A completed apartment can be ready for transfer while its seller is still paying off a mortgage or a tenant is still living in it. Those facts determine who must be involved, when money can move and when you can occupy the home. Before agreeing a completion date, establish what you can buy, who can sell it and which Dubai Land Department (DLD) process fits the transaction. This guide follows a completed residential purchase and explains where an off-plan purchase takes a different route. DLD’s completed property sale service
Check what is being sold and who can sell it
Ask for the title deed details and match them to the property you viewed. Compare the building, unit, registered area and owner. If the offer includes parking or storage, ask how each is recorded and whether it comes with the transfer. Use DLD’s title deed verification service through its website or Dubai REST. DLD’s app guide shows an option to validate both owner and property. If a representative is signing, ask the trustee to confirm what proof of authority is required for that transaction. If an agent is involved, check their details through DLD’s licensed broker directory. Verify a title deed · Dubai REST verification guide · Licensed broker directory
Check the ownership right you can register for the specific property. Dubai’s property registration law provides for non-UAE nationals to acquire freehold or certain time-limited rights in designated areas, subject to the applicable approvals. If you are buying as a non-UAE national, confirm the eligibility of the unit and the right shown on the deed. An eligible building elsewhere in the same neighbourhood tells you little about the documentation for the unit in front of you. Dubai’s property registration law, Article 4
At the viewing, make a list of what you need the seller to clarify before you agree the price. Check signs of leaks near bathrooms and windows, whether the air conditioning serves every room, and which appliances or fittings are included. Ask about access for an independent inspection if condition could affect your offer. For a jointly owned building, ask for the latest service charge statement and check the project, use and budget year against DLD’s Service Charge Index. Ask separately about arrears and how any outstanding amount will be dealt with. The index expressly excludes arrears. DLD’s Service Charge Index
Ask the manager which parts of the property the owner maintains and which are handled through the building budget. A stain beside a window could call for work inside the flat, on the façade, or both. Find out who can inspect it and whether access or approval would be needed before you price the repair into your offer.
Find out when you can actually move in
For a vacant home, agree when you can verify the condition and collect all keys, access cards and remotes. If a tenant is in place, ask for the tenancy agreement and its registration details, the rent and deposit position, and any written agreement about departure. Article 28 of Dubai’s tenancy law protects continued occupation under the qualifying lease after ownership transfers. If your offer depends on vacant possession, write that condition and the intended handover date into the agreement and establish what happens if the condition fails. A seller can be able to transfer a home before they can deliver it vacant. Dubai tenancy law, Article 28
If you are buying with the tenancy in place, agree how rent already collected and the tenant’s deposit will be accounted for. Ask which documents, notices and contact details the seller will pass on. For a vacant purchase, agree whether the seller must remove furniture or complete repairs, and whether you will inspect before transfer. Keep the promised state of the property separate from the handover date so both can be checked.
Work out the money due at each stage
Start with the purchase price, then list the registration fee, trustee or digital service charges, any deed and map fees, brokerage where applicable, and any lender or valuation charges. Ask each party for the amount, payee and date. Keep future costs in a separate column, including service charges, repairs and any costs of maintaining an empty home before you move in. If two apartments have the same asking price, the service charge statement and condition of the unit can change what you need to set aside in the first year. DLD’s published sale charges · Approved service charge lookup
DLD’s completed sale service lists 2% of the sale value for the seller and 2% for the buyer. The underlying fee resolution provides for equal sharing unless the parties agree otherwise. On an AED 1.5 million sale, the two shares are AED 30,000 each under that default, or AED 60,000 combined. Agree in writing who pays each share. The general sale service also lists a trustee partner fee of AED 4,000 plus VAT for sales of at least AED 500,000, and AED 2,000 plus VAT below that threshold. Title deed, map and other fees can add to the amount due. Dubai Now publishes a separate schedule for its digital service. Ask for the current breakdown for your selected route. General sale fee schedule · Fee resolution, Article 3 · Dubai Now fee schedule
If you need financing, ask the lender when it confirms the property valuation and the loan amount, and when those funds can be used for the transfer. A borrowing estimate can help you shop. Before you commit to a deadline, check which conditions still need to be met for that specific loan. If the bank offers less than expected, work out whether you can cover the additional cash or whether your contract gives you a way to withdraw. DLD lists a mortgage registration fee of 0.25% of the mortgage value. For a hypothetical AED 1 million mortgage, that line is AED 2,500. Check the other registration charges and the lender’s own fees separately. DLD’s mortgage registration service
