United Arab Emirates: foreign property ownership and the freehold buying process

Foreigners may own freehold in the UAE, but only inside designated zones. What the law permits, what the purchase costs, and who inherits the property.

Most buyers arrive with the wrong question. They ask whether a foreigner may own property at all, when the statute starts from the opposite premise. Article 4 of Dubai Law No. 7 of 2006 Concerning Real Property Registration reserves ownership of real property in the emirate for UAE and Gulf Cooperation Council nationals, companies wholly owned by them, and public joint stock companies. Everyone else owns by exception, in areas the Ruler has approved. The practical question is not whether you may buy but where.

Which parts of the country are open to a foreign buyer?

Regulation No. 3 of 2006 named the first Dubai districts in which non-UAE nationals may hold freehold with no time limit, or take a usufruct or lease of up to ninety-nine years: Umm Hurair 2, Emirates Hills, Jebel Ali, Dubai Marina, Palm Jumeirah and Mirdif were on that original list. Later resolutions of the Ruler extended the map, including Resolution No. 14 of 2015, No. 8 of 2016 and No. 6 of 2022.

Abu Dhabi runs on a separate statute. Law No. 19 of 2005 Concerning the Regulation of the Real Estate Sector was amended in April 2019 so that non-UAE nationals may own the real estate located within the emirate's investment areas, not merely the units built on it. Yas Island, Saadiyat, Al Reem, Al Maryah, Al Raha Beach, Al Reef and Masdar City sit among those zones. Sharjah sells no freehold to foreigners at all: Executive Council Resolution No. 26 of 2014 offers usufruct of up to one hundred years in designated areas.

What happens between the handshake and the title deed?

The Land Department's investor guidance sets out the sequence. Buyer and seller sign the standard Form F contract registered with RERA, adding terms only where they do not conflict with the standard provisions. The seller then obtains a No Objection Certificate from the developer confirming that service charges have been settled. Transfer happens at a licensed trustee office, where the Land Department charges 4% of the price, split equally between seller and buyer; registration is due within sixty days.

Glopra puts the purchase-side transaction cost for the Emirates at 6.5%, the lowest figure in our sample, against an average price of 5,760 USD per square metre in Dubai, which is the highest (Glopra snapshot, 2026-07-23, v3 methodology). Cheap to enter, expensive per metre. No residence visa is needed to buy; the federal identity authority sets the Golden Visa threshold for real estate investors at AED 2 million.

Why does an off-plan purchase sit in a second register?

A unit that does not yet exist cannot be entered in the property register, so Dubai built a parallel one. Law No. 13 of 2008 regulating the Interim Real Property Register makes any off-plan disposal void unless recorded there, and the Land Department's Oqood service handles that initial registration at 2% of the sale value from each side. Law No. 8 of 2007 requires the developer to hold buyer money in a separate escrow account with an accredited agent, the single most useful thing to verify before signing. Law No. 19 of 2020 ties the share a developer may retain on buyer default to the project's completion percentage.

Who inherits the apartment when the owner dies?

This is the clause buyers notice last and regret first. Sharia principles apply by default to estates in the UAE, including property held by foreigners, unless the owner has taken active steps. Non-Muslims can register a will with the DIFC Courts Wills Service, established by Resolution No. 4 of 2014 and operating under Dubai Law No. 15 of 2017, so that a registered will displaces the default rules. Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022 on Civil Personal Status, in force since February 2023, also covers inheritance for non-Muslims.

What is the annual service charge actually paying for?

Ownership in a tower or a gated community means membership of an owners association and an annual charge approved by RERA. Law No. 6 of 2019 Concerning Jointly Owned Property governs that relationship, and the Land Department's Mollak platform holds the funds in accounts run on an escrow mechanism. Arrears block the No Objection Certificate, so an unpaid balance can stop a sale.

Glopra measures gross rental yield in the Emirates at 4.94% with a rental tax rate of 0%, a price-to-income ratio of 7.4, and a twelve-month price change of +6.1%; bubble risk reads moderate at 46 points and data reliability is high (Glopra snapshot, 2026-07-23, v3 methodology). For the five and ten-year horizon Glopra publishes no verified USD price series for this market, so anyone quoting you a decade of Emirati returns is quoting something we cannot confirm.

This article is general information about the legal framework and is not legal, tax or investment advice.

Sources

UAE Government Portal, Expatriates buying a property in the UAE — u.ae

Dubai Land Department, Know Your Rights for Real Estate Investors — dubailand.gov.ae

Dubai Legislation, Law No. 7 of 2006 Concerning Real Property Registration — dlp.dubai.gov.ae

Dubai Legislation, Regulation No. 3 of 2006 Determining Areas for Ownership by Non-UAE Nationals — dlp.dubai.gov.ae

Dubai Legislation, Law No. 19 of 2020 amending Law No. 13 of 2008 on the Interim Real Property Register — dlp.dubai.gov.ae

Dubai Land Department, Mollak — mollak.dubailand.gov.ae

DIFC Courts Wills Service — difccourts.ae

Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security, Golden Visa — icp.gov.ae

Sources: u.ae, gulfnews.com, egsh.ae, janussdevelopers.com, apilproperties.com, dubailand.gov.ae

Market data: Abu Dhabi · Ras Al Khaimah · United Arab Emirates · Dubai