Buy Property in Dubai: Step-by-Step Guide for Africans

You can buy property in Dubai as a foreigner in designated freehold areas, and you do not need to live in the UAE to complete the purchase. The main one-off cost is the Dubai Land Department (DLD) sale registration fee: 2% from the buyer and 2% from the seller, a total of 4% usually paid by the buyer, plus a trustee fee of AED 4,000 + VAT for sales of AED 500,000 or more (checked on the DLD page on 9 November 2026). This guide walks you through the process for Nigerian, Ghanaian and UK-based buyers, with broker verification before any money moves.

Some Dubai property pages this guide checked, including Bayut and Property Finder, are listing portals with no costed process. This one is different: figures are linked to their sources and dated, and where an official page is missing or conflicts, the article says so plainly. See how we source and date every figure for the method. Fact-checked on 9 November 2026.

Fees checked 9 November 2026. Dubai Homes is not a broker, sells no property, and this is not legal or financial advice; transactions go through a licensed Dubai broker.

Key takeaways

Foreigners can buy freehold in designated areas; leasehold rights are time-limited, up to 99 years.
DLD-side costs are about 4.5% of the price (AED 44,720 on AED 1,000,000, arithmetic from the DLD fee lines); agency commission, any mortgage fees and service charges are extra, and the commission rate must be confirmed in writing.
Verify the broker on the DLD website or Dubai REST app, and get the project’s escrow details, before paying any reservation fee.
For off-plan, pay only into the project’s DLD-approved escrow account, never the developer’s operating account.
If the property is for a golden visa, the threshold is AED 2 million, but the permit length differs between official sources.

Buying in Dubai: the key numbers

2% + 2%

DLD sale registration fee: buyer 2%, seller 2%, 4% in total

Dubai Land Department – Property Sale Registration

0.25%

DLD mortgage registration fee on the mortgage value

Dubai Land Department – Mortgage registration application

AED 2 million

Minimum property value for the golden visa (confirm duration and conditions)

Dubai Land Department – Golden Visa application – Investor

AED 15.54/sq ft

Dubai median residential service charge per year, as of 8 Nov 2026

Continental Club, DLD Mollak data

Who can buy property in Dubai?

Non-UAE nationals can buy freehold property in areas designated by Dubai’s Ruler, or hold leasehold rights for up to 99 years, under Law No. 7 of 2006. The law does not set fees; the DLD sets those separately. The UAE government’s expatriates buying a property page, updated 2 November 2026, confirms that foreigners who do not live in the UAE may acquire freehold in Dubai.

Freehold vs leasehold: what the law says

Under the law, freehold ownership of real property is without time restrictions, and leasehold is for a period not exceeding 99 years. Ask the broker or developer to confirm a specific project’s tenure in writing.

Can Nigerians and Ghanaians buy in Dubai?

Yes. The sources apply to non-UAE nationals and do not single out any nationality. The DLD sale registration page asks non-resident foreigners for a valid passport. No official page this guide read says a visa is required to buy, but if you are relying on that, confirm the current rule with the DLD or a UAE embassy before reserving.

What does it cost to buy property in Dubai?

The DLD charges 2% of the sale value from the buyer and 2% from the seller, a total of 4% paid at registration; by market convention the buyer usually pays both, as Engel & Völkers notes in its DLD fees guide (25 August 2026). The DLD sale registration page also lists fixed fees.

The 4% DLD fee and other purchase costs

Here are the main one-off costs on the DLD Property Sale Registration page, checked 9 November 2026:

Fee	Amount	Paid by or applies to	Source/date
DLD sale registration	2% buyer + 2% seller (4% total) of the sale value	Buyer and seller; the buyer usually pays both by convention	DLD, checked 9 Nov 2026; Engel & Völkers, 25 Aug 2026
Title deed issuance	AED 250	Fixed fee on sale registration	DLD, checked 9 Nov 2026
Villa or apartment map	AED 250	Fixed fee on sale registration	DLD, checked 9 Nov 2026
Knowledge and innovation fees	AED 10 each	Fixed fees on sale registration	DLD, checked 9 Nov 2026
Service partner (trustee) fee	AED 4,000 + VAT for sales of AED 500,000 or more; AED 2,000 + VAT below that	Sale registration through a trustee	DLD, checked 9 Nov 2026

If you need a mortgage, the DLD mortgage registration page adds a 0.25% registration fee on the mortgage value, plus a AED 250 title deed fee, AED 10 knowledge and AED 10 innovation fees, and a service partner fee of AED 4,000 + VAT (AED 5,000 + VAT for provisional/Oqood registrations).

