Checks on unit and seller
The seller’s name on Form A must match the name on a current title deed. The bank’s lien and any service charge arrears are checked separately.
Conveyancing in Dubai: the legal side of a property transfer
No. 1 for conveyancing in Dubai for English-speaking buyers and sellers of property. Conveyancing is the legal side of a sale: checks on the unit and seller, the MOU (Form F), the developer’s NOC, the Trustee office transfer and a title deed in your name. You get clean title, a contract-protected 10% deposit and settlement under Land Department rules.
On the resale market, ownership passes in one meeting at a Trustee office, because every check comes first. A flawed power of attorney, unpaid service charges or the seller’s mortgage surface on the day and derail the deal.
The work is led by an invited expert — an independent practising conveyancing lawyer who is not on our staff. We choose the specialist to fit your deal, introduce you and stay in touch until the title deed is issued.
Talk to a licensed broker: 📲 +971 50 120 32 64 on WhatsApp, @dubai_oleg on Telegram
What does conveyancing cover?
Everything between an agreed price and the title deed: checks on title and seller, the MOU terms, the NOC, cheques, powers of attorney and registration at a Trustee office. The lawyer acts for one client only — buyer or seller.
MOU (Form F)
The binding contract between the parties: price, dates, a 10% deposit, the split of costs and the consequences of withdrawal. Special conditions go into the additional terms.
NOC and settlement
The developer’s no-objection certificate and manager’s cheques: to the seller for the balance, to the Land Department for the 4% fee and to the Trustee office.
Transfer and title deed
The Trustee office checks identities and takes the NOC, MOU and cheques. The title deed is issued electronically; unit number, areas and plot details are verified.
How does the transfer process work?
A deal runs through a chain of RERA forms: the owner signs Form A with an agency, the buyer Form B, the agencies Form I and the parties Form F. Then come the developer’s NOC and re-registration at a Trustee office.
- 1
Checks before the MOU
The lawyer reviews title, the seller’s authority, liens and debts. A buyer using finance obtains the bank’s pre-approval first.
- 2
Form F and the deposit
The 10% deposit cheque is held by the agency or Trustee agent, not the seller. The transfer date is an obligation with a penalty attached.
- 3
NOC and release of the lien
The seller clears service charge arrears and obtains the NOC. On a mortgaged unit the bank issues a liability letter with the balance on the closing date.
- 4
Transfer at the Trustee office
The parties attend, or their attorneys. A cash deal usually completes in one visit; a deal involving a bank does not.
- 5
After registration
You leave with the title deed, keys, copies of the documents and a receipt for each cheque. Utility accounts move into the buyer’s name.
What is checked before signing the MOU?
The seller, the unit and the intermediary. The broker is verified by BRN in the Dubai REST app and the agency by its ORN. Since April 2023 every property advert must carry a Trakheesi permit with a QR code showing who obtained it and for which unit.
How much does a property transfer cost in Dubai?
A cash buyer of a resale property should budget 7–8% on top of the price. The largest item is the Land Department fee of 4%. Agency commission is by custom 2% plus 5% VAT; the Trustee fee depends on whether the price is above or below AED 500 thousand.
A mortgage adds lien registration at 0.25% of the loan. A seller with a loan pays an early settlement fee: since 2019 the UAE Central Bank has capped it at 1% of the balance or AED 10,000, whichever is lower. A bank valuation usually costs AED 2,500–3,500.
Can a sale be completed under power of attorney?
Yes — a purchase or a sale can complete without you travelling. But on 16 July 2025 the Land Department issued circular No. 29/R/2025: the document must name the specific property — title deed number, building, plot — and the type of transaction, and only the original is accepted.
One issued abroad is notarised, legalised at a UAE consulate, attested by the UAE foreign ministry and translated into Arabic. The cheque is made out to the owner on the title deed, so a seller needs a UAE bank account in their own name.
Mortgage deals: protecting the 10% deposit
The standard Form F does not protect a buyer whose bank declines after signing: without a finance condition the deposit goes to the seller. On a flat priced at AED 1.5 million that is AED 150 thousand.
