How to Buy Property in Dubai: Step-by-Step Guide 2026

What are the steps to buy property in Dubai?

The steps to buy a ready (resale) property in Dubai are:

1. Set your budget, including about 6.6% in fees, and get mortgage pre-approval if you need a loan.
2. Choose an area and a RERA-licensed agent, and check the agent's broker card on the DLD's Dubai REST app.
3. View properties and make an offer through the agent.
4. Sign Form F, the standard sale contract, and hand over a deposit cheque, usually 10% of the price.
5. The seller applies for the developer's No Objection Certificate (NOC), which confirms service charges are paid.
6. If you use a mortgage, the bank values the property and issues a final offer letter.
7. Transfer the property at a registration trustee office: pay by manager's cheques and the DLD fees.
8. Receive the title deed in your name, issued electronically on the day.
9. Take the keys, connect DEWA, and register an Ejari tenancy contract if you let the property.

How long and how much: each step at a glance

Each step's typical time and cost, for an AED 1 million apartment:

Every fee and who pays it is explained in the cost of buying property in Dubai, and the transfer charges in detail in DLD fees.

How long does it take to buy property in Dubai?

A cash purchase of a ready property in Dubai usually takes about 30 days from signing Form F to the title deed, and can take two weeks if the property is vacant and service charges are paid, according to 800 Homes. A mortgage purchase takes longer, usually 6 to 10 weeks, because the bank must value the property and issue its final offer. Betterhomes puts the whole process at 30 to 60 days.

1. Week 1Offer and Form FPrice agreed, Form F signed, 10% deposit cheque handed to the agent
2. Weeks 1 to 3NOC and pre-checksSeller requests the developer NOC; seller's bank issues a liability letter if the property is mortgaged
3. Weeks 2 to 6Mortgage (if used)Valuation, final offer letter, bank prepares cheques
4. Week 4 (cash) or weeks 6 to 10 (mortgage)Transfer dayTrustee office appointment, DLD fees paid, title deed issued
5. Following daysHandoverKeys, DEWA connection, Ejari if letting

The usual causes of delay are a slow developer NOC, the seller's own mortgage and a power of attorney that has not been properly legalised.

Cash or mortgage, resale or off-plan: which path is yours?

The process splits in two places: how you pay, and whether the property is already built.

Step 1: How do you set a budget and get mortgage pre-approval?

Your budget is the price plus about 6.6% in fees for a cash resale, or the deposit plus the fees if you borrow, because UAE banks no longer lend the DLD fee or agent commission. For an AED 2 million villa with an 80% mortgage, that is about AED 551,000 in cash.

If you need a mortgage, get pre-approval before you make an offer. Pre-approval is the bank's statement of how much it will lend you, subject to a valuation, and usually takes one to five working days for salaried buyers. The Central Bank of the UAE caps loans for expats at 80% on a first home of AED 5 million or less; banks usually lend non-residents 50% to 60%. See the minimum down payment in Dubai for every case.

Step 2: How do you choose an area and a licensed agent?

Choose an area first, because foreigners can buy only in designated freehold areas; our list of freehold areas in Dubai shows where, and can foreigners buy property in Dubai? explains the rules, including for non-residents, who need only a passport. Then choose an agent licensed by RERA, the DLD's Real Estate Regulatory Agency.

Every licensed broker has a broker registration number (BRN) and a digital broker card. The Dubai Land Department's "Licensed Real Estate Brokers" service, on its website and in the Dubai REST app, lets you check that the agent and the agency are licensed before you share documents or money.

Step 3: How do you view and make an offer?

You view the property with the agent, in person or by video call, and make an offer through the agent, who passes it to the seller's agent. Before offering, ask for the title deed number, the service charge figure from the DLD's Service Charge Index, whether the property is vacant or let, and whether the seller has a mortgage.

Everything is negotiable at this stage, including the price, the transfer date and who pays the NOC.

Step 4: What is Form F and is the deposit refundable?

Form F is the standard sale contract that the Dubai Land Department requires for resale deals, also called the MOU (memorandum of understanding). It records the price, the deposit, the transfer date, who pays which fees and any conditions, such as the buyer getting a mortgage. The agent creates it on the DLD's system and both parties sign.

On signing, the buyer gives a deposit cheque, usually 10% of the price. The cheque is normally made out to the seller and held by the agent in trust, and it cannot be released without written instructions from both sides.

“"If the offer is accepted then a deposit should be paid (usually 10%)."”

GOV.UK, How to buy, rent or let property in the UAE

Legally, whether you get the deposit back depends on Form F's terms. In practice:

• If the sale completes, the deposit goes to the seller as part of the price.
• If the buyer pulls out or fails to complete by the agreed date, the seller can usually keep the full deposit, as UAE law firm MIO & Partners explains.
• If the seller pulls out, the buyer gets the deposit back, and Form F normally sets a penalty the seller must pay as well; check the figure in your contract.
• If a mortgage is refused, the deposit comes back only if Form F contains a finance condition saying so. Ask for one before you sign.

Step 5: What is the developer NOC and who gets it?

