Mortgage Registration

Mortgage registration is the recording of a bank's security interest over a property in the land department's register — in Dubai, at the DLD via a registration trustee. Registration is not a formality: an unregistered property mortgage is generally unenforceable as a real security in the UAE's registry-based system, so banks will not release funds until the mortgage is registered against the title. The borrower typically pays the registration fee, calculated as a small percentage of the loan amount. Registration matters again at the other end of the loan: when you finish paying, the mortgage must be formally released (de-registered) before you can sell or refinance, and obtaining the bank's release letter and clearing the registration is a standard step in every mortgaged resale. In a sale of a mortgaged property, the buyer's side coordinates settlement of the seller's loan, mortgage release, and transfer in a single sequence at the trustee office.