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Services
Conveyancing in Dubai
From a signed Form F to a title deed in your name: the developer NOC, the mortgage paperwork, the manager's cheques and the transfer appointment, coordinated so the day at the trustee office is a formality.
What is included
Every document, fee and appointment between offer and title deed, for buyers and for sellers.
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Contract review
The Form F sale agreement checked before you sign: price, deposit, completion date, penalties and who pays which fee.
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Deposit handling
The deposit, by convention 10%, held as a manager's cheque or in escrow until the transfer completes, and returned if the sale fails through no fault of yours.
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Developer NOC
Service charges cleared, the no-objection certificate applied for and chased, and its validity tracked against the completion date.
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Mortgage discharge and blocking
Where the seller has a mortgage: the liability letter, the settlement, the release, and the property blocked in the buyer's favour in the meantime.
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Buyer finance
Where the buyer has a mortgage: the valuation, the final offer letter and the bank's cheques timed to the transfer date.
Find out more -
Fees and cheques
Every fee calculated in advance and the manager's cheques prepared to the exact payee and amount the trustee office will ask for.
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Transfer appointment
The appointment booked at a Land Department registration trustee, both parties or their attorneys present, and the transfer completed on the day.
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Title deed and handover
The new title deed issued, DEWA and chiller transferred, the owners' association informed, and keys and access cards handed over.
What happens between offer and title deed
A Dubai property sale runs on a fixed sequence of documents. The offer is recorded in a Form F, the Dubai Land Department’s unified sale contract, and the buyer pays a deposit, by convention 10% of the price, which is held rather than released to the seller. The seller’s developer then issues a no-objection certificate confirming the service charges are paid and it has no claim on the unit. If the seller has a mortgage, the buyer’s funds or the buyer’s bank settle it and the property is blocked in the buyer’s favour until the transfer. On the day, both parties or their attorneys attend a registration trustee office, the fees are paid, the price is handed over in manager’s cheques, and a new title deed is issued in the buyer’s name.
Every one of those steps has a fee, a payee and a deadline, and most delayed transfers are delayed by a cheque made out to the wrong name or an NOC that expired while the bank was slow. That is the work.
Fees at a glance
These are the fees set by the Dubai Land Department and the developers, current at the time of writing and confirmed for each transaction before the transfer date.
| Fee | Amount | Usually paid by |
|---|---|---|
| Land Department transfer fee | 4% of the sale price | Buyer, by convention |
| Land Department administration fee | AED 580 for a ready apartment, villa or office | Buyer |
| Registration trustee office fee | AED 4,000 for sales of AED 500,000 and above, AED 2,000 below, plus VAT | Buyer |
| Mortgage registration | 0.25% of the loan plus a small administration fee | Buyer with a mortgage |
| Mortgage release | A fixed Land Department fee | Seller with a mortgage |
| Developer NOC | Set by the developer, commonly AED 500 to AED 5,000 plus VAT | Seller |
| Agency commission | 2% of the price plus VAT is the market norm | Buyer |
The law splits the 4% transfer fee equally between buyer and seller; by long-standing convention in Dubai the buyer pays all of it, and the Form F normally records that. It is negotiable as part of the offer.
A typical timeline
A cash purchase from a seller with no mortgage can complete in two to four weeks, most of it waiting for the NOC. A purchase where either side has a mortgage more often takes six to eight weeks, because the bank valuation, the final offer letter and the settlement of the seller’s loan each add their own time. The Form F sets a completion date and a penalty for missing it, which is why the sequence is planned backwards from that date.
| When | What happens | Who is waiting on whom |
|---|---|---|
| Day 0 | Form F signed; deposit cheque handed over and held | Buyer and seller |
| Week 1 | Buyer’s bank valuation booked, if there is a mortgage; seller requests the mortgage liability letter, if there is one | The banks |
| Weeks 1 to 3 | Final offer letter issued to the buyer; service charges cleared and the developer NOC applied for | The buyer’s bank, then the developer |
| Weeks 2 to 5 | NOC issued; seller’s loan settled and released, with the property blocked in the buyer’s favour in between | The developer, then the seller’s bank |
| Transfer day | Manager’s cheques prepared; both parties or their attorneys attend the trustee office; fees paid, price handed over, title deed issued | Nobody, if the sequence above was managed |
| The week after | DEWA and chiller transferred, owners’ association informed, keys and access cards handed over | The utilities |
A cash sale with no mortgage on either side skips the bank steps and is usually done inside the NOC’s validity period.
