside broker commission. For a resale sale registration, the transfer charge is 2% of the sale value for the seller and 2% for the buyer.
On the buyer’s side, registration costs may include AED 250 for the Title Deed Certificate Issuance Fee. Map charges depend on the property: AED 225 for a unified map under Dubai Municipality, AED 100 for land not under Dubai Municipality, or AED 250 for villas and apartments. Each drawing also includes an AED 10 knowledge fee and an AED 10 innovation fee.
The trustee, also called a DLD service-partner, uses three fee levels:
- AED 2,000 + VAT for sale registration below AED 500,000.
- AED 4,000 + VAT for sale registration at or above AED 500,000, and for mortgage registration at any mortgage value.
- AED 300 + VAT for mortgage discharge and lease-to-own discharge.
The AED 500,000 split is for sale registration only, not mortgage registration. A mortgage registration costs 0.25% of the mortgage value, together with an AED 4,000 service fee + VAT, with no AED 500,000 threshold. Provisional mortgage registration through Oqood carries an AED 5,000 service fee + VAT.
AED 4,200 is not a separate trustee tariff: with VAT at 5%, it is AED 4,000 plus VAT. The same calculation applies to the lower sale-registration band, where AED 2,100 equals AED 2,000 plus VAT.
For an initial off-plan sale, DLD charges AED 1,000 through the Oqood Portal for developer self-registration. The initial sale itself has no listed trustee service-partner fee.
Procedure charges can also change with the procedure and property type. Figures include AED 580 on sale and mortgage registration, AED 560 on mortgage discharge, AED 550 on lease-to-own discharge, AED 430 and AED 410 for land respectively, and AED 40 on off-plan Oqood. Trustee-office classifications for villas differ, so a villa figure may not always be clear before the transaction.
DLD and trustee fees are paid at a Real Estate Trustee Centre, with the receipt issued in the buyer’s name.
Work out the fees for your own purchase
The calculator below uses the figures in this section. It asks for the procedure as well as the price, because the trustee fee and the administrative fee both change with the procedure, not only with the value of the property.
| 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.
The same calculator lives on its own page — Dubai property fees calculator — if you want to come back to it without re-reading this one.
Why a villa fee cannot be reduced to one exact figure
There is no single fixed fee for every villa registration procedure. The amount depends on the filing itself, so one universal “villa fee” cannot be set in advance from trustee-centre price lists alone.
The classifications also vary between centres. AFNAN places a villa in an AED 580 band. For one procedure, ON TIME places a villa in an AED 430 band, while for another it lists AED 580 for a villa. These are different published fee presentations rather than a sign of bad faith by any office; the applicable amount follows the transaction being processed.
The distinction is easier to see once the procedure is named. Published amounts include AED 580 for sale and mortgage registration, AED 560 for mortgage discharge, and AED 550 for lease-to-own discharge. For land, the corresponding figures include AED 430 and AED 410; for off-plan (Oqood), the published amount is AED 40.
Property type is only one part of the description. A villa sale, a villa mortgage registration, and a villa mortgage discharge are separate filings with different published amounts. Sale registration carries a service-partner fee of AED 2,000 + VAT below AED 500,000, or AED 4,000 + VAT at or above AED 500,000. Mortgage registration has an AED 4,000 service fee + VAT at any value, while mortgage and lease-to-own discharge carry AED 300 + VAT.
“Admin fee” may refer to separate charges. A developer may include an administration or processing fee in the SPA, typically AED 1,000-5,250. Provisional (Oqood) mortgage registration carries an AED 5,000 service fee + VAT. An agency may propose AED 2,000-5,000 + VAT, but this is not a DLD fee or a RERA rate and must be stated in writing before signing.
Continental Club charges no admin fee and no hidden charges. For resale, our buyer and seller commission is 2% + VAT; for off-plan, the buyer commission is 0% — paid by the developer.