Some search summaries mention 2% + VAT for agency commission on resales, but this guide could not confirm that on an official page, so get the commission rate in writing from the broker before you sign.

Price per square foot by area

Price per square foot comes from Engel & Völkers, citing Property Monitor using DLD transaction data, dated 7 June 2026. It is a secondary publisher, not the DLD itself.

ChartAverage Dubai price per square foot by area, as of 7 June 2026Secondary publisher of DLD-derived data, not the DLD itself. Figures are an average of transactions, mixed unit sizes, and say nothing about future prices. Dubai overall on the same date: AED 1,916.

Source: Engel & Völkers, citing Property Monitor using DLD transaction data, 7 June 2026

Worked example: AED 1,000,000 apartment

Illustration only, not a listing. On a ready AED 1,000,000 apartment, if you pay both 2% shares by convention, the DLD registration is AED 40,000. Add the trustee fee of AED 4,200 (AED 4,000 + 5% VAT), title deed AED 250, map AED 250, and knowledge and innovation fees AED 20. The DLD-side one-off costs come to about AED 44,720 before any agency commission or mortgage fees. The arithmetic is the guide’s own, based on the DLD fee lines. The DLD page shows only AED 4,000 + VAT for the trustee fee; the AED 4,200 total (AED 4,000 + 5% VAT) is the VAT-inclusive figure from Engel & Völkers, 25 Aug 2026.

Step 1 — Set your budget and choose a payment route from Nigeria, Ghana or the UK

An African man in a white shirt sits at a marble table in a bright Dubai apartment with a calculator, notebook and folder.

Decide first whether you will buy with cash or a mortgage; this guide could not confirm whether non-resident mortgages are available or the Central Bank of the UAE’s current loan-to-value caps, so ask a UAE bank for its current terms in writing.

Cash vs non-resident mortgage

If you pay cash, the main costs are the DLD fees and any agency commission. If you need a mortgage, ask the lender for a written list of all its fees before you apply. The DLD mortgage registration fee is 0.25% of the mortgage value, not the property price.

Moving money from NGN, GHS or GBP

For Nigerian buyers, the Central Bank of Nigeria launched the 4th Edition Foreign Exchange Manual on 15 May 2026, effective 1 June 2026. A Nigerian law firm summary (Bamand & Gad Solicitors, 10 September 2026) reports that self-funded domiciliary-account holders can send up to USD 10,000 per day without extensive trade documentation, but banks may still ask for evidence of the source of funds. No page this guide read addresses buying real estate abroad, so ask your authorised dealer bank how the manual applies to a Dubai property purchase.

For Ghanaian buyers, no Bank of Ghana source in this guide covers buying property abroad, so ask your authorised dealer bank for the rule and the documents it needs in writing. For UK buyers, ask your bank or payment provider what it requires.

Never pay outside escrow

Paying cash to an agent, a developer’s operating account or a personal account is a red flag. For off-plan purchases, the DLD requires all buyer payments to go into the project’s approved escrow account.

Step 2 — How do you choose a freehold area and property type?

Choose an area whose freehold status the DLD confirms for your project, then decide between ready and off-plan; the registration routes are compared below. This guide did not collect rental yield data, so no yield figures are given.

Ready vs off-plan

Item	Ready property (resale)	Off-plan
Title	Title deed issuance fee of AED 250 on sale registration (DLD)	Initial sale registered in the provisional register within 90 days of signing; the DLD page does not list a separate buyer-side Oqood certificate or document (DLD)
Payment	2% buyer + 2% seller registration plus fixed fees (DLD)	2% buyer + 2% seller plus AED 10 knowledge and AED 10 innovation fees; payment-plan percentages not confirmed from an official page (DLD)
Escrow	Not described in the DLD sources this guide read for resales	Developer must pay buyers’ off-plan amounts into escrow accounts at approved institutions (DLD FAQ)
Delivery risk	The unit is already built	Completion timing is not covered by the sources; no source here rates any developer
Registration route	Trustee centre or Dubai REST app; developer e-NOC in freehold areas; passport for non-resident foreigners (DLD)	Oqood, through the developer on the Real Estate Developers Portal (DLD)

The DLD registers initial off-plan sales through Oqood, with a 2% buyer and 2% seller registration fee plus AED 10 knowledge and AED 10 innovation fees (DLD initial sale page).

