Dubai Mortgage Down Payment: 35 %, 50 % and the 7 % Costs

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35 %

Down payment to budget as a non-resident; 50 per cent if the bank rates your profile as higher risk.

Bank practice

7 to 8 %

Transaction costs that cannot be added to the loan.

Official rule

About 42 %

of the price in cash in the standard case, roughly 57 per cent in the 50 per cent case.

Nexus Bridge experience

All figures are documented on this page; the sources are listed at the end of the page.

On this page

The short answer
What the cash requirement really looks like
Every fee, itemised
Why some buyers are asked for 50 per cent
The valuation gap
How to plan the equity
Where the plan usually breaks

The short answer Budget 35 per cent of the purchase price as the down payment and another 7 to 8 per cent for transaction costs that cannot be added to the loan, so about 42 per cent of the price in cash. If the bank assesses your profile as higher risk it may ask for 50 per cent equity instead, taking the cash requirement to roughly 57 per cent. That decision belongs to the bank alone.

How to read this guide. Every statement is labelled: Official rule a binding requirement set by the central bank or an authority · Bank practice terms set by individual banks, which can change at short notice · Nexus Bridge experience what we observe in live mandates · Worked example an illustrative calculation, not an offer.

What the cash requirement really looks like

Almost every calculation we are shown by a prospective buyer starts and ends with the down payment. The transaction costs are the part that gets discovered late, often after a sale agreement has been signed and a deposit is at risk.

Purchase price	Down payment 35 %	Costs ≈ 7.2 %	Cash at 65 % LTV	Cash if the bank asks 50 %
AED 1,000,000	AED 350,000	AED 72,000	AED 422,000 (42 %)	AED 572,000 (57 %)
AED 1,300,000	AED 455,000	AED 93,600	AED 548,600 (42 %)	AED 743,600 (57 %)
AED 1,800,000	AED 630,000	AED 129,600	AED 759,600 (42 %)	AED 1,029,600 (57 %)
AED 2,500,000	AED 875,000	AED 180,000	AED 1,055,000 (42 %)	AED 1,430,000 (57 %)
AED 3,000,000	AED 1,050,000	AED 216,000	AED 1,266,000 (42 %)	AED 1,716,000 (57 %)

Costs modelled at 7.2 per cent, which is the mid-point of the range once the arrangement fee and trustee charges are included. Rounded. Converted at 4.26 AED to the euro, as of 11 September 2026 (ECB reference rate, peg 3.6725 AED to the dollar), AED 1,800,000 is about EUR 423,000 and the cash requirement about EUR 178,000.

The AED 130,000 gap On a purchase of AED 1.8 million, the difference between “35 per cent” and what you actually transfer is AED 129,600. That is the single most common reason a Dubai purchase stalls between the sale agreement and the transfer appointment, not the mortgage decision.

Every fee, itemised

Fee	Amount	Payable to	Status
DLD transfer fee	4 % of the price	Dubai Land Department	Official rule fixed^[1]
DLD administrative fee	≈ AED 580 for an apartment or villa	Dubai Land Department	Official rule fixed^[1]
Agency commission	2 % of the price, plus VAT	the broker	market standard, negotiable in a quiet market
Mortgage registration	0.25 % of the loan + AED 270	Dubai Land Department	Official rule fixed^[2]
Valuation	≈ AED 2,500 to 3,500	the bank's valuer	Bank practice bank policy
Trustee office fee	≈ AED 4,000 + VAT	registration trustee	scale fee, depends on price
Bank arrangement fee	commonly ≈ 1 % of the loan	the bank	Bank practice sometimes reducible
Developer NOC	≈ AED 500 to 5,000	the developer	varies widely
Conveyancing, if used	≈ AED 6,000 to 10,000	law firm	optional

What changed in February 2025. Banks in the UAE may no longer add the DLD transfer fee or the agency commission to the loan. Before that, some lenders financed part of the costs and buyers could plan closer to 35 per cent. Any calculation you find online that predates 2025 understates the cash you need.

