Gifting property in Dubai to family: a 0.125% fee instead of 4%, who qualifies and what it costs

Any change of ownership in Dubai attracts the Land Department's 4% transfer fee by default, whether the buyer is a stranger or your own son. Transfers within the immediate family have their own route — a gift — and the fee on it is 32 times lower: 0.125% of the DLD valuation, with a minimum of AED 2,000. On a typical apartment the difference runs to tens of thousands of dollars.

Who qualifies for the reduced fee

The concession applies only to first-degree relatives whose relationship can be proven by a document:

• a spouse — with a marriage certificate;
• children — with the child's birth certificate;
• parents — with the relevant birth certificate.

Siblings are not on the list. Under current practice the Land Department does not register sibling transfers at the gift rate, so they proceed as ordinary transfers at 4%. The reduced rate also applies when an owner moves a property into a company they own.

The numbers on a AED 2m apartment

Route	DLD fee	USD, approx.
Standard transfer (4%)	AED 80,000	21,800
Gift (0.125%)	AED 2,500	680

On top of the fee come an official valuation (mandatory — the fee is charged on the DLD figure, not on a value the parties choose), trustee office charges and, where the family lives abroad, legalisation and Arabic translation of marriage or birth certificates. Even with those, the saving on a AED 2m home is around AED 70,000–75,000.

Paperwork and process

1. Passports of both parties, Emirates IDs where held, and the title deed.
2. Proof of relationship. If issued outside the UAE: notarised, legalised by the UAE embassy, attested by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and translated into Arabic.
3. A DLD-commissioned valuation of the property.
4. A no-dues certificate from the developer or management company for service charges.
5. Submission at a trustee office, payment and issue of a new title deed to the recipient.

Neither party has to attend in person, but since summer 2025 the Land Department accepts only powers of attorney that name the specific property and transaction — how that works is covered in our guide to buying through a power of attorney.

Where it gets complicated

Mortgages. A property charged to a bank cannot be gifted without the bank. In practice the loan is usually repaid first, or refinanced in the recipient's name — which means a fresh credit assessment.

Off-plan units. Transferring a contract before handover runs through the developer and needs its consent; some developers only allow it once a set share of the price has been paid. Check the sale and purchase agreement.

Tax at home. The UAE has no gift tax, but the recipient may be tax resident somewhere that does. Check the rules of that country before filing, not after. What an owner pays inside Dubai itself is set out in our note on property taxes and fees.

One practical use is gifting for residency: a parent who owns a home worth AED 2m or more can transfer it to an adult child, who can then apply for a Golden Visa — at 0.125% rather than 4%.

If you are buying with the intention of passing the property to your children, settle the ownership structure before completion — joint ownership from day one is sometimes cheaper than a later gift. Start with what a UAE owner actually pays.