6.3 Transfer Day at the Trustee Centre: Documents, Powers of Attorney and Closing Costs
Key Takeaways
DLD registers sales through Real Estate Registration Trustee centres, which charge AED 4,000 + VAT for sales of AED 500,000 or more and AED 2,000 + VAT below.
DLD lists the sale fee as 2% from the seller and 2% from the buyer, though buyers commonly agree to pay the full 4%.
For an apartment or villa DLD adds AED 250 for the title deed, AED 250 for the map, and AED 10 each for knowledge and innovation fees.
DLD charges 0.25% of the mortgage value to register a mortgage and AED 1,290 for a mortgage release procedure.
DLD requires manager's cheques for a sale to be issued in the owner's name, not the attorney's, and no longer accepts receipt declarations inside a POA.
6.3 Transfer Day at the Trustee Centre: Documents, Powers of Attorney and Closing Costs
Whatever the transaction model, the deal ends at a Real Estate Registration Trustee centre, a private office licensed by DLD as a service partner to enter transactions into DLD's system. Exam questions on this topic are usually calculations, so learn the official fee figures exactly.
1. What happens at the trustee centre
DLD's Property Sale Registration service describes the steps:
- The parties (or their legal representatives) attend a trustee centre and submit the documents; anything missing is identified and the documents are uploaded to DLD's digital vault.
- The employee enters the transaction data into the system and audits it.
- The fees are paid and a receipt is issued; the outputs are sent by email.
- The buyer's details are entered by Emirates ID or passport and the request is created.
The service time is listed as 25 minutes, and the outputs are an electronic title deed and an electronic map.
Required documents (individuals)
- Emirates ID of the seller and the buyer (for identity verification only; no copies are taken), or a valid passport for non-resident foreigners.
- In freehold areas, the developer's electronic no-objection certificate (e-NOC) obtained through the Dubai REST app.
- For a company, DLD requires prior company registration with DLD.
- For a mortgaged property or a financed purchase, the bank documents described in Chapters 5 and 6.
2. Powers of attorney
Absent owners and buyers often act through an attorney. Brokers should check four points:
| Point | What to check |
|---|---|
| Specific authority | The POA must specifically authorise the sale (or purchase) of the named property; a general management POA is not enough |
| Age | DLD and Dubai Courts practice expects a sale POA to have been issued within the last two years |
| Attestation | A POA signed abroad must be notarised there, legalised by the UAE embassy or consulate, attested by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and translated into Arabic by a licensed translator |
| Money | Manager's cheques for the price must be in the owner's name as shown on the title deed, not the attorney's, and DLD no longer accepts a declaration of receipt of funds inside a POA |
DLD has also restricted real estate brokers from acting as attorneys in their own clients' sales; treat a POA in the broker's favour as a red flag.
3. DLD's official fee schedule
| Fee | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sale registration fee | 4% of the sale value: 2% from the seller and 2% from the buyer by default; buyers commonly agree to pay all of it | DLD Property Sale Registration; EC Resolution No. 30 of 2013 |
| Title deed issuance | AED 250 | DLD |
| Map | AED 250 for villas and apartments (AED 225 unified Dubai Municipality land map; AED 100 for land outside Dubai Municipality) | DLD |
| Knowledge and innovation fees | AED 10 + AED 10 | DLD |
| Trustee (service partner) fee | AED 4,000 + VAT if the sale value is AED 500,000 or more; AED 2,000 + VAT if below | DLD |
| Mortgage registration | 0.25% of the mortgage value (plus deed, map and knowledge/innovation fees) | DLD mortgage services; EC Resolution No. 30 of 2013 |
| Registering the sale of a mortgaged property | AED 1,000 + AED 20, plus AED 1,290 for the mortgage release and AED 315 to the registrar for the release | DLD |
| Discharging a mortgage | AED 1,000 (EC Resolution No. 30 of 2013 tariff) | EC Resolution No. 30 of 2013 |
For an apartment the fixed DLD add-ons therefore total 250 + 250 + 10 + 10 = AED 520.
Costs outside DLD's schedule are set by contract or by the provider: brokerage commission (customarily 2% + 5% VAT), the developer's NOC fee (its DLD-approved tariff), and bank arrangement and valuation fees.
4. Worked closing statement
Facts: a first-time expatriate buyer purchases a resale apartment for AED 2,000,000 with an 80% loan of AED 1,600,000. The buyer has agreed to pay the full 4% DLD fee and a 2% commission to its own broker. The bank charges a 1% arrangement fee plus VAT and a valuation fee of AED 3,000 plus VAT (example bank figures). The mortgage is registered on the same day as the sale. For simplicity, the fixed deed and map fees on the mortgage registration are ignored.
| Item | Calculation | Buyer pays (AED) |
|---|---|---|
| Down payment | 2,000,000 − 1,600,000 | 400,000 |
| DLD sale fee | 4% × 2,000,000 | 80,000 |
| Title deed, map, knowledge and innovation fees | 250 + 250 + 10 + 10 | 520 |
| Trustee fee | 4,000 + 5% VAT | 4,200 |
| Mortgage registration | 0.25% × 1,600,000 | 4,000 |
| Brokerage commission | 2% × 2,000,000 = 40,000 + 5% VAT | 42,000 |
| Bank arrangement fee (example) | 1% × 1,600,000 = 16,000 + 5% VAT | 16,800 |
| Valuation fee (example) | 3,000 + 5% VAT | 3,150 |
| Total cash needed | 550,670 |
The costs beyond the down payment come to AED 150,670, about 7.5% of the price, so the buyer needs roughly 27.5% of the price in cash rather than the headline 20%. Brokers should give buyers this kind of written estimate before Form F is signed.
5. After the transfer
- The buyer receives the electronic title deed and electronic map by email.
- The mortgage (if any) is noted against the property and the bank receives its mortgage documents.
- The buyer opens utility accounts in their own name and updates service-charge records, and the parties settle any agreed apportionment of prepaid service charges.
A buyer purchases a Dubai Marina apartment for AED 1,800,000 with a AED 1,200,000 mortgage and agrees to pay the whole DLD sale fee. Ignoring the fixed AED 520 deed and map fees, what does the buyer pay in total for the DLD sale fee, the trustee fee and the mortgage registration fee?
AED 72,000
AED 79,200
AED 75,000
AED 82,500
An overseas owner wants to sell through a POA notarised 26 months ago, which appoints the listing broker as attorney and asks that the price cheque be made out to the broker. What problems should the broker flag?
None, because notarised POAs never expire
Only the need to pay an extra AED 10,000 guarantee
Only that the buyer must sign a risk waiver
The POA is older than the two years DLD practice accepts for sales, DLD restricts brokers from acting as sellers' attorneys, and the manager's cheque must be in the owner's name, not the attorney's
A studio sells for AED 450,000. Which trustee (service partner) fee applies under DLD's Property Sale Registration service?
AED 2,000 plus VAT, because the sale value is below AED 500,000
AED 4,000 plus VAT for every sale
No trustee fee, because the price is under AED 1,000,000
0.25% of the price
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.