Dubai vs Abu Dhabi: What You Pay to Buy Off-Plan
Dubai charges 4% to register your home. Abu Dhabi charges 2%. Every other fee you pay lands within twenty dirhams of the other emirate.
So the whole cost difference is the percentage. And Dubai developers often absorb it at launch, which erases it. We sell in both emirates at zero commission.
The two emirates, side by side
The fixed fees are within AED 17.50 of each other. That is the finding this page exists for: the entire cost gap between the emirates is the registration percentage, and nothing else.
| What you pay | Dubai | Abu Dhabi |
|---|---|---|
| Regulator | Dubai Land Department (DLD) | Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (ADREC) |
| Registration fee | 4% of the sale price | 2% of the sale price or the valuation, whichever is higher |
| Who pays by law | 2% seller, 2% buyer, unless agreed otherwise | 1% seller, 1% buyer, unless agreed otherwise |
| Off-plan register | Interim Register (Oqood) | Initial Real Estate Register |
| Registration admin | AED 1,000 + AED 20 | AED 450 + 5% VAT |
| Registration trustee fee | None on a developer sale | None on a developer sale |
| Agency commission on a launch | AED 0 | AED 0 |
| VAT on a new home | 0% | 0% |
| Deadline to register | 90 days from the SPA | 21 days from the SPA |
| At handover | AED 520 | AED 1,050 + a fee ADREC does not publish |
| Mortgage registration | 0.25% of the loan | 0.1% of the loan, capped at AED 1,000,000 |
| Off-plan loan cap | 50% | 50% |
| Property tax | None | None |
| Capital gains tax | None | None |
| Tax on rent you earn | None | None |
| Golden Visa threshold | AED 2,000,000 | AED 2,000,000 |
| Typical booking deposit | 10–20% | 5–10% |
The cost, side by side
You buy off-plan from a developer. You pay cash. Here is the whole bill.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| DLD registration | 4% of the price |
| Oqood registration | AED 1,000 |
| Knowledge fee | AED 10 |
| Innovation fee | AED 10 |
| Registration trustee | AED 0 |
| Agency commission | AED 0 |
| VAT on the price | AED 0 |
| At handover — title deed 250, map 250, knowledge 10, innovation 10 | AED 520 |
| Fixed fees, total | AED 1,540 |
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| ADREC registration | 2% of the price or valuation, whichever is higher |
| DARI electronic services | AED 472.50 |
| Registration trustee | AED 0 |
| Agency commission | AED 0 |
| VAT on the price | AED 0 |
| At handover — ADREC trustee | AED 1,050 |
| Fixed fees, total | AED 1,522.50 |
Abu Dhabi charges one more fee at handover. ADREC does not publish the amount for a unit. Ask us for the current figure before you budget it.
The bill, at four price points
Buyer pays the full percentage. Cash, no mortgage.
| Price | Dubai | Abu Dhabi | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| AED 1,500,000 | 61,540 (4.10%) | 31,522.50 (2.10%) | 30,017.50 |
| AED 2,000,000 | 81,540 (4.08%) | 41,522.50 (2.08%) | 40,017.50 |
| AED 3,000,000 | 121,540 (4.05%) | 61,522.50 (2.05%) | 60,017.50 |
| AED 5,000,000 | 201,540 (4.03%) | 101,522.50 (2.03%) | 100,017.50 |
The gap is 2% of the price plus AED 17.50. That is the whole of it.
Ask who pays the percentage. Both laws split the fee between seller and buyer unless the contract says otherwise. On a launch the contract says otherwise. In Dubai the buyer carries all 4%. In Abu Dhabi it is a line the developer chooses per project, and ADREC's system makes both sides name the payer at registration. Get it in writing before you sign.
A "we pay your DLD fee" launch is a discount, not a waiver. The 4% still reaches DLD. The developer absorbs your share as a price concession. It is worth 4% of the price and it can wipe out the gap in the table above. Check the SPA says it in words.
