Dubai Real Estate FAQs

Freehold property refers to the type of property purchase, where the buyer owns the plot as well as the unit. He/She is the landowner and has the title deed under his name. An heir can inherit a freehold property from the title deed holder. The owner of a freehold property is entitled to lease, occupy or sell his/her property. The owner can use the property for any purpose as long as it is in accordance with the local rules and regulations. Freehold properties were introduced here to encourage foreign investment in Dubai and the most popular freehold areas for expats to purchase property, include Dubai Marina, Emirates Hills, Al Barsha, and Palm Jumeirah.

Oqood, refers to contracts in Arabic, is an online service by Emirates Real Estate Solutions for the developers. It helps with the property registration process between the developers and buyers.

An off-plan property refers to a property whose construction is yet to begin or is in its preliminary stages of construction.

Freehold means complete ownership of the property by the buyer who will have his name on the title deed. Whereas leasehold refers to having the property on lease for a period of more than 10 years and up to 99 years. It cannot be bought completely.

RERA stands for Real Estate Regulatory Agency and is part of the DLD that takes care of the regulations in the real estate industry in Dubai. It is in charge of handling relationship between all parties of a contract and organises the exchange process of the properties.

Ejari is an Arabic word meaning ‘my rent’. It is an electronic online registration system for the regulation and registration of every tenancy contract in Dubai. It is the system used to document all rental transactions and make sure all contracts are done legally. The Ejari system makes the Dubai rental market one of the most regulated markets in the world.

Buyers/owners of properties can get a legal proxy with a proper and duly legalized power of attorney. This person with the POA can have the right to dispose of the properties on behalf of the client, as mentioned in the POA. The POA is valid for purposes like sale, mortgage, and gifting and is valid for a period of 2 years. In case of purchasing with a POA, the said POA is valid for 5 years from the date of notarization at the notary public.

Yes, you can sell an off-plan property before its completion date.

A buyer is eligible for UAE investor visa if his total investment is AED 1 million or above in one of maximum three properties.

Yes, any nationality can own freehold property in designated freehold areas in Dubai and an heir can inherit it.