How to Buy an Apartment in Dubai: A Step-by-Step Guide for 2025
Dubai’s skyline keeps climbing, yet the rules for owning a slice of it have finally matured. Whether you’re dreaming of a loft in Business Bay or a studio in Jumeirah Village Circle, the purchase journey follows a predictable sequence. Walk through it once, and moving from casual browsing to holding a digital title deed becomes far less daunting.
Table of Contents
Summary of Payments & Property Resale Requirements
Before diving into the step-by-step, here’s a concise overview of the key fees you’ll encounter, and what sellers must provide when reselling a property.
Key Fees at a Glance
- 4 % DLD Transfer Fee: Applied to the agreed purchase price at transfer.
- Title Deed Fee
• Secondary market: AED 580 per transaction
• Off-plan: AED 1,100–5,000 (developer-set) - Trustee Fee
• Secondary: AED 4,250 - Agent’s Commission (secondary): 2 % of the sale price + 5 % VAT, paid by the buyer.
- Mortgage Costs (if financing): 0.25 % of the loan amount + AED 290 for mortgage registration.
- Payment Methods
• Manager’s cheque required only for the property price
• All other fees (transfer, deed, trustee, mortgage) can be settled by credit/debit card - Annual Service Charges: Calculated per square foot, covering maintenance of lobbies, pools, landscaping, reserve funds, etc.
Property Resale: Seller Checklist & Process
When you list a secondary-market property, here’s what you need to kick things off:
- Required Documents & Information
- Original copy of the property deed
- A copy of buyers valid passport, valid visa, Emirates ID
- Phone number and email address
- Completed Know-Your-Customer (KYC) form
- Contract A (Agency Engagement)
- What it is: An online agreement, executed via the government portal, authorizing our agency to market and sell your property.
- Key terms defined: Approximate selling price, contract duration, exclusivity (up to three Contract As per property), and our commission.
- Action: You’ll receive an emailed link—click to confirm and activate the listing.
- Selling Process
- Security Deposit: Once a buyer makes a serious offer, they provide a 10% deposit cheque in your name. We hold this check in escrow until the transfer completes.
- Contract F (Sales Agreement): Created online, this is the document that formally commits both buyer and seller. The sales agreement explains in plain language the sales price, the date or transfer, all broker commissions, and any additional conditions you’ve included in the deal.
- Confirmation & Coordination: After both parties agree to Contract F, your broker will coordinate with the Dubai Land Department to schedule your transfer appointment at the local trustee’s office.
- Who Pays for What
- Seller: Responsible for obtaining and paying for the developer’s No-Objection Certificate (NOC).
- Buyer: Pays the 4% Dubai Land Department transfer fee, along with the trustee’s fee.
Buying on the Secondary Market
1. Confirm You Can Buy Where You Want
Foreign nationals may purchase freehold properties only within designated areas. Everything outside these zones is typically leasehold (10–90 years) and far more limited. Before making an offer, check the Dubai Land Department’s interactive map—or have your agent confirm the property’s location in a freehold zone.
Major Freehold Zones:
- Dubai Marina
- Downtown Dubai
- Business Bay
- Palm Jumeirah
- Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR)
- Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT)
- Dubai South
- Dubai Hills Estate
- Dubai Silicon Oasis
- Dubai Sports City
- Dubai Festival City (designated areas)
- International City
- Discovery Gardens
- Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC)
- Jumeirah Village Triangle (JVT)
- Bluewaters Island
- City Walk
- Dubai Waterfront
- Dubailand (designated projects)
Popular Villa & Master-Planned Communities within Freehold Zones:
- Arabian Ranches 1, 2 & 3
- Emirates Hills
- Jumeirah Islands
- Jumeirah Park
- The Lakes
- The Meadows
- The Springs
- Jumeirah Golf Estates
- The Sustainable City
- The Valley
- The Villa (Dubailand)
- Meydan City
- Uptown Motor City
- Falcon City of Wonders
- Damac Hills
- Damac Hills 2
- Damac Lagoons
- Town Square
- Culture Village
- Layan Community
- Remraam
- Ibn Battuta Gate Residences
- Legends
- Polo Residence (Meydan)
- Palazzo Versace Residences
- D1 Tower
- Skycourt Towers
2. Set a Realistic, All-In Budget
The advertised price is just the starting point. Factor in roughly 7–8 % extra to cover:
- 4 % DLD transfer fee (on purchase price)
- AED 580 title deed fee (secondary market)
- AED 4,250 trustee fee
- 2 % agent’s commission + 5 % VAT
- Should you finance with a mortgage, add 0.25 % of the loan and AED 290 for registration.