Where these figures come from
Two different kinds of source sit behind the numbers on this page, and they are worth keeping apart. The transfer percentages, the title deed and map fees, the knowledge and innovation fees and the trustee service-partner fees are published by Dubai Land Department on its own service pages. The administrative fees of AED 580, 560, 550, 430, 410 and 40, and the AED 290 charged on mortgage registration, are published by licensed trustee centres rather than by DLD — AFNAN, ON TIME and INJAZ all list them, and they are collected at the counter. We flag the difference because guides that present AED 580 as a DLD tariff are quoting a figure that does not appear in the DLD fee schedule.
How to make sure you are not overpaying
Check the brokerage rate before signing. RERA does not set a commission rate: 2% is market custom, not law. The agreed rate must appear in Form A, Form B or Form F. Continental Club charges 2% + VAT for resale buyers and sellers, and 0% for off-plan buyers, where the developer pays the broker. There is no admin fee or hidden charge.
Brokerage is separate from registration costs. For a sale, DLD charges 2% of the sale value for the seller and 2% for the buyer, plus the applicable Title Deed, map, knowledge and innovation fees. The service partner fee is AED 2,000 + VAT below AED 500,000 and AED 4,000 + VAT at AED 500,000 or more. VAT is 5%, so AED 4,200 is AED 4,000 plus VAT, not a separate tariff.
Pay every DLD and trustee fee at a Real Estate Trustee Centre and obtain a receipt in the buyer’s name. Government fees do not need to be handed in cash to an agency.
Mortgage transactions follow a different calculation from the sale threshold. Mortgage registration is 0.25% of the mortgage value, with an AED 4,000 service fee + VAT at any value. Provisional (Oqood) mortgage registration carries an AED 5,000 service fee + VAT.
Use the DLD registry to verify the centre. It lists 41 Properties Trustee centres and 27 Registration Trustee centres, including licence numbers, phones and coordinates.
The off-plan resale tier almost nobody publishes
Buying an off-plan unit from the developer and buying one from another buyer are two different transactions with two different price tags at the trustee counter. The initial sale is registered by the developer through the Oqood portal for AED 1,000 and does not involve a trustee centre. An assignment — where you take over an off-plan unit from its current buyer before handover — does, and it carries its own tariff: AED 3,500 + VAT below AED 500,000 and AED 5,000 + VAT at or above it, which comes to AED 3,675 and AED 5,250 including VAT. The administrative fee on an off-plan transfer is AED 40 rather than the AED 580 charged on ready property.
This pair of figures does not appear on the DLD service pages, on the websites of the trustee centres we checked, or in the fee guides published by the larger portals. It is also the most likely explanation for an unexplained AED 5,000: on an off-plan assignment above AED 500,000, AED 5,250 is simply what the trustee centre charges.
Where the fees are actually paid: the trustee centres
Government fees are settled at a Real Estate Trustee Centre, and the receipt is issued in the buyer’s name. The DLD registry currently lists 41 Properties Trustee centres and 27 Registration Trustee centres. The Properties Trustee list is below, with the licence number each centre operates under.
| Centre | Phone | Licence |
|---|---|---|
| Afnan Real Estate Registration Truste L.L.C | 971-4-2626888 | 693508 |
| Al Ameen Al Aqaree L.L.C | 971-4-2525000 | 777293 |
| Al Arabi Trustees Real Estate Registration Agent L.L.C | 1492273 | |
| Al Tabu Real Estate Services Trustee L.L.C ( Altawar ) | 745028 | |
| Al Tabu Real Estate Services Trustee L.L.C (Branch) Albarsha | 971 42838800 | 757014 |
| Al Tabu Registration Trustee L.L.C | 971-4-2636622 | 691398 |
| Al Taresh Alameen Alaqari L.L.C | 1476418 | |
| Al Taresh Real Estate Services Trustee L.L.C | 971-4-3336767 | 728464 |
| Almanara Realestate Registration Trustee One Person Company L.L.C | 97143388181 | 688908 |