Every fee with its official source, priced at AED 800,000, 1.3 million and 1.9 million, is in Dubai property purchase costs.

Why some buyers are asked for 50 per cent

Loan-to-value for a non-resident is not a published number you can hold a bank to. It is the output of a risk assessment. Bank practice These are the factors that, in our experience, move a file from 65 to 50 per cent:

A recent change of employer. The income history breaks, a probation period restarts, and documents already submitted lose their value overnight. This is the single most common trigger we see.
Income close to the debt-burden ceiling. If the instalment would use most of the 50 per cent allowance, the bank reduces its exposure instead of declining.
Self-employment or company ownership without two to three years of clean, translated accounts.
A country of residence the bank has little experience with, or income in a currency it discounts.
Property characteristics: a studio in a large, homogeneous tower, a building with a poor service-charge record, or a unit type the bank considers slow to resell.
Existing debt anywhere in the world, including a mortgage on a home in Europe.

Nexus Bridge experience We published a real, client-approved mandate in which exactly this happened: an employee on EUR 2,000 gross changed jobs in the middle of the process, the bank moved from 35 to 50 per cent equity, an extra AED 195,000 at short notice, and still approved in about three weeks. The full numbers are in case study 01 (in German).

The practical lesson. Ask yourself the 50 per cent question before you start looking, not when the offer letter arrives. A buyer who can absorb a demand for 50 per cent can sit out a re-rating. A buyer who cannot loses the sale agreement and the deposit with it.

The valuation gap

Official rule A bank lends a percentage of the lower of the agreed price and its own valuation.^[3] The consequence is asymmetric and catches people out: if the valuation is higher than the price, nothing improves for you. If it is lower, the entire shortfall lands on your side of the table.

Agreed price	Bank valuation	Loan at 65 %	Your equity	Effective equity share
AED 1,800,000	AED 1,800,000	AED 1,170,000	AED 630,000	35.0 %
AED 1,800,000	AED 1,700,000	AED 1,105,000	AED 695,000	38.6 %
AED 1,800,000	AED 1,600,000	AED 1,040,000	AED 760,000	42.2 %

A valuation 100,000 dirhams below the price costs you 65,000 dirhams in cash, on top of the costs. In the market of 2026 this matters more than it did in 2024: with the overall index 7.7 per cent below its December 2025 peak, valuations are catching up with prices agreed at the top.^[4] That is a discipline, not a danger, but only if you build a buffer.

How to plan the equity

Start from the instalment, not the property. Your gross income divided by two is the ceiling for all monthly debt payments combined. Deduct what you already pay.
Derive the loan from the instalment, at 6 per cent over 25 years, roughly AED 155 of loan for every dirham of monthly payment.
Add your available equity to get the price range. Then subtract the costs again, because they are not part of the price.
Hold a buffer of 10 per cent of your equity for a valuation gap or a re-rated LTV.
Document the source of every dirham before you start. Savings history, sale proceeds, a gift with a letter, whatever it is, it needs an unbroken paper trail.

Worked example A buyer with gross income of EUR 4,000 a month and no other debt can carry roughly AED 8,000 of instalment, which supports a loan of about AED 1,240,000 over 25 years at 6 per cent. With AED 700,000 of equity, the realistic purchase price is around AED 1,800,000, not the AED 1,940,000 the loan plus equity would suggest, because the costs consume the difference.

Where the plan usually breaks

Costs treated as an afterthought. They are 7 to 8 per cent, in cash, non-negotiable on the government side.
No buffer for the valuation. Ten per cent of the equity, set aside, removes the most common late surprise.
Equity assembled at the last moment. Transfers appearing weeks before completion trigger source-of-funds questions that take longer than the transfer itself.
Forgetting the running costs. Service charges in a well-run tower run from roughly AED 15 to 25 per square foot per year. On 591 square feet at AED 17 that is AED 10,047, around 13 per cent of a typical rent.
Assuming the LTV is fixed. It is a decision, and it can change during the process. Plan as though it might.

