Buying a home in Dubai: the process from start to keys

Who can buy property in Dubai

Dubai lets buyers of every nationality own property outright in its designated freehold areas. Regulation No. 3 of 2006 listed the first of these areas, and the list has grown since. Dubai Marina, Downtown Dubai, Palm Jumeirah, Business Bay, Dubai Hills Estate, Jumeirah Village Circle and Dubai Creek Harbour are all on it. Our area guides cover each of them.

Under Dubai Law No. 7 of 2006, a non-UAE national may hold freehold title in a designated area with no time limit, or a leasehold right of up to 99 years. Outside the designated areas the rules differ, so confirm that an area is freehold before you make an offer.

You do not have to live in the UAE. A non-resident buyer identifies themselves with a valid passport at the registration trustee. If you cannot attend in person, an attorney can sign for you under a power of attorney. One issued abroad must be notarised, legalised by the UAE embassy or consulate, attested by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, translated into Arabic and less than two years old. Buying property in Dubai from abroad walks through it.

Setting a budget that includes the fees

The price is not the whole number. On a ready home bought with cash, the fees come to about 7% of the price. Fix your budget with those fees inside it from the start.

• DLD transfer fee: 4% of the price, paid by the buyer by custom
• Title deed fees: AED 520 for an apartment or villa
• Registration trustee fee: AED 4,000 plus VAT, or AED 2,000 plus VAT when the price is under AED 500,000
• Agency fee: usually 2% of the price plus VAT
• Developer NOC: AED 500 to 5,000, set by the developer

A mortgage adds the DLD mortgage registration fee of 0.25% of the loan plus AED 270, the bank's valuation fee and its arrangement fee. The buying costs calculator gives the full figure for any price, and the cost of buying property in Dubai explains each line.

Get your mortgage pre-approval first

If you are borrowing, speak to a bank before you start viewing. Pre-approval tells you the most the bank will lend. You then look only at homes you can afford, and your offer carries a figure the seller can rely on.

The Central Bank of the UAE sets the ceiling. An expatriate buying a first home worth AED 5 million or less can borrow up to 80% of the price. A UAE national can borrow up to 85%. The limits are lower for homes over AED 5 million, for second homes and for off-plan homes, and non-residents borrow at each bank's discretion. How mortgages work in Dubai has the full table.

What Enesco does for you here: before a viewing you know the price plus the DLD, trustee, agency and bank fees, so the figure you take to the bank is the figure you will pay. If you want help with the mortgage, we work on the application alongside the search.

Appointing a broker and checking adverts

Form B is the Dubai Land Department's standard contract between a buyer and a broker. It records what the broker will do for you and the commission you will pay. Sign it before the broker starts work, so the terms are on paper.

Every property advert in Dubai must carry a Trakheesi advertising permit number, together with the brokerage's office registration number (ORN) and the broker's registration number (BRN). Printed and video adverts have carried a Madmoun QR code since 24 April 2023. Scan it and the Dubai Land Department confirms whether the advert is valid.

What Enesco does for you here: every home on this site carries its permit number. If a home cannot be advertised legally, we do not show it. The adviser who shows you a home stays with you through the offer, the mortgage, the transfer and the handover.

The steps from offer to title deed

1. Make your offer.Your broker puts the offer to the seller's side. Agree the price, the deposit, the transfer date and who pays the developer's NOC fee.
2. Sign Form F.Form F is the Dubai Land Department's standard sale contract between buyer and seller, often called the MOU. It records the price, the deposit and the date of transfer. By custom you pay a 10% deposit when you sign, and it is held until the transfer.
3. Finalise the mortgage.The bank values the home and issues its final offer. If the valuation is lower than the price, the bank lends against the valuation and the difference comes from you.
4. Obtain the developer's NOC.The developer of the building issues a no-objection certificate confirming it does not object to the transfer. The fee is AED 500 to 5,000, set by the developer, and Form F records who pays it.
5. Transfer at a registration trustee.Buyer and seller, or their attorneys, meet at a Dubai Land Department registration trustee office. The seller is paid, the fees are settled and the sale is registered.
6. Collect your title deed.The title deed is issued in your name. If you have a mortgage, the bank's charge is registered against it at the same time, for 0.25% of the loan plus AED 270.

What happens on transfer day

The transfer is the moment ownership passes. It takes place at a Dubai Land Department registration trustee office, an approved office that handles the registration on DLD's behalf.

• The seller receives the balance of the price. If you have a mortgage, the bank pays its share
• You pay the 4% transfer fee and the AED 520 title deed fees to the Dubai Land Department
• You pay the trustee's fee: AED 4,000 plus VAT, or AED 2,000 plus VAT when the price is under AED 500,000
• The sale is registered and the title deed is issued in your name

Bring your passport. If an attorney attends for you, they bring the original power of attorney in the form the Dubai Land Department accepts.

Buying off-plan instead

A home bought from a developer before the building is complete follows a different route. You reserve, sign the developer's sale agreement, pay in instalments into the project's escrow account, and register the purchase on the Oqood system for 4% of the price plus AED 20. There is no Form F with a private seller and no developer NOC on a first sale.

Buying off-plan in Dubai covers the whole process, and off-plan or ready helps you choose between the two.

What Enesco does for you

• Before you view: the price plus the DLD, trustee, agency and bank fees on every home, so you know the whole number first
• During the search: only homes with a valid advertising permit, and one adviser from the first viewing to the keys
• At the offer: the offer, Form F and the transfer date handled with the seller's side, and the mortgage application alongside
• After the deal: if you plan to let the home, the same team finds the tenant and handles rent collection, maintenance and renewals

Every figure in this guide names its source: the Dubai Land Department, the Central Bank of the UAE and the Dubai Legislation Portal. The facts page gathers them in one place.

Questions buyers ask