The additional terms should state the loan amount or share financed (say, 75% of the price), a deadline for final approval with three to four weeks’ margin, and a bank letter as proof of refusal. A valuation below the agreed price is covered separately.
Oqood and title deed: off-plan purchases
A contract with a developer is registered in Oqood, the Land Department’s interim register for off-plan units. The 4% fee is paid at registration, not at handover; the title deed follows completion of construction.
Instalments go only to the project’s escrow account, and the account name must match the project name. Assignment is possible once the contract threshold is reached — often around 30–40% of the price paid — and only through the developer.
Who handles the work?
An invited conveyancing lawyer — an independent practitioner who represents you alone and takes no payment from the other side. We match the lawyer to the deal; as RERA-licensed brokers we handle negotiation and the forms.
Request
Arrange a transfer
Name and number — we will check the property, the parties and whether a mortgage is involved, and explain how the transfer will run.
Rather not leave a number? Message us directly: WhatsApp or @dubai_oleg.
Arrange a transfer
Frequently asked questions
How long does a property transfer take in Dubai?
Registration itself is one meeting at a Trustee office: the title deed is issued in the buyer’s name before everyone leaves. Preparation sets the timetable — the NOC, release of a lien, bank approval and legalising a power of attorney, which takes weeks.
Do I need a UAE bank account for the deal?
Not to buy: payment is made by bank transfer and manager’s cheque. To sell, yes: since June 2025 payment goes to the owner named on the title deed, and opening a non-resident account takes time.
Who pays for the NOC and how much is it?
The developer sets the price, from a few hundred to a few thousand dirhams. By market practice the seller pays, but it is best agreed in writing before the deposit is handed over.
Can I apply for a visa straight after registration?
A Golden Visa for property worth AED 2 million or more can be filed once the title deed is issued; there is also a two-year visa from AED 750,000. Selling cancels a visa obtained through the property.
See also
In the news
Articles and news on the subject of this service.
Transfer day in Dubai: how ownership actually changes hands
A resale in Dubai does not complete at a lawyer’s office over several weeks. It completes at a registration trustee counter, usually in one appointment, and almost everything that can go wrong has already gone wrong before you get there.
Selling Dubai property through a power of attorney: sale proceeds now go only to the owner’s UAE account
Since mid-2025 the Dubai Land Department issues the sale cheque in the name of the owner on the title deed, not the attorney. Circular 29/R/2025 of 16 July also tightened the POA itself. What an overseas seller needs, and in what order.
Selling a handed-over unit in Dubai while still on a developer payment plan
Plenty of Dubai owners keep paying a developer under a post-handover plan for two to three years after moving in — and that unit can still be sold, even at 40–50% paid. A developer NOC, a pre-title deed, and the buyer’s mortgage close the remaining balance. How the deal is structured.
Buying a resale when the seller still has a mortgage on it
Perhaps half the resale stock in Dubai carries a bank charge. The title cannot move until the loan is settled, and in many of these deals it is the buyer’s money that settles it — weeks before the buyer owns anything.
Owning a Dubai property jointly: shares, exits and survivorship
Two names on a title deed is a decision about more than the deposit. How the shares are recorded, what happens when one owner wants out and the other does not, what a joint mortgage binds you to, and the arrangement that can only be made while both owners are alive.
The first year after handover: the title deed, the association, and the bills that start
Keys are the beginning of a different set of obligations. The title deed, the service charge that runs whether or not you moved in, the utility accounts and their deposits, the owners association — and the one warranty clock that expires while you are still furnishing.
Oqood and the title deed: what you actually own before handover
Buy off-plan and you do not own an apartment — you own a registered position in a contract. What Oqood registration is, why the 4% is paid at the start rather than at the keys, and what changes on the day the title deed is issued.
Buying in Dubai without flying: how a power of attorney actually works
A new-build purchase runs at a distance almost end to end. A resale needs somebody at the trustee office — you or an attorney. What the power of attorney must say, where it is legalised, and the one person who must never hold it.
Beney Investments Ltd: buying without ever coming to Dubai
A developer with a small JVC building from 2013. A remote purchase is entirely normal here — and it turns on one document that most buyers grant far too broadly.
Ask a question
Telegram is the fastest way — I answer personally.
Message on Telegram