Completing from abroad
Neither party has to be in Dubai. A power of attorney allows someone to sign at the trustee office on your behalf. It must be notarised, and if it is executed outside the UAE it must also be attested through the UAE embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before it can be used. Allow two to three weeks for that.
Off plan. An off-plan purchase is registered through the Land Department’s Oqood system rather than transferred at a trustee office, and payments go into a developer escrow account regulated under Law 8 of 2007. Reselling an off-plan unit before handover needs the developer’s NOC and, usually, a minimum proportion of the price already paid. Ask us before agreeing a resale.
How a transfer runs
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Form F signed
The offer is recorded in the Land Department's unified sale contract, with the completion date and every fee allocated.
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Deposit held
The buyer's deposit is held as a manager's cheque or in escrow, not released to the seller.
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Developer NOC
Service charges are cleared and the no-objection certificate is issued and tracked against its validity period.
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Mortgages settled
The seller's loan is settled and released, the buyer's bank issues its cheques, and the property is blocked in the buyer's favour in between.
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Transfer appointment
Both sides or their attorneys attend the registration trustee office; fees are paid and the price is handed over.
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Title deed and keys
The new title deed is issued, utilities are transferred, the owners' association is informed and the keys are handed over.
Frequently asked questions
What is Form F?
The Dubai Land Department's unified contract for a property sale between a buyer and a seller. It records the price, the deposit, the completion date and the penalties for withdrawing, and it is the document the trustee office works from at transfer.
Who pays the 4% transfer fee?
The law splits it between buyer and seller, but by long-standing convention in Dubai the buyer pays the full 4%, and the Form F normally says so. It can be negotiated as part of the offer.
What is a developer NOC and why does it take time?
A no-objection certificate from the developer or master developer confirming the service charges are paid and it has no claim on the unit. The Land Department will not transfer without it. Developers take anything from a few days to a few weeks, and the certificate has a validity period, so it is applied for at the right moment rather than as early as possible.
What happens if the seller has a mortgage?
The seller's bank issues a liability letter stating the settlement figure. The buyer's funds, or the buyer's bank, settle that amount, the bank releases the mortgage, and in the meantime the Land Department blocks the property in the buyer's favour so it cannot be sold to anyone else. We manage the sequence and the cheques.
Can I complete without being in Dubai?
Yes, with a notarised power of attorney. If it is signed outside the UAE it must be attested by the UAE embassy in that country and then by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here, which takes two to three weeks.
What is a registration trustee office?
A private office licensed by the Dubai Land Department to complete property transfers. The buyer, seller and any bank attend, the fees and the price are paid there, and the new title deed is issued the same day.
How long does a transfer take?
Two to four weeks for a cash sale with no mortgage on either side; six to eight weeks when a bank is involved. The developer NOC and the bank's timing are the two things that stretch it.
Do I need a conveyancer if I have an agent?
The agent negotiates the sale; the conveyancing is the paperwork, the fees and the appointment that turn the agreement into a title deed. Many buyers and sellers ask the same firm to do both. Either way, someone has to own the sequence.
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Ask about a transfer
Tell us where the sale is up to, whether either side has a mortgage, and the completion date. We will tell you what happens next and what it will cost.
Call +971 4 569 3020
Email info@housess.ae
Make the transfer a formality
The right cheques, the right payees, and an NOC that is valid on the day.