Glossary / Property

Transfer fee

The transfer fee is the charge levied by the Dubai Land Department to register a change of property ownership, set at four percent of the sale price and customarily paid by the buyer.

It is due at the trustee office on the day of transfer, in addition to an administrative charge for issuing the title deed. It is not recoverable on resale.

Because it is charged on the price rather than on the gain, it falls hardest on short holds. Two buyers paying it in the same year on the same unit have paid it twice.

Where people get it wrong

Budgeting four percent and stopping. Add both agency commissions with VAT, the trustee fee and the administrative charge, and the real entry cost is closer to six or seven percent.

The framework behind it Transaction costs and the minimum hold period in Dubai sets out the rule, the arithmetic and where it breaks.

Read the framework

Related terms

Transaction cost drag Transaction cost drag is the round trip cost of buying and selling an asset expressed as an annual percentage, calculated by dividing the total cost by the number of years held. No objection certificate A no objection certificate, or NOC, is a document from the developer confirming there are no outstanding service charges or breaches on a unit, and it is required before the Dubai Land Department will register a resale. Minimum hold period The minimum hold period is the number of years a property must be held for its income and growth to cover the round trip transaction costs, below which the purchase cannot pay for itself.

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