The steps, in order
- Check your SPA
Check your SPA: the minimum share you must pay before a resale, any lock-in period, and the assignment clause. Clear any overdue instalments.
- Agree terms and sign Form F
Agree the price and terms with the buyer, including who pays which fee, and sign Form F, the RERA contract of sale.
- Get the developer NOC
Apply to the developer for the NOC. The developer checks your account and issues the NOC electronically through Dubai REST.
- Transfer at a trustee office
Complete the transfer at a DLD registration trustee office. Bring the oqood certificate, both parties’ IDs, the NOC, Form F, the developer’s stamped statement of account, a manager’s cheque to the seller and the DLD fee.
- The oqood moves to the buyer
The oqood is re-registered in the buyer’s name, and the buyer takes over the remaining instalments.
The DLD confirmed in September 2024 that an off-plan transfer requires an electronic NOC from the developer, available through the Dubai REST app. A sale of an off-plan unit that is not entered in the interim register is void (Law No. 13 of 2008, Article 3).
Every official fee
| Item | Amount | Paid to |
|---|---|---|
| DLD sale fee | 4% of the sale value: officially 2% seller and 2% buyer. In practice the buyer often pays all 4%; who pays is written in Form F | Dubai Land Department |
| Registration trustee (service partner) | AED 4,000 + VAT for a sale of AED 500,000 or more; AED 2,000 + VAT below | DLD registration trustee office |
| Knowledge and innovation fees | AED 10 each | Dubai Land Department |
| Developer NOC | Set by each developer. Published: Emaar AED 5,000 + VAT, valid 15 days (Emaar schedule dated December 2020); Ellington AED 5,250 for the NOC and new SPA. Ask your developer for the rest | The developer |
- DLD fee (4%)
- AED 60,000
- of which the buyer pays
- AED 30,000
- of which the seller pays
- AED 30,000
- Registration trustee (incl. 5% VAT)
- AED 4,200
- Knowledge + innovation fees
- AED 20
- Official cost of the transfer
- AED 64,220
Official DLD fees only, from the DLD sale-registration page. Developer NOC, title deed and map fees, and any DealExit fee are not included. An estimate, not a quote.
A resale buyer pays the DLD fee, while some developers are again waiving the 4% on new launches in 2026 (Betterhomes). Resale buyers compare against those offers.
What developers can and cannot charge
Law No. 13 of 2008, Article 7, says no master developer or sub-developer may charge any fees on the sale or resale of an off-plan unit, other than approved administrative costs. If you are quoted an “assignment fee” as a percentage of the price, ask the developer which approved administrative cost it is.
How much you must pay before you can sell
Source: Ellington Properties FAQ, read October 2026. Other developers set their own minimum in the SPA.
We found no minimum in DLD or RERA rules; the minimum is set by the developer in your SPA. Market guides commonly cite 30 to 40%. Published examples: Ellington requires 30% (adjustable with construction progress), or 50% plus the next instalment for Ocean House, Arbor View, One River Point, Mercer House, Art Bay, Hillmont, Cala Del Mar, Claydon House and Rosemont. Emaar applies a minimum set in the SPA.
What happens at the trustee office
Registration trustees are offices approved by the Dubai Land Department to complete sales on its behalf. Both parties (or their attorneys) attend with the documents above. The trustee checks the NOC and IDs, collects the DLD fee and its service fee, and registers the transfer. The DLD lists the service time as about 25 minutes once everything is in order.
If the unit is mortgaged
The DLD has a single procedure for selling a mortgaged unit. The seller brings a liability letter from the bank (or, for a developer payment plan, a letter from the developer for the remaining amount), and three manager’s cheques are prepared: one to the bank or developer for the debt, one to the seller for the balance, and one to the DLD for the fee. The mortgage release fee is AED 1,290 and the registrar fee AED 315.
What happens if you stop paying
Under Law No. 13 of 2008, Article 11, as amended, the developer notifies the DLD, which gives you 30 days to pay and, under Law No. 19 of 2020, first tries to settle the matter. If you do not pay, what the developer may do depends on how far the project has been built:
- Under 60%
- Works started: terminate and keep up to 25% of the unit price
- 60–80%
- Terminate and keep up to 40% of the unit price
- 80% or more
- Claim the balance, ask the DLD for a public auction, or terminate and keep up to 40%
Law No. 13 of 2008, Article 11, as amended. If works never started for reasons outside the developer’s control, all amounts paid are refunded (Law No. 19 of 2020).
This is why selling before a missed payment matters: a resale can let you exit with your equity instead of risking termination. This is general information, not legal advice.
Selling in today’s market
Source: Cavendish Maxwell data reported by The National, 7 October 2026.
Source: Cavendish Maxwell data reported by The National, 7 October 2026.
- Regional uncertainty since late February 2026 has slowed Dubai sales. Residential sales in Q3 2026 were AED 72.6 billion, 47% lower than a year earlier, across about 34,000 deals, and off-plan was still 72% of deals (Cavendish Maxwell data, reported by The National on 7 October 2026). Earlier in the year, Q1 2026 real estate transactions of all types reached AED 252 billion across 60,303 transactions (DLD).
- Prices are correcting by segment: industry reports cited by S&P Global Ratings put the fall at 5 to 15% from end-2025 to September 2026, and S&P expects apartments to fall faster than villas (reported by The National).
- Sellers have cut asking prices by a combined AED 1.7 billion across more than 2,800 listings since the conflict began (LuxuryPriceDrops data via AGBI, May 2026).
Where DealExit fits
List your position with your SPA and statement of account. We read the facts from them and show verified buyers the full commitment: cash to you, the instalments they take over and the total resale price, together. Contact details are shared only after both sides choose to proceed. The first 100 off-plan listings pay no advertisement fee and no closing fee, for the life of the listing.
DealExit does not process the NOC or the transfer and holds no funds. Official fees are paid at cost to the developer and the DLD, never to DealExit.