| Alnukhba Businessmen Services Center L.L.C | 971-4-2599990 | 671849 |
| Altaresh Real Estate Services Trustee L.L.C | 043336767 | 869910 |
| Altaresh Real Estate Services Trustee L.L.C | 043336767 | 869890 |
| Alyalayis Real Estate Registration Truste Services L.L.C | 1334678 | |
| Alyalayis Real Estate Registration Truste Services L.L.C (Branch) | 1435178 | |
| Amana Trust Real Estate Registration Trustee L.L.C (Branch) | 1515042 | |
| Amanah Trust Real Estate Registration Trustee L.L.C | 04-3277774 | 693129 |
| Approved Property Registration L.L.C | 971-4-2281818 | 731025 |
| Bin Shabib Real Estate Registration Trustee | 1448109 | |
| Dorchester Properties Registration Trustee L.L.C | 04-4410888 | 696205 |
| Dubai Municipality | 971 46066688 | 123456 |
| Egsh Real Estate Registration Agent (Br Of Egsh Investments L.L.C) | 971 555007728 | 1346917 |
| Emirates Gulf Facilites Managment Services L.L.C | 971 42220202 | 812756 |
| Fast Track Real Estate Registration Agent | 971-4-3929023 | 710524 |
| Fixit Express Real Estate Services Trustee (Br Of Alwan Investments L.L.C) | 971 508555520 | 1375878 |
| Golden Key Real Estate Registration Agent L.L.C | 1515901 | |
| Golden Palm Real Estate Registration Trustee L.L.C | 1611156 | |
| Gulf Vision Real Estate Registration Agent L.L.C | 971 502131313 | 1276963 |
| Injaz Real Estate Registration Trustee L.L.C | 04-4571111 | 697770 |
| Last Address Property Registration Trustee L.L.C | 1612197 | |
| Mubayaa Real Estate Registration Trustee L.L.C | 971-4-3847444 | 714053 |
| On Time Government Services One Person Company L.L.C (Branch) | 971 42525000 | 662516 |
| Ontime D I P Government Transactions Center L.L.C | 971 52757311 | 807583 |
| On Time Real Estate Registration | 04-4477918 | 691476 |
| Seal Real Estate Registration Agent L.L.C | 971-4-3617776 | 695928 |
| Takhlees Government Services | 971-4-2989090 | 581638 |
| Takhlees Real Estate Services Trustee | 971 509886666 | 1167981 |
| Tamleek Real Estate Registration Trustee (Tamleek Cube) | 048844444 | 7770 |
| Tamleek Real Estate Registration Trustee L.L.C | 97144256666 | 692643 |
| Tasaheelgovernment Service One Person Company L.L.C | 044040404 | 672985 |
| Tawtheeq Real Estate Registration L.L.C | 971-04-3308888 | 798642 |
| Vip Plus Real Estate Registration Agent L.L.C | 1529182 |
Questions we are asked about fees
How much commission do real estate agents charge in Dubai?
Continental Club charges 2% + VAT to a resale buyer and 2% + VAT to a resale seller. For off-plan purchases, the buyer commission is 0% because it is paid by the developer.
Who pays the agency fee in Dubai?
On a resale transaction, Continental Club charges 2% + VAT to the buyer and 2% + VAT to the seller. On an off-plan purchase, the developer pays the broker and the buyer pays 0% commission.
What is an admin fee in Dubai real estate?
Continental Club charges no admin fee. An agency admin fee can be a flat AED 2,000-5,000 + VAT added to the 2% commission; it is not a DLD fee or a RERA rate and must be stated in writing in Form B, Form F or the invoice before signing. Developer administration or processing fees can also appear in the SPA, typically at AED 1,000-5,250.
Is the 2% commission set by law?
No, RERA does not set a commission rate. The 2% rate is market custom, not law; the agreed rate must be stated in Form A, Form B or Form F. Continental Club’s resale rate is 2% + VAT for each side.
How much is the trustee office fee?
For sale registration, the DLD 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 carries an AED 4,000 service fee + VAT at any mortgage value, while mortgage discharge and lease-to-own discharge carry AED 300 + VAT. VAT is 5%: AED 4,200 is AED 4,000 plus VAT, and AED 2,100 is AED 2,000 plus VAT.
Do I pay agency commission on off-plan?
No, an off-plan buyer pays 0% agency commission with Continental Club because the developer pays the broker. This is the market norm, not a concession.
Related on this site: Oqood registration for an off-plan purchase · which taxes an owner in Dubai actually pays