Answers
Can I sell a property that still has a mortgage?
A short answer, with the article it comes from.
The answer
Yes. Dubai law requires your lender's approval, and the Land Department has a procedure for exactly this sale: the debt is paid to the bank from the sale price by manager's cheque, any remainder goes to you, and the mortgage is released once the bank's release letter is submitted.
Dubai Law No. 14 of 2008 Article 10; Dubai Land Department, Registering the Sale of a Mortgaged Property; CBUAE Regulation 29/2011 Appendix 2 items 35 and 36; checked 7 October 2026. AED 580 is the fixed DLD service fee as confirmed by The Lending Tree.
Article 10 of Dubai Law No. 14 of 2008 says a mortgagor may sell mortgaged property "only with the approval of the Mortgagee". For the sale itself, the Land Department asks for "a liability letter from the bank or a letter from the developer of the remaining amount".
Its procedure for registering the sale of a mortgaged property uses three manager's cheques: one to the bank or developer for the debt, one to the seller for any remainder, and one to the Department for its 4 percent fee. Once the mortgage release letter is submitted, the release, the sale and any new mortgage are registered.
The fees on that page include AED 1,290 for the mortgage release procedure, alongside the 4 percent transfer fee and the DLD service fee of AED 580. Your bank's own charges are capped by the Central Bank: a liability letter at AED 85, and early settlement at 1 percent of the balance or AED 10,000, whichever is less, both before VAT.
Selling with a mortgage is routine, but the timing between the buyer's finance, your bank's letters and the transfer appointment is where sales slip. A specialist can line those up, and arrange the buyer's mortgage if they need one.
Rules are the easy part. Your file is the question.
Selling with a mortgage outstanding? Talk to a Specialist.