The blocking fee is the charge paid to the Dubai Land Department to register a temporary block on a property the hold that prevents it being sold to anyone else while a transaction completes. It is a small, fixed government fee.
Where you’ll see it
You’ll see the blocking fee in a mortgaged resale, where a block is registered to protect a buyer who is settling the seller’s loan. It appears as a separate line on the cost breakdown, alongside the mortgage discharge and transfer fees.
Why it matters
The fee is minor, but the protection it buys is not. Budgeting for it and understanding why it is charged helps a buyer see that the block is a deliberate safeguard, not an unexpected extra.
What it is not
The blocking fee is not the mortgage settlement amount and not the DLD transfer fee it pays only for registering the block itself. It is refundable in effect only in the sense that it is a one-off administrative charge, not a deposit.
Example
In a deal where the buyer pays off the seller’s mortgage, the buyer pays a blocking fee so the property is frozen in their favour until the bank releases the loan and the transfer registers.
Connected documents and parties
Blocking application, mortgage letters, completion statement; buyer, seller, bank, DLD.
Going deeper: see blocking registration for how and when the block is used, or the cost guidance from a conveyancing specialist.
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Last reviewed: June 2026