Cost tables all over the internet add a trustee fee of AED 4,200 to an off-plan purchase. On a launch you do not pay it. Your developer registers the unit through the Oqood portal, and DLD charges no service-partner fee on that route. The AED 4,200 belongs to a ready-property transfer at a trustee office.
The same tables list a title deed fee of AED 580. DLD charges AED 250 for the title deed. Add a map fee of AED 100 to AED 250, plus AED 10 and AED 10.
Our honest take
The fee gap is 2%. It decides nothing on its own.
On a AED 2M home the gap is AED 40,000. One launch discount, one floor premium or one payment plan is worth more than that. The fee is the last input into the decision, not the first.
The Golden Visa rule is federal and the threshold is the same. Dubai's published requirements are current. Abu Dhabi's portal still asks for proof of AED 2,000,000 paid to date — a document ask rather than the law. On a payment plan, expect to argue it.
Abu Dhabi caps what a developer can charge you. Admin fees stop at AED 5,000 and brokerage stops at 2%. Dubai caps neither. Abu Dhabi also asks for less money on day one: launches there open at 5% to 10%, against 10% to 20% in Dubai.
You can wait. Handover on a launch today runs to 2029 or 2030, and you earn nothing until then. You have the cash for the fee — since February 2025 banks cannot lend you the registration fee or the commission. You are not counting on a mortgage: the off-plan loan cap is 50% in both emirates, so with the fee on top you need about 56% of the price liquid. And you read the transfer clause before you sign, because selling before handover is where the real costs sit, and they are written into your contract rather than the law.
What you pay in Dubai
At the SPA
DLD registration, 4%. Executive Council Resolution 30 of 2013 sets it at 4% of the sale contract value, and splits it between seller and buyer unless they agree otherwise. On a launch the buyer pays all of it.
Oqood registration, AED 1,000. Your developer registers the unit in the Interim Register. That is the record proving the home is yours before it exists.
Knowledge fee AED 10. Innovation fee AED 10.
Nothing else. No trustee fee. No agency commission — the developer pays the agent. No VAT, because a new home is zero rated.
The 4% is one payment at registration, not a running charge. Registration must happen within 90 days of the SPA. Some developers offer to spread your payment of the fee; that is their credit terms rather than a DLD schedule.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Title deed | AED 250 |
| Map | AED 100–250 |
| Knowledge | AED 10 |
| Innovation | AED 10 |
You do not pay 4% again. The Oqood record converts to a title deed for the fees above.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Mortgage registration | 0.25% of the loan |
| Title deed | AED 250 |
| Knowledge and innovation | AED 20 |
| Trustee, off-plan tier | AED 5,000 + 5% VAT |
On a AED 1,000,000 loan that is about AED 8,020.
What you pay in Abu Dhabi
At the SPA
ADREC registration, 2%. Charged on the sale price or the valuation, whichever is higher. That matters on a launch with big incentives, where the valuation can sit above the price you agreed.
DARI electronic services, AED 450 plus 5% VAT.
Nothing else. No trustee fee. No agency commission. No VAT on the price.
Your developer must register the sale within 21 days of the contract date. Late registration carries a AED 10,000 penalty, and it lands on the developer.
A 1% registration quote is a warning. Abu Dhabi registers musataha units at 1%. Musataha is a 50-year renewable right to build and use, not freehold. If a project prices registration at 1%, ask what title you are buying.
The unit moves from the Initial Register to the Real Estate Register and a title deed issues.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| ADREC trustee, transfer of ownership | AED 1,050 |
| ADREC conversion fee | Not published |
Ask us for the current conversion figure. There is no second percentage charge at completion.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Mortgage registration | 0.1% of the loan, capped at AED 1,000,000 |
| DARI electronic services | AED 472.50 |
| ADREC trustee, transfer with mortgage | AED 1,575 |
On a AED 1,000,000 loan that is about AED 3,048, against AED 8,020 in Dubai.
Caps Dubai does not haveResolution 183 of 2017 stops an Abu Dhabi developer charging you more than AED 5,000 in admin fees, and caps brokerage at 2% of the contract. Dubai leaves both to the market.