A developer No Objection Certificate (NOC) is the developer's confirmation that all service charges are paid and it does not object to the sale. The DLD requires an electronic NOC for every resale in a freehold area, requested through the Dubai REST app. The seller normally applies and pays, usually AED 500 to AED 5,000 plus VAT, and it takes about one to three weeks depending on the developer.

Step 6: What happens with a mortgage: valuation and final offer?

If you are borrowing, your bank sends a valuer to the property, usually within a week, and then issues a final offer letter confirming the loan. If the valuation comes in below the agreed price, the bank lends on the lower figure and you make up the difference in cash. The bank then prepares its manager's cheque for the seller.

Step 7: What happens at the trustee office on transfer day?

On transfer day, buyer and seller (or their representatives) meet at a registration trustee office, a DLD-licensed centre that completes property transfers. The trustee checks identities and documents, collects the cheques and fees and registers the sale; the DLD service itself takes about 25 minutes.

You need:

• Identity: your Emirates ID, or a valid passport if you are a non-resident.
• Manager's cheques: for the price, made out to the seller (and, where the seller has a mortgage, a separate cheque to their bank for the debt).
• DLD fees: 4% of the price, plus AED 520 for the title deed and map, by manager's cheque to the Dubai Land Department or electronic payment.
• The trustee fee: AED 4,200 including VAT (AED 2,100 under AED 500,000).
• A power of attorney, if someone is signing for you.

Registration is what makes you the owner. Until the sale is recorded in the DLD's register, the transfer has no legal effect.

“Transactions that create or transfer property rights "will not be deemed valid unless recorded in the Property Register."”

Dubai Law No. 7 of 2006, Article 9

Step 8: When do you get the title deed?

You get the title deed on transfer day. The DLD now issues it as an electronic certificate, sent by email, and you can see it in the Dubai REST app. If you bought with a mortgage, the bank's charge is recorded on the same title.

Step 9: What do you do after the transfer?

After the transfer, you collect the keys and access cards from the seller or agent and connect utilities with the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), which takes a refundable deposit of AED 2,000 for an apartment or AED 4,000 for a villa. If you let the property, the tenancy must be registered in Ejari, the DLD's rental registration system. From then on, you pay annual service charges and, on rented or owner-occupied homes, the 5% housing fee through the DEWA bill.

Can you buy a property that still has a mortgage?

Yes, you can buy a Dubai property that still has the seller's mortgage on it, and it is common. The seller's bank issues a liability letter showing the debt, and the DLD lists three manager's cheques for the transfer: one to the bank or developer for the debt, one to the seller for the rest, and one to the DLD for the 4% fee. Allow an extra week or two for the seller's bank.

How is buying off-plan different?

Buying off-plan means buying from a developer before the building is finished. There is no trustee office appointment, no NOC and usually no agent commission, and you pay in instalments. The path is:

1. Reserve the unit with a booking payment, usually the first instalment of the payment plan.
2. Sign the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with the developer.
3. The developer registers the sale on the DLD's interim register, Oqood, and you pay the 4% DLD fee through the developer.
4. Pay the instalments into the project's escrow account as construction progresses.
5. At completion, inspect the unit (snagging), pay the handover balance and take the keys.
6. Receive the title deed once the developer registers the completed building with the DLD.

Oqood registration protects you: under Dubai Law No. 13 of 2008, an off-plan sale is void unless it is entered in the interim register, and the DLD issues a provisional registration e-certificate, usually within one business day. Payments go into an escrow account under Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007. Banks lend at most 50% on off-plan property.

What changed in 2025 and 2026

• February 2025: banks stopped financing the DLD fee and agent commission, so buyers need the fees in cash.
• July 2025: the DLD tightened the rules for powers of attorney used in property deals (Circular No. 29/R/2025, as summarised by UAE law firms). A power of attorney signed abroad must be dated within the previous two years and use wording specific to the transaction.
• 2026: the DLD's fee calculator now sits in the Dubai REST app, alongside the e-NOC and broker checks.
• No change to the 4% DLD fee, the trustee fee bands or the Form F process.

How to buy property in Dubai from the UK

UK buyers follow the same nine steps, and most can be done from the UK: viewings by video, and Form F signed electronically or by courier. What changes is the transfer and the money.

The transfer. Either fly to Dubai for the trustee office appointment or give someone a power of attorney, usually a conveyancer or a trusted person. A power of attorney signed in the UK must be:

• signed in front of a UK notary public, with wording specific to the purchase;
• legalised by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), which charges £45 per document by post (usually up to 25 working days) or £35 for an e-Apostille (up to 2 working days);
• attested by the UAE Embassy in London and then by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
• legally translated into Arabic by a UAE-licensed translator.

The UAE is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, so the UK apostille alone is not enough. The document list is in documents required to buy property in Dubai.

Sending money. You need a deposit cheque, then UAE manager's cheques for the price and fees on transfer day, so most UK buyers open a UAE bank account or ask a conveyancer to arrange the cheques. At AED 4.88 to the pound, an AED 1 million home is about £205,000, and a 1% move in the rate is about £2,000. Keep records of where the money came from, because banks and agents will ask about the source of funds.

UK lawyers. GOV.UK notes that "only a local lawyer can represent you in the UAE", so a UK solicitor can advise but cannot act for you in Dubai.