How to use the calculator
- Choose whether you are an expatriate or a UAE national, and the kind of property. The choice sets the loan-to-value cap the calculator checks.
- Enter the price and your down payment. The loan is the difference. Enter the full price as the down payment for a cash purchase.
- Add any costs you have been quoted, such as an agency commission, the bank's valuation and its processing fee. Leave a field empty if it does not apply.
What goes into the total
Cash needed = down payment + Dubai Land Department fees + your other costs
DLD fees = 2% × price + 0.25% × loan + fixed fees + service partner fees with 5% VAT
The transfer fee is the largest line. Dubai Land Department lists it for both parties; the calculator counts the buyer's share.
Transfer fee on a sale
2% + 2%
For a property sale registered through Dubai Now, Dubai Land Department lists a fee of 2% of the transaction value for the seller and 2% for the buyer.
- Applies to
- Freehold property sales in Dubai
- Source
- Buy or Sell Property via Dubai Now, Dubai Land Department
- Checked
Registering the sale at a Real Estate Registration Trustee centre adds fixed fees and a service partner fee that depends on the sale value. A mortgage over Dubai property has to be registered too, on the loan amount, with its own fixed and service fees; the borrower who pledges the property bears the costs of the mortgage contract unless the parties agree otherwise.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sale: title deed, map, knowledge and innovation fees | AED 250 + 250 + 10 + 10 |
| Sale: service partner fee, sale value AED 500,000 or more | AED 4,000 + VAT |
| Sale: service partner fee, sale value below AED 500,000 | AED 2,000 + VAT |
| Mortgage registration, on the loan amount | 0.25% |
| Mortgage: title deed, knowledge and innovation fees | AED 250 + 10 + 10 |
| Mortgage: service partner fee | AED 4,000 + VAT |
| Off-plan (Oqood) mortgage: service partner fee | AED 5,000 + VAT |
Sources: Property Sale Registration, Dubai Land Department; Mortgage registration application, Dubai Land Department. Checked .
The service partner fees are listed with VAT on top, so the calculator adds VAT at the standard rate of 5% to those lines only.
The down payment and the loan-to-value cap
The Central Bank caps a mortgage as a share of the property's value. The calculator checks your loan against the cap for your buyer type and property, and if the loan is too large it shows the smallest down payment the cap allows.
| Buyer | First home, lower band | First home, over AED 5 million | Second home or investment | Off-plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UAE nationals | 85% (up to AED 5 million) | 75% | 65% | 50% |
| Expatriates | 80% (under AED 5 million) | 70% | 60% | 50% |
The rules give expatriate caps for first homes worth less than and more than AED 5 million, but not for a price of exactly AED 5 million. At that price the calculator uses the lower cap and says so; ask the lender how it treats it. The cap is set on the property's value, and the bank must have the property valued by an independent valuer, so the value it works from can differ from the price. The calculator assumes the two match.
Where the down payment comes from
Own funds
The down payment must come from the borrower's own resources, not from other borrowing such as personal loans or credit cards.
- Applies to
- All mortgage loans
- Source
- CBUAE Regulations Regarding Mortgage Loans (Circular 31/2013, as amended), Article (2) Risk Management Requirements, Central Bank of the UAE
- Checked
Worked example
Worked example
Expatriate first home: AED 1,200,000 apartment with a 80% loan
The price is an illustration, the same one used in our guide to Dubai's fees. The sale and the mortgage are registered at a trustee centre, with one title deed and one drawing, and the buyer pays every fixed fee.
- Loan: AED 1,200,000 × 80% = AED 960,000, so the down payment is AED 240,000.
- Buyer's transfer fee: AED 1,200,000 × 2% = AED 24,000.
- Fixed fees on the sale: AED 520. Sale service fee: AED 4,000 + 5% VAT = AED 4,200.
- Mortgage registration: AED 960,000 × 0.25% = AED 2,400.
- Fixed fees on the mortgage: AED 270. Mortgage service fee: AED 4,000 + 5% VAT = AED 4,200.
- Dubai Land Department total: AED 35,590, of which AED 400 is VAT.
This buyer needs about AED 275,590 in cash before agency, valuation and bank fees.
The fees here come to 3.0% of the price. Add the costs you are quoted in the calculator to see your own total.
What the result leaves out
- Who pays the fixed fees. Dubai Land Department's sale page lists the fixed and service fees without saying which party pays them. The calculator assumes the buyer pays all of them.
- Registering on the same day. Ask the trustee centre whether it charges both service fees when the sale and the mortgage are registered together.
- Off-plan purchases. The calculator includes the transfer fee, mortgage registration and the provisional (Oqood) mortgage service fee, but not the fees for registering the off-plan sale itself. Ask the developer for its fee list.
- Bank and insurance costs. Valuation, processing fees and insurance are bank policy. Enter the amounts from your offer.
- Other emirates. Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the other emirates set their own property fees.
Note
For each fee line and how the payments are made, see DLD and mortgage registration fees. To see how large a loan your income could support first, use the mortgage affordability calculator; both calculators use the same fee figures. Buying off-plan is covered in off-plan mortgages, and getting a lender's approval before you agree a price in mortgage pre-approval.