HOMEOWNER FINANCE
Dubai mortgage refinancing: calculate the transfer cost before switching banks
Fresh industry reporting says interest in Dubai mortgage refinancing is increasing. For an owner, the useful question is whether a new offer still saves money after official transfer charges, bank costs, valuation and insurance.
What happened
A Refinitiv report published on 2026-09-17 cited Mortgage Finder as saying its refinancing and equity-release enquiries grew 2.5 times year on year. That is evidence from one private business, not an official market-wide series, so it should be treated as a signal of borrower interest rather than proof of the whole market's size.
Dubai Land Department already provides an official mortgage-transfer service for moving a property mortgage from the current financing entity to a new one. The service page says the customer first prepares the requirements with the bank; the bank submits the documents; DLD audits the transaction; and the outputs are delivered electronically.
Who may be affected
The DLD page lists UAE citizens and residents. In practice, the service is relevant to an existing mortgaged owner who is considering a transfer to another bank or financing entity. Approval, the available rate, the property valuation and any equity release remain decisions for the lenders and depend on the customer's position and the property.
Why the total cost matters
The current DLD page lists a transfer fee of 0.25% of the mortgage value. Depending on the title and channel, it also lists AED 250 for issuing a title deed, AED 10 knowledge and AED 10 innovation fees, a service-partner fee of AED 4,000 plus VAT, or an Oqood provisional service-partner fee of AED 5,000 plus VAT.
Separately, the Central Bank of the UAE rulebook states that the early or partial settlement fee for a home loan is capped at 1% of the outstanding balance or AED 10,000, whichever is lower. This cap is not the complete switching cost: lender, valuation, insurance, registration and document charges can still affect the calculation.
What remains uncertain
The fresh report describes offers and activity tracked by brokers and consultants; it is not a complete official dataset for all Dubai mortgages. A borrower's actual saving depends on the new fixed period, the rate after that period, the remaining term, the redemption amount, valuation, insurance, bank charges and whether extra documents or a developer e-NOC are required.
What the reader should verify
Ask the current bank for a dated liability or redemption statement. Ask the proposed lender for a written Key Facts Statement and a full fee schedule. Confirm the applicable DLD and service-partner charges for the property's title type, and confirm whether a developer e-NOC is needed for a provisional sale property.
Compare the total cash cost with the monthly saving and calculate the break-even period. Also compare total payments over the remaining term; a smaller monthly instalment can result from extending the loan rather than from a lower total cost.
Home Pulse takeaway
More refinancing interest does not make a transfer automatically worthwhile. Treat a lower advertised rate as the start of the comparison, then verify the complete written cost and repayment schedule before changing lenders or releasing equity.
Sources
Sources
- Mortgage transfer application · Dubai Land Department
- Dubai mortgage refinancing surges as property purchase volumes ease · TradingView / Refinitiv
- Amendments to Appendix 2 of Regulation No. 29/2011 · Central Bank of the UAE
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