We have already covered registering a usufruct. It has three more cards nobody writes about: the initial usufruct at construction stage (2% of the rental value, filed by the developer), amending the term or the amount (2% from the owner, 2% from the lessee and AED 1,000 on top) and termination (AED 1,000, returning the property to its actual owner). Plus one condition that caps your right by someone else's date: the expiry of a unit's usufruct must match the expiry of the usufruct over the land.
Checked against the official sources on 17 September 2026: the Dubai Land Department service cards "Request for registration of an initial usufruct", "Usufruct right amendment application" and "Usufruct right termination application". All three pages were read in their raw form; every figure carries its source link, and the sources are listed at the end.
What a usufruct is as a form of ownership, and what registering one costs, is covered in a separate article — the 2% + 2% rates, the AED 250 title deed and the service partner's fee live there. Here we take what that piece did not cover: the initial usufruct, amendment and termination. Three separate services, three separate bills.
The initial usufruct: the developer files it, and the term is tied to the land
The description: "This service allows the developer to register a usufruct right (a long-term lease) for the beneficiary." — the developer registers the usufruct right for the beneficiary. Applicant status is companies, the channel is the Oqood portal, the time is six business days, and the named partner is the Department of Economy and Tourism.
| Line | Amount | Where it is stated |
|---|---|---|
| The owner | 2% of the rental value | initial usufruct card |
| Knowledge fee | AED 10 | initial usufruct card |
| Innovation fee | AED 10 | initial usufruct card |
| Service time | 6 business days | initial usufruct card |
We quote the fee line with a caveat, because it is printed oddly. The field reads: "The owner: 2% of the rental value 2% of the rental value" — two per cent stated twice in a row, with no second party named. It reads either as a duplication typo or as 2% from each side, by analogy with ordinary registration. We are not choosing on the Department's behalf and we print no "4% total": the line is given as it stands, and the only unambiguous reading is 2% from the owner.
One condition deserves reading before any contract is signed. There are three, and the third is a limit buyers learn about late:
"3- The expiry date of the usufruct right of the sold unit shall be identical to the expiry date of the usufruct right over the land."
The expiry date of the usufruct on the sold unit must be identical to the expiry date of the usufruct over the land. Your right cannot outlive the right to the plot beneath the building. Buying a usufruct "for 99 years", it is reasonable to ask how many years the land has left — otherwise ninety-nine is arithmetic, not a term. The other two conditions: the property must be within the permitted areas, and the commencement and expiry dates must be prescribed.
The documents for an individual are short: a copy of the sale and usufruct contract, a copy of a valid Emirates ID, a copy of a valid passport for non-residents. Companies add a licence, the memorandum of association translated into Arabic and a shareholder certificate; a foreign company also needs a free zone NOC valid for one year. The output is an electronic usufruct registration certificate.
Amending a usufruct: both sides pay, and a flat thousand sits on top
The description: the service allows applying to amend a usufruct right in terms of the term or the amount.
| Line | Amount | Where it is stated |
|---|---|---|
| The owner | 2% of the amendment value | amendment card |
| The lessee | 2% of the amendment value | amendment card |
| Usufruct right amendment | AED 1,000 | amendment card |
| Title deed issuance | AED 250 | amendment card |
| Land plot map outside municipality jurisdiction | AED 100 | amendment card |
| Land plot map unified with Dubai Municipality | AED 225 | amendment card |
| Villa and apartment map | AED 250 | amendment card |
| Knowledge and innovation fee per drawing | AED 10 each | amendment card |
| Partner, transaction ≥ AED 500,000 | AED 4,000 + VAT | amendment card |
| Partner, transaction < AED 500,000 | AED 2,000 + VAT | amendment card |
Note the structure: two per cent is taken from both sides, and not instead of a fixed fee but alongside it — the AED 1,000 for the amendment itself is a separate line, placed on the lessee's side of the card.
The partner-fee threshold is AED 500,000: at or above it, four thousand; below it, two. The same threshold appears on the usufruct registration card covered earlier.
The document that decides everything: "A no-objection e-certificate (E.NOC) from the developer in the freehold areas (via Dubai REST App)" — an electronic no-objection certificate from the developer, obtained through the Dubai REST app. Without it the amendment does not proceed: in freehold areas the last word on changing the terms rests with the developer, not with the parties to the contract.