For a financed purchase, translate the numbers into cash due. On the hypothetical AED 1.5 million sale with a confirmed AED 1 million loan, the purchase price still requires AED 500,000 from your own funds. With the default buyer share of the sale fee and the mortgage percentage above, the subtotal reaches AED 532,500 before trustee, lender, deed, brokerage or other costs. If a deposit already paid is credited toward the price under the agreement, track it against the AED 500,000 so it is counted once. If the loan amount changes, recalculate the balance and confirm what has to be available on transfer day. Sale fee schedule · Mortgage fee schedule
Agree the contract around the actual transfer route
Record the unit and sale price, payment terms, deadlines, what comes with the property and when you receive possession. If a deposit is due before transfer, write down who holds it, how it is credited and what happens if the transaction falls through. Assign the steps that depend on another party. Examples include obtaining a developer’s no-objection certificate (NOC), arranging the lender’s valuation and confirming that a tenant has agreed to leave. For DLD’s general sale service, the listed documents for individuals include Emirates ID, or a valid passport for a non-resident foreign buyer or seller, and a developer e-NOC in freehold areas. Confirm the documents before fixing the appointment. DLD’s document requirements
When the seller has a mortgage, confirm the settlement procedure with the lender and trustee before preparing payments. DLD’s mortgaged-property service lists a liability letter and sets out how the parties reserve their rights while the debt is settled. It describes separate manager’s cheques for the lender or developer, the seller’s balance where applicable, and DLD fees. The mortgage release letter is needed before completion of the registration sequence. If you are borrowing too, ask both lenders and the trustee how the outgoing mortgage release and incoming mortgage registration will be coordinated. The dates in the liability letter and your finance documents matter more to your timetable than the processing time shown for the service counter. DLD’s mortgaged sale and release procedure
Before the appointment, ask for one agreed list of amounts and recipients. Match it to the sale price and record which part, if any, is going to discharge the seller’s debt. If a payment has already been made, identify the receipt and the amount it satisfies. Ask which documents or payments must be reissued if the transfer moves to a later date. If an instruction arrives with different account details, verify it through the service or through a contact you already know before acting on it. DLD’s instructions for a sale with an existing mortgage
Register the transfer and confirm the handover
For a trustee-centre transfer, DLD describes document verification, registration data entry and audit, followed by payment and electronic delivery of the outputs. Ask the trustee how to prepare the purchase and fee payments for the case before attending. If using Dubai Now, DLD describes a sale request, a signed sale and purchase agreement and payment of the purchase amount and fees to the escrow account specified in that workflow. The title deed and receipt then become available through the service. Trustee-centre sale registration · Digital sale workflow
The published Dubai Now terms limit the service to eligible individuals with UAE IDs and certain subdivided units in freehold areas, including apartments and townhouses. The property must be free of mortgages and restrictions. If the deal is still waiting on a release, follow the trustee route for the mortgaged property. The app service also says that an unsigned procedure is cancelled automatically after seven days. Get both parties ready to sign before starting the request. DLD announced the first phase at GITEX in October 2025, but the service terms are the better reference for current eligibility. Dubai Now service terms · DLD’s launch announcement
Save the issued deed and receipt and check the new deed against the agreed property details. At handover, collect the keys, cards, remotes and parking information and record which items were supplied. Confirm how building access and service charge billing change to the new owner, who handles any final utility readings and when you can arrange deliveries. If there is a tenant, make sure they receive the agreed contact details and a clear record of any change to the rent payment arrangements. Keep the signed agreement, transfer records and handover record together.
If the property is off-plan, check the project before paying
For an initial purchase from a developer, use DLD’s project status enquiry to check the exact project, its reported completion status and escrow details. Match the project and phase to the documents you receive. Ask how the instalments are scheduled and what the contract says about changes, handover and outstanding payments. Check the payment instructions against the relevant project escrow information before sending funds. The project’s reported construction progress and its contractual handover date answer different questions. A progress figure alone gives you little basis for fixing your move-in date. DLD’s project status and escrow lookup · Project and escrow registration
DLD’s initial sale service describes registration by the developer through Oqood and the issue of a provisional registration certificate. Ask when that certificate will be available for your unit and keep it with the contract and instalment receipts. A provisional certificate records the initial purchase stage. If you are considering buying an off-plan unit from its current buyer, ask DLD and the developer which procedure applies and what amounts or approvals must be in place before that transfer. DLD’s initial sale registration service
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