Freehold areas foreigners can buy in

The original Regulation No. 3 of 2006 named areas including Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah. The page this guide read does not name JVC, Business Bay, Downtown or Dubai Hills Estate, and no official later list was read, so the freehold status of other areas is not confirmed here. Ask the broker to confirm a given project’s freehold status with the DLD.

To choose between areas, compare three dated figures for the same community: confirmed freehold status, price per square foot (chart above) and median service charge (charted in Step 5). Among the communities charted, Jumeirah Village Circle has the lowest price per square foot at AED 1,510, and Business Bay has the highest median service charge at AED 19.97 per sq ft per year.

No resale-time data is included in this guide.

Step 3 — Check the broker and escrow account before you pay anything

An African woman in a terracotta blazer speaks with a broker at a marble table, holding a blurred smartphone.

Before you pay any reservation fee, verify the broker on the DLD licensed-broker list and ask for the project’s escrow account details. Per the DLD FAQ, brokers must be registered in the broker registry and hold a brokerage card.

How to check a Dubai broker licence

Ask the broker for their ORN and RERA e-card number.
Search the DLD licensed real estate brokers list by name, office, mobile number, area or ORN.
Run the DLD Trakheesi licence and permit verification on the DLD website or in the Dubai REST app.
For the individual agent you are dealing with, verify the RERA e-card by entering the card number in the Dubai REST app.
For off-plan, confirm the project’s escrow account number and check that every payment you make goes only to that account.

Be especially wary of unlicensed agents on WhatsApp and social media. DLD circulars cover broker phone numbers and prohibit cold calling.

Escrow and off-plan payments

The DLD says developers must deposit all amounts received from buyers of off-plan units into escrow accounts at approved financial institutions (DLD FAQ). Before you sign an off-plan contract, ask the developer or broker for the escrow account details and verify the account number with the bank.

Step 4 — Reserve, sign and transfer: the paperwork

Once you have verified the parties, the Khaleej Times explainer (3 August 2024) describes the secondary-sale steps as due diligence, a sale and purchase agreement, then registration at a trustee centre or via Dubai REST. The typical reservation deposit percentage was not confirmed from an official page, so get it in writing before you pay.

Complete due diligence on the unit, the seller or developer and the broker (Steps 2 and 3 above).
Sign the sale and purchase agreement, after getting the reservation terms in writing.
Collect the documents. Per the Khaleej Times explainer, these include an Emirates ID or valid passport for non-resident foreigners, a developer no-objection certificate, and a power of attorney if you use a representative.
For a resale in a freehold area, the DLD Property Sale Registration page requires the developer e-NOC, and non-resident foreigners show a valid passport. Registration goes through a registration trustee centre or the Dubai REST app.
For an off-plan purchase, the sale and purchase contract is registered through the developer on the Real Estate Developers Portal (Oqood), within 90 days of signing, per the DLD initial-sale page.

At registration you pay the registration fee and the fixed fees listed above, which include a title deed issuance fee. The DLD initial-sale page does not list a separate buyer-side Oqood certificate fee or a separate document for the buyer. Overseas buyers cannot use the Dubai Now ‘Buy or Sell Property’ service because the DLD provides it only for UAE ID holders; you go through a registration trustee instead.

Step 5 — After the keys: service charges, Ejari and the golden visa

After handover, you will pay annual service charges based on the building’s RERA-approved budget, and if you rent the property out, the DLD’s Ejari service is the route to register the tenancy. Per the DLD page, the landlord must be the owner or a legal representative.

The DLD lists the Ejari registration fee as AED 177.75 via the Dubai REST app or DLD website, or AED 220 via trustee centres, checked 9 November 2026. Service charges are recurring and vary by building, as the chart below shows; check the DLD Service Charge Index for a specific building before buying.

