Dubai property law, the fees and limits it actually sets
Every fee, cap and notice period this site quotes is set by a resolution, a decree or a law, and each one is public, free and better written than the brokerage page that paraphrases it. This is the register of those instruments: what each one sets, in its own words, and the page on this site that does the arithmetic with it.
Sets every fee the Land Department charges to register a sale, a mortgage or a title, and says who is liable for the sale fee when the contract is silent.
The Land Department's own service page for registering a sale, which is where the trustee office fee, the title deed fee and the map fee are published.
In the instrument's own words, it sets:
2% of the sale value
AED 4,000 + VAT If the sale value is AED 500,000 or more
AED 2,000 + VAT If the sale value is less than AED 500,000
Federal law setting the standard rate of value added tax, which applies to agency commission and to the trustee's fee but not to the Land Department's own registration fee.
In the instrument's own words, it sets:
standard rate of the tax to be levied on any supply or importation shall be (5%)
Caps, to the dirham, what a bank may charge a home loan customer for settling early, for a liability or clearance letter and for its own no objection certificate.
In the instrument's own words, it sets:
Max 1% of outstanding balance or 10,000, whichever is less
The fee caps set out in this Amendment represent the maximum permissible charges
All fees set out in this Amendment are exclusive of UAE VAT charges
The service page for selling a property that still carries a mortgage, with the release procedure fee, the registrar fee and the case in which the registrar fee is waived.
In the instrument's own words, it sets:
AED 1,290 fee for the mortgage release procedure
AED 315 fee for the registrar to release the mortgage
registrar's fees will be exempted in the event that a mortgage is registered on the same day
The bylaw of the off-plan register law. Adopts the net area of a unit as the area that is registered, gives a purchaser any excess area for nothing, and makes a shortfall compensable only where it exceeds five percent of that net area.
In the instrument's own words, it sets:
the net area of a Real Property Unit will be adopted for the purposes of registration on the Real Property Register
any area in excess of the net area of the sold Real Property Unit will not be taken into account, and the Developer may not claim any payment for that excess area
The Developer must compensate the purchaser if the actual area of the Real Property Unit is less than its net area by more than five percent (5%)
the net area of a Real Property Unit, as set forth in its sale agreement and plan, will be adopted as the basis for calculation
The foundation of Dubai property ownership: it says who may own real property and where, makes the Property Register conclusive against everyone, and makes an unrecorded transaction invalid rather than merely unregistered.
In the instrument's own words, it sets:
The right to own Real Property in the Emirate will be restricted to UAE nationals, nationals of the Gulf Cooperation Council member states
in certain areas determined by the Ruler
Freehold ownership of Real Property without time restrictions
a period not exceeding ninety-nine (99) years
absolute evidentiary value against all parties
may not be impugned unless it is proven to be the result of fraud or forgery
will not be deemed valid unless recorded in the Property Register
Determines where a non-UAE national may own real property in Dubai, plot by numbered plot across twenty-three named areas and by the maps attached to it, and grants freehold without time restriction, usufruct and leasehold of up to ninety-nine years as three distinct interests rather than as grades of one.
In the instrument's own words, it sets:
with respect to the land plot(s) indicated opposite each of the following areas
as shown by the maps issued by the Department
freehold ownership rights over Real Property without time restriction
leasehold rights for up to ninety-nine (99) years
in plot no. (224) of the Nad al-Sheba area
will come into force on the day on which it is published
Replaces Article 11 of the 2008 law, and sets the ceiling on what a developer may keep when an off-plan buyer stops paying, as a percentage of the unit's contract price banded by how far the building has got.
In the instrument's own words, it sets:
the value of the Real Property Unit stipulated in the Off-plan Sale agreement
thirty (30) days' notice
within sixty (60) days from the date of resale
the Developer must refund all payments made by the purchasers
The Land Department's service page for registering an initial off-plan sale, which prints the 4% registration fee as two halves and files the Oqood charge as a developer cost.
Sets every cap on the size of a mortgage: the loan to value bands by nationality, price and whether the property is off plan, the debt burden ratio the payment must fit inside, the maximum financing amount as a multiple of annual income, the twenty-five year term, the stress test the payment is qualified at, and what may and may not be counted as income.
In the instrument's own words, it sets:
50 percent of gross salary and any regular income from a defined and specific source at any time
maximum 80% of the value of the property
60% of the value of the property, regardless of value
the maximum LTV for mortgages on property being purchased off plans is 50% regardless of purpose, value, or category of purchaser
The maximum tenor of the mortgage loan is 25 years
Expatriates: up to 7 years annual income
stress test the loan at (2 to 4) percentage points above the current rate of interest on the loan
make a deduction of at least two months' rental income from the DBR calculation
The use of 'End of Service Benefit' is not allowed
serviced at a DBR of 50 percent of the borrower's post retirement income
Requires the lender to give the borrower the lifetime cost of the loan and a separate schedule of fees and charges, and points the cap on early repayment charges back at the consumer lending regulation.
In the instrument's own words, it sets:
Borrowers should be provided with information setting out the total cost of the loan during its lifetime
Gives the borrower the right to move a loan to any other bank or finance company in the country, and caps what the bank may charge for letting it go at the lower of one per cent of the outstanding balance and AED 10,000.
In the instrument's own words, it sets:
Any borrower may transfer his loan / finance from any bank or finance company operating in the UAE
against paying of an early payment fee not exceeding 1% of the outstanding balance of the loan
The jointly owned property law. Sets the area a service charge is levied on, the RERA approval and audit without which nothing may be collected, the bank account the money sits in, the closed list of what it may be spent on, the separate account holding the reserve, the levy when that reserve falls short, and the lien that stops a sale while charges are unpaid.
