Take a typical JLT apartment
The middle price of JLT apartment sales this year is just under AED 1.4 million, so we round it to that. Bought as a resale, in cash:
- Dubai Land Department transfer fee, 4%: AED 56,000. The buyer pays it in practice.
- Agency fee, 2%: AED 28,000, plus 5% VAT, AED 1,400.
- Registration office: AED 4,000 plus VAT, AED 4,200.
- Title deed and small DLD fees: about AED 500.
- Total: about AED 90,000, roughly 6.4% on top of the price.
With a mortgage
add the bank's arrangement and valuation fees and the fee for registering the mortgage. They differ by bank, so ask for them in writing before you sign.
Why it matters if you are buying for return
These costs come off your first years of rent. At a 7% gross yield, 6.4% is close to a year of income before you have earned anything. That is why we ask how long you plan to keep a unit before we look at the unit.
Want the full cost for the flat you are looking at? Send it to us before you sign.
Source: Dubai Land Department fee schedule, September 2026. JLT price rounded from the median of 2026 sales. The agency fee is ours.