Median service charges come from RERA-approved budgets republished by Continental Club on 8 November 2026. Dubai-wide median: AED 15.54 per sq ft per year.

ChartMedian residential service charge by community, RERA-approved budgets, as of 8 November 2026Medians per community; building-level charges vary widely. Dubai Hills Estate and Palm Jumeirah were not in the source table. Check the DLD Service Charge Index for a specific building.

Source: Continental Club, republishing DLD service charge index (Mollak) RERA-approved budgets, 8 November 2026

Golden visa through property

A property investment of AED 2 million may qualify you for a golden visa, but the official pages conflict on the permit length: the UAE government golden visa page (updated 28 July 2026) lists real estate investors at 5 years, while the DLD golden visa application page says 10 years. The DLD page also asks for a bank no-objection letter for mortgaged property showing the paid amount and balance, and lists a total cost of AED 9,884.75. It does not state whether off-plan qualifies, and this guide could not confirm that on another official page. Confirm the current threshold, duration and conditions on u.ae or with the DLD before relying on the visa.

Keep your title deed or the registered sale documents you receive, passport copies, bank receipts and the developer NOC together; you will need them for renewals and resale.

What are the risks of buying in Dubai?

The main risks are off-plan delivery delay, service-charge increases, currency movements and slow resale liquidity. None of these are captured in a glossy brochure.

Off-plan delivery risk

The DLD requires escrow for off-plan payments; the DLD pages this guide read describe how money is deposited and released, not when a project will finish. Check the developer’s track record.

Currency and exit risk

If you earn in naira, cedi or sterling, ask your bank about exchange-rate and transfer rules before signing. No resale-time data is included in this guide. No rental income or capital growth is guaranteed; any projection is an illustration, not a promise.

Next step

Before you pay a reservation fee, ask a RERA-licensed Dubai broker to send the fee schedule, escrow details and draft contract in writing.

Also ask in writing:

The lender’s terms, fees and any loan-to-value limit that would apply to a non-resident;
The reservation deposit percentage and the refund terms;
The agency commission rate and who pays it;
The documents your bank needs to send money abroad from Nigeria, Ghana or the UK;
The project’s escrow account details, verified with the bank.

Verify the broker and the escrow account, then proceed.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Can foreigners from Nigeria or Ghana buy freehold property in Dubai?

Yes. Non-UAE nationals can buy freehold in designated areas under Dubai Law No. 7 of 2006. The UAE government confirms foreigners who do not live in the UAE may acquire freehold; the DLD lists a passport for non-resident foreigners, but no page says outright that no visa is needed, so confirm with the DLD.

How much does it cost to buy property in Dubai, including DLD fees and agency commission?

The DLD sale registration fee is 2% buyer + 2% seller, usually 4% paid by the buyer. Fixed fees include title deed AED 250, map AED 250, knowledge and innovation fees AED 20, and trustee fee AED 4,000 + VAT for sales of AED 500,000 or more. Some search summaries mention 2% + VAT for agency commission on resales but it is not confirmed on an official page; get it in writing. On a AED 1,000,000 property, DLD-side costs are about AED 44,720 before agency or mortgage fees.

Can I get a mortgage in Dubai as a non-resident?

This guide could not confirm whether non-resident mortgages are available or the UAE Central Bank’s current loan-to-value caps. Ask a UAE bank for its current terms; you will also pay a DLD mortgage registration fee of 0.25% of the mortgage value plus service partner and fixed fees.

How do I check that a Dubai broker and developer are licensed?

Search the broker on the DLD licensed-broker list by ORN, office, mobile number or area; run the DLD Trakheesi licence and permit verification; and verify the agent’s RERA e-card in the Dubai REST app. For off-plan, confirm the project’s escrow account and pay only into that account.

Does buying property in Dubai qualify me for a golden visa?

A property investment of AED 2 million may qualify, but official pages conflict on the permit length: u.ae lists real estate investors at 5 years, while the DLD page says a 10-year permit. The DLD also requires a bank no-objection letter for mortgaged property. Confirm the current threshold, duration and off-plan eligibility on u.ae or with the DLD before relying on it.

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