A source detail we do not correct: the service time is printed as "15 - 10 minutes" — the range runs backwards. We quote it as it stands; on the neighbouring termination card the same range is printed normally, "10 - 15 minutes".
The channel is the registration trustee centres. Applicant status is UAE citizen and resident. The named partner is the owner.
Termination: AED 1,000 and the property returns to its actual owner
The description is direct: "This service allows applying for termination of the property usufruct term and returning the property to their actual owner."
| Line | Amount | Where it is stated |
|---|---|---|
| Usufruct termination | AED 1,000 | termination card |
| Title deed issuance | AED 250 | termination card |
| Land plot map outside municipality authority | AED 100 | termination card |
| Land plot map unified with Dubai Municipality | AED 225 | termination card |
| Villa and apartment map | AED 250 | termination card |
| Knowledge and innovation fee per drawing | AED 10 each | termination card |
| Service partner fee | AED 300 + VAT | termination card |
| Service time | 10–15 minutes | termination card |
There are no percentages here at all — neither from the owner nor from the lessee. Termination costs a flat thousand, like a mortgage release, and the partner's fee drops from four thousand to three hundred. Leaving the instrument is built to be materially cheaper than entering or amending it.
Two documents: a letter of usufruct right termination and an Emirates ID, or a passport copy for a non-resident. No contract, no developer consent — unlike the amendment, where the e-NOC is mandatory.
The applicant status carries a line found nowhere else in the cluster: UAE citizen, resident and Dubai Municipality. The named partners are the owner and the developer. Why the Municipality appears among the applicants the card does not explain, and we invent no explanation.
The three services side by side
| Initial | Amendment | Termination | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who files | developer (companies) | citizen · resident | citizen · resident · Municipality |
| Percentage | 2% of the rental value | 2% + 2% of the amendment value | none |
| Fixed | — | AED 1,000 | AED 1,000 |
| Partner | not stated | AED 4,000 / 2,000 + VAT | AED 300 + VAT |
| Time | 6 business days | "15 - 10 minutes" | 10–15 minutes |
| Channel | Oqood portal | registration centres | registration centres |
The amounts in this summary are clickable and lead to the same card they came from; percentages and times are broken down line by line in the sections above.
What we are not claiming here
- The full charge for an initial usufruct. The line "2% of the rental value 2% of the rental value" is printed twice; the card names no second party, and we derive no total.
- How "rental value" and "amendment value" are calculated. The terms are named; the method is not disclosed.
- Whether a developer must issue the e-NOC. The card requires the certificate as a document; it does not describe grounds for refusal.
- What happens if the land's usufruct term is shorter than the contract promised. The matching-dates condition is stated; the consequences of a mismatch are not.
- Why the Municipality is listed among termination applicants. The line is quoted as printed.
- VAT amounts and totals. "+ VAT" throughout; the Department prints no totals, and we do not compute them on its behalf.
Sources
- Request for registration of an initial usufruct — Dubai Land Department service card: registration of a usufruct right by the developer for the beneficiary, fees (the line "The owner: 2% of the rental value 2% of the rental value", AED 10 knowledge and AED 10 innovation), 6 business days, three conditions including the requirement that the unit's usufruct expiry match the land's usufruct expiry, documents for individuals and four company forms including a one-year free zone NOC for a foreign company, channel — the Oqood portal, issued document — an electronic usufruct registration certificate, status — companies, partner — the Department of Economy and Tourism.
- Usufruct right amendment application — service card: amendment by term or amount, fees (owner 2% and lessee 2% of the amendment value, AED 1,000 for the amendment, title deed AED 250, maps AED 100 / 225 / 250, AED 10 each, partner AED 4,000 + VAT at or above AED 500,000 and AED 2,000 + VAT below), service time printed as "15 - 10 minutes", the developer's e-NOC via Dubai REST among the documents, channel — registration centres, status — citizen and resident, partner — the owner.
- Usufruct right termination application — service card: termination of the usufruct term returning the property to its actual owner, fees (AED 1,000, title deed AED 250, maps AED 100 / 225 / 250, AED 10 each, partner AED 300 + VAT), service time 10–15 minutes, two documents (termination letter and Emirates ID or a non-resident's passport), channel — registration centres, status — citizen, resident, Dubai Municipality, partners — the owner and the developer.
