K|Wise · Glossary
Conveyancing
The legal process of transferring property ownership from seller to buyer, including title checks, NOC issuance, mortgage registration, and the final Land Department transfer.
In plain English
The legal process of transferring property ownership from seller to buyer, including title checks, NOC issuance, mortgage registration, and the final Land Department transfer.
What Conveyancing means in practice
Conveyancing is the administrative and legal work that turns an agreed price into a registered change of ownership. It covers verifying the seller's title, confirming there are no outstanding charges against the property, settling any existing mortgage, and registering the new one.
The work runs in parallel with your mortgage application, and the two have to meet: the lender will not release funds until the paperwork is in order, and the transfer cannot complete until the lender releases funds.
How it works in the UAE
In Dubai the sequence runs through the developer's No Objection Certificate, then a Land Department-approved trustee office where the transfer and the mortgage registration are executed on the same day. Budget for the 4% Dubai Land Department transfer fee, the trustee office fee of around AED 4,200, and mortgage registration at 0.25% of the loan plus AED 290.
A worked example
On a AED 2,000,000 purchase with a AED 1,600,000 mortgage, the transfer fee alone is AED 80,000, the trustee fee about AED 4,200, and mortgage registration AED 4,290 — roughly AED 88,500 in registration costs before agency or valuation fees.
Terms that come up alongside Conveyancing
Amortisation
The gradual repayment of a mortgage loan through scheduled monthly instalments of principal and interest. In the early years more of each payment goes to interest; in the later years more goes to principal.
Read the definitionBuy-to-Let Mortgage
A mortgage used to purchase a property that will be rented out rather than occupied by the borrower. Lenders assess the deal on projected rental income alongside the borrower's personal income.
Read the definitionCap
A contractual maximum on how much your variable mortgage rate can rise over a defined period. A common UAE structure caps the rate at 5.99% for the first 3 years.
Read the definitionDBR (Debt Burden Ratio)
The total of your monthly debt commitments — mortgage, car loan, credit card minimums, personal loans — expressed as a percentage of your net monthly income. UAE Central Bank caps the DBR at 50%.
Read the definitionDeposit
The portion of the purchase price you pay from your own funds. The UAE Central Bank requires at minimum 20% for first-time resident buyers, 25% for second properties, and 25% to 50% for non-residents.
Read the definitionDrawdown
The point at which the lender releases the mortgage funds — typically paid directly to the seller at the Land Department on transfer day.
Read the definition