Title Deeds, Oqood, and Service Charges — Explained Without Jargon
Three documents and one recurring charge that confuse almost every first-time buyer in the UAE. Plain English, no fluff.
Title Deed
Issued by the Dubai Land Department once your purchase completes. It is the legal proof that you own the unit. Keep it secure. You'll need a copy for refinancing, resale, or putting a tenant in place via Ejari.
Oqood
Oqood (literally 'contracts') is the pre-completion equivalent of a title deed — issued to buyers of off-plan property and registered with the DLD. It records your stake in a unit that doesn't physically exist yet. On handover, oqood is replaced by the title deed.
Form F (MoU)
The Memorandum of Understanding signed between buyer and seller at offer-acceptance time. It locks in price, deposit terms, and timelines. Until Form F is signed, the deal is verbal — and worth roughly the same.
Service Charges
Annual fee billed per sqft of your property, set by the building's owners' association and audited by the Real Estate Regulatory Agency. Typical range: AED 8–25 per sqft per year for apartments, AED 3–8 per sqft for villa communities.
What you're paying for: building security, lift maintenance, lobby cleaning, pool, gym, AC chillers, district cooling if applicable, and reserve fund for major repairs. Ask for the audit before you buy — a building with overdue service charge collections is a building heading into deferred maintenance.
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