In the instrument's own words, it sets:
based on ratio of the area of the Owner's Unit to the total area
based on the area of his Unit as recorded in the Real Property Register
A Developer will pay his share of the annual Service Charges in respect of unsold Units
without first obtaining the relevant approval of RERA
unless it is approved by a certified audit firm recognised by RERA
RERA may approve a temporary Service Charges budget
within seven (7) working days from the date of collection
may not be disposed of, and may only be used for the following purposes
must be deposited in an account separate from the Service Charges account
other than in critical emergencies, without first obtaining the approval of RERA
request Owners to cover these expenses
A Unit may not be disposed of unless these charges are paid
The Land Department e-service that lets anyone look up the service charge RERA approved for a named project, use and year, which is the figure Article 27 makes the only collectable one.
In the instrument's own words, it sets:
inquire about the approved service fees for Joint ownership properties
The system through which service charges are invoiced, collected and monitored, and which publishes the registers of approved management companies and approved auditors a buyer can check a building against.
In the instrument's own words, it sets:
operating according to the mechanism of the escrow account
Regulates who may supply district cooling in Dubai, sets the tariff on the basis of cooling capacity rather than consumption, forbids a provider from collecting any charge the Supreme Council of Energy has not approved, and caps the fine for breaching the resolution.
In the instrument's own words, it sets:
The beneficiary of a District Cooling Service with whom the relevant service contract is concluded
The tariff for District Cooling Services provided to Customers will be calculated on the basis of Cooling Capacity
No Permit Holder may collect from a Customer any charges or tariffs for the services it provides
A fine must not exceed two hundred thousand dirhams (AED 200,000.00)
The closed list of district cooling charges a provider may levy, with the cap on each: it defines the capacity charge as a rate times contracted capacity applied monthly, caps the consumption tariff and the fuel surcharge to the fils, refuses to approve any tariff that escalates the capacity charge, and forbids allocating a unit's capacity by the equipment installed in it.
In the instrument's own words, it sets:
the multiple of Capacity Tariff and Contracted Capacity normally applied on a monthly basis
the unit charge normally quoted in dirhams per year for each refrigeration-ton of cooling capacity
Only the tariffs, charges and fees expressly identified and authorised in this RD shall be permitted
assigning Contracted Capacity to Units based on installed equipment capacity rather than appropriate allocation
Inefficient Building Penalties may not be applied in the bills charged to Units under any circumstances
Tariff arrangements that include indexation or escalation of Capacity Charges will not be approved
the total accumulated Late Payment Fees at any time shall not exceed one hundred percent (100 %)
Governs the district cooling bill itself: monthly issue in both languages, the deposit shown and returned within five working days, common-area cooling billed to the building rather than to a unit, who pays for a meter test, and the prohibition on charging for consumption at all while a faulty sub-meter goes unrepaired.
In the instrument's own words, it sets:
may not include Consumption Charges, estimated or otherwise, in any bill until the Sub-Meter is repaired or replaced
must be issued monthly
which must be returned within 5 working days of concluding the service
must be billed directly to the District Cooling Service Provider's Customer
If the Master Meter is found to perform within a 3% tolerance, the Customer shall bear the expense of the test
The announcement that replaced the area-average rent index with one rated per building, which narrowed the comparable set without changing the decree's bands.
Establishes the centre with exclusive jurisdiction over rent disputes, points the fee for registering a claim at a resolution of the Executive Council rather than setting it, refunds half of it when conciliation settles the dispute, and makes a judgment on a small rent claim final.
In the instrument's own words, it sets:
as determined pursuant to a resolution of the Chairman of the Executive Council
One-half of the fee will be refunded if amicable settlement is reached
within a period not exceeding fifteen (15) days from the date of appearance of the parties
which will be final and not subject to any form of appeal
The centre's own published schedule, which is where the registration fee appears as a percentage of the annual rent with a floor and a ceiling, alongside the process service, knowledge and innovation lines.
In the instrument's own words, it sets:
3.5% of Annual Rent or Lease Value if it is more or less than a year
Fee not less than (AED 500) and not more than (AED 20,000)
The Land Department's service page for registering and renewing a tenancy contract, which is where the registration, knowledge, innovation and service partner lines of the Ejari fee are published by channel.
In the instrument's own words, it sets:
AED 100 for registering a tenancy contract
AED 10 knowledge fee
AED 10 innovation fee
Applied, with a worked example, in Rent or buy in Dubai, reviewed 9 October 2026.
The utility's service page for connecting electricity and water, with the connection charge, the registration, knowledge and innovation fees, the security deposit by property type, and the rule that an owner's deposit is returned only on sale.
In the instrument's own words, it sets:
Security deposit for property owners will be refunded upon sale of the premise only
for connecting electricity and water (small meters)
Applied, with a worked example, in Rent or buy in Dubai, reviewed 9 October 2026.
Sets the holiday home permit fee, the inspection fee and the fines for operating without a licence, for charging guests for utilities and for letting less than a whole unit.
In the instrument's own words, it sets:
AED 300 per bedroom
capped at AED 1,200 a year
AED 300 per unit
AED 2,000 fine for charging a guest for electricity or water
AED 5,000 fine for operating without a licence
AED 500 fine for letting rooms or beds rather than the whole unit
A register of the instruments this site's arithmetic depends on, not legal advice. Every line above is the instrument's own wording. If one has been amended and a page here has not caught up, say so and it will be fixed.
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