What you pay every year
No property tax. No capital gains tax. No tax on the rent you collect. Neither emirate charges any of them. Rental income from a home you own in your own name sits outside corporate tax under Cabinet Decision 49 of 2023. Hold the same home through a UAE company and 9% applies to the profit above AED 375,000.
The service charge is the real annual cost. Both emirates charge it in dirhams per square foot, plus 5% VAT, and it starts at handover rather than at booking.
The check almost nobody tells you to makeDubai publishes an approved rate for every project through the RERA service charge index, so you can read the figure yourself before you sign. Abu Dhabi approves budgets without publishing them. Ask for the ADREC-approved budget in writing, and treat any number you are quoted as a guess until you have it.
Selling before handover
This is the most expensive thing you can do, and almost none of it is set by the regulator. It is set by your contract.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| DLD registration, again | 4% |
| Developer NOC | AED 500–5,250 |
| Trustee, off-plan tier | AED 5,000 + 5% VAT |
| Agency commission | 2% + 5% VAT |
| Developer assignment charge | Up to 5% at some developers |
The base for the 4% is not settled. The law charges it on the value of the sale contract, and practice at the trustee office varies where the resale sits at or below the original price. We confirm it per deal rather than quote you a rule.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| ADREC registration, again | 2% |
| DARI buy and sell service | AED 400 + 5% VAT |
| Developer NOC | AED 500–5,000 |
| Agency commission | 2%, capped at AED 500,000 |
| Developer admin | Capped at AED 5,000 |
Most Abu Dhabi developers want around 30% of the price paid before they release a NOC. Dubai developers set their own threshold too. We confirm yours before you buy, not when you want to sell.
What protects your money
Both emirates hold your instalments in a project escrow account, and both hold 5% back for a year after completion to cover defects. The difference shows up if you walk away.
Abu Dhabi refunds you within 15 working days and lets the developer keep 10% if you default early. Dubai lets the developer keep up to 25% below 60% completion, and the balance can take up to a year to reach you.
Abu Dhabi also writes your payment schedule into law as a default: Law 3 of 2015 says you pay in step with the completion percentage of the works, unless your contract says otherwise. Dubai leaves the schedule to the contract. Both are worth reading the SPA for, because both give way to what you sign.
The Golden Visa
It is one federal rule. The emirate does not change it. Cabinet Resolution 65 of 2022 grants a 10-year residence to an investor who owns one or more homes with a total value of AED 2,000,000. Value, not the amount you have paid.
| Condition | Position |
|---|---|
| Threshold | AED 2,000,000 total value |
| Multiple properties | Allowed, added together |
| A share in a joint property | Your share alone must reach AED 2,000,000 |
| Mortgage | Allowed, from an approved local bank |
| Off-plan | Allowed, from a developer on the local approved list |
| Term | 10 years, renewable |
Where the emirates differ is the paperwork. Dubai runs it through DLD and GDRFA on a property status certificate, with a bank letter if the home is mortgaged. Abu Dhabi runs it through DMT and ICP on a value certificate and a search certificate. Each emirate approves its own developer list, and that is the one variation the federal rule allows.
One live friction. Abu Dhabi's portal still lists evidence of AED 2,000,000 paid to date, and Dubai's own FAQ page still says the home must be fully paid and unmortgaged. Both are old wording. The law is the table above. On an Abu Dhabi file, budget time to clear the paid-to-date ask.
Dubai fees for the 10-year visa: AED 9,884.75. Medical AED 700, Emirates ID AED 1,153, residency confirmation AED 2,856.75, DLD AED 4,020, administration AED 1,155. Add AED 5,774.50 plus AED 318.75 for a spouse or child. Abu Dhabi does not publish a total.
The 2-year investor visa needs a finished home. Dubai removed the AED 750,000 floor for sole owners in April 2026, and a co-owner's share must reach AED 400,000. Off-plan qualifies once your title deed issues.
Ask us to price your own deal
We sell in both emirates at zero commission. Send us the project and we will put the whole bill in writing — the percentage, the fixed fees, and the ones the tables get wrong.