Crucially, only the property price itself must be paid by manager’s cheque—every other fee can be settled by card on transfer day.
3. Line Up Your Financing Before You Negotiate
Sellers rarely stall for bank approvals. If important you secure your financing, such as your pre-approval for your mortgage to solidify our purchase offer. The current Central Bank rules recommend expats secure up to 80% loan to value on purchases under AED 5 million. It is recommended UAE nationals secure up to 85% LTV. It’s important to note that pre-approval letters remain valid for approximately 60 days, giving you confidence and negotiating power.
4. Work Only with RERA-Licensed Agents
The Real Estate Regulatory Agency issues each broker a six-digit RERA licence IDm which they must display on their business cards and within email signatures. Be sure you ask to see the selling agent’s RERA number and cross-check it against the public RERA registry. Licensed agents are required to:
- Use Form F (memorandum of understanding)
- Collect a 10 % deposit check to be held in an escrow trustee office
- Register the potential transaction in the Dubai REST portal to lock in the agreed terms
5. Understanding the MoU
Now that you have the price, payment schedule, and handover dates confirmed both the buyer and the seller must sign Form F and submit the 10% deposit to a trustee office to be held in escrow. Next, the seller must apply to the developer for a No-Objection Certificate, to confirm all service charges are up to date. This process typically takes 3–10 working days.
- During that window, prepare your manager’s cheque for the full purchase price and have your credit/debit card ready to settle the remaining fees without delay.
6. Complete Transfer at a DLD Trustee Centre
On the scheduled day, buyer and seller (or their power-of-attorney representatives) meet at a DLD-approved trustee office. You will:
- Hand over the manager’s check for the property price
- Pay the 4 % transfer fee, title deed fee, trustee fee, and any mortgage charges by card.
- The seller signs the release forms, and within minutes the trustee uploads documents to the Land Department. Once uploaded, it will trigger an email delivering the digital title deed for proof of ownership.
7. Collect Keys & Connect Utilities
Armed with your new title deed and the developer’s NOC, visit the community management office to collect access cards and parking permits. Then, set up accounts with DEWA for electricity and water, and activate any district-cooling subscriptions your building requires. Don’t forget to budget for annual service charges (priced per square foot) that fund lobbies, pools, landscaping, and reserve-fund maintenance.
8. Explore the Golden Visa Advantage
Investing AED 2 million or more in a freehold property (either fully paid or mortgaged so your net investment stays above that threshold) qualifies you for Dubai’s ten-year Golden Visa. In many cases it may also qualify your spouse, children and other dependents for a Golden Visa as well. Many buyers purposely structure deposit schedules or early repayments to clear the AED 2 million mark and secure long-term residency alongside their new home. Read more about Golden Visa and Standard Visa requirements for property investors.
Buying an Off-Plan Property
The off-plan journey parallels the secondary-market steps but with a few key twists:
- Choose your unit based on the sales offer
Confirm freehold eligibility if needed, and review the floor plan, view, service charges, and payment plan. - Send buyer documents to the agent
Non residents: passport.
Residents: passport, Emirates ID, visa, plus email, home address, and phone number. - Reserve the property
Pay the developer booking fee (typically AED 10,000 to 50,000) to hold the unit. - Sign the Reservation Agreement
The developer issues the agreement for you to review and sign. - Make the first payment and DLD fee
Within 5 to 15 days, pay 20% of the price (minus the booking fee) and the 4% DLD fee for off-plan registration. - Sign the Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA)
The SPA is created and signed once initial payments and KYC are complete. - Receive Oqood and follow the payment plan
Your unit is registered on Oqood; continue with the construction-linked installments until handover.
Closing the Deal: Key Takeaways
Buying an apartment in Dubai is straightforward once you respect the sequence: verify the zone, calculate every fee, secure funding, stick to RERA-licensed professionals, and arrive at transfer day with every cheque in hand. Follow these steps and you can move from first viewing to key handover in as little as one month while positioning yourself for the added benefit of the Golden Visa. If you’d like more tailored guidance or a shortlist of vetted listings, Czechin’s property team is ready to walk you through the process of investing in real estate in Dubai, step by step.