Frequently asked questions

How much down payment does a non-resident need in Dubai?

Plan on 35 per cent of the purchase price plus 7 to 8 per cent transaction costs, so roughly 42 per cent of the price in cash. On AED 1,800,000 that is about AED 760,000. Some banks require 50 per cent equity from a non-resident, which takes the same purchase to about AED 1,030,000.

Why do some buyers have to put down 50 per cent instead of 35?

Because loan-to-value is a risk decision, not a fixed rule. A short employment history, a recent job change, income in a currency the bank discounts, existing debt close to the 50 per cent debt-burden cap, a country of residence the bank has little experience with, or a property type it considers less liquid will each push the requirement up. The bank makes that call, not the buyer and not the adviser.

Can the purchase costs be added to the mortgage?

No. Since February 2025, banks in the UAE may not finance the Dubai Land Department transfer fee or the agency commission. They have to come from your own funds, alongside the down payment.

What exactly are the purchase costs in Dubai?

The DLD transfer fee of 4 per cent plus a small admin charge, agency commission of about 2 per cent, mortgage registration of 0.25 per cent plus AED 270, a valuation of roughly AED 2,500 to 3,500, the trustee office fee of about AED 4,000 plus VAT, and a bank arrangement fee that is commonly around 1 per cent. Together, 7 to 8 per cent of the price.

Is the down payment calculated on the price or the valuation?

On whichever is lower. The bank lends a percentage of the lower of the agreed price and its own valuation. If the valuation comes in below the price, the shortfall is added to your down payment; the loan does not increase.

Can I use a personal loan for the down payment?

It defeats the purpose. Any new instalment counts towards the 50 per cent debt-burden cap and therefore reduces the mortgage you qualify for. Banks also ask for documented source of funds, and a loan taken out weeks before completion is a question, not an answer.

Do I need the money in a UAE account before I buy?

Not necessarily on day one, but the funds must be traceable and available for the transfer. Allow several weeks to open a UAE account, because it will carry the instalment, the service charges and later the rent.

Is there a minimum property value for a non-resident mortgage?

There is no federal minimum, but most lenders apply a commercial floor, and very small tickets are often not worth a bank's process. In practice, financing becomes straightforward from roughly AED 1 million upwards.

Sources

Dubai Land Department, Property Sale Registration (transfer fee and process), https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/eservices/property-sale-registration/ (accessed 5 September 2026).
Dubai Land Department, Request for Mortgage Registration, https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/eservices/request-for-mortgage-registration/ (accessed 5 September 2026).
UAE Central Bank Rulebook, Regulations Regarding Mortgage Loans, https://rulebook.centralbank.ae/en/rulebook/regulations-regarding-mortgage-loans (accessed 5 September 2026).
PropertyIndex, Dubai residential price index, median price per square foot, July 2026, https://www.propertyindex.ae/ (accessed 5 September 2026).
UAE Central Bank Rulebook, Article 3, Important Ratios (loan-to-value, debt burden, tenor), https://rulebook.centralbank.ae/en/rulebook/article-3-important-ratios (accessed 5 September 2026).
Nexus Bridge Capital, Dubai Monitor, issue 01, September 2026 (German), https://www.nexusbridgecapital.de/guide/dubai-monitor-09-2026/
Nexus Bridge Capital, Case study 01: financing approved despite a job change, Dubai Marina (German), https://www.nexusbridgecapital.de/fallstudien/finanzierung-trotz-jobwechsel-dubai-marina/

Written by Denise Tanrikul, Managing Partner · Reviewed by Martin Krygier, Manager, himself a property buyer, refurbisher and landlord in Germany and Dubai Last reviewed 5 September 2026. Regulatory statements come from the primary sources linked at the foot of each page (UAE Central Bank, Dubai Land Department, federal authorities) and are refreshed at least quarterly. Bank terms change at short notice, always confirm the current position with the lender before deciding.

Down payment in Dubai: 35 per cent is only part of it