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Emirate · United Arab Emirates

Buying property in Dubai, United Arab EmiratesIn Dubai, a sale counts only once it is on the Land Department register.

A foreign buyer can own a home outright in Dubai, but only on plots the Ruler has opened to foreigners. Registration costs 4% of the price, and far more new units are being completed than a year ago. Check the plot, the deed and the project before you pay.

5-minute read · checked 9 October 2026

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Fee to register a sale, set as 2% for the buyer and 2% for the seller
4%
Dubai Land Department, Property Sale Registration service
Property transactions recorded in January to March 2026, up 6% in a year
60,303
Dubai Land Department, first quarter 2026
New units completed in the first half of 2026, against 18,043 a year earlier
24,537
Emirates News Agency, reporting Dubai Land Department data, first half 2026
Purchase price that supports a 10-year Golden Visa (about USD 544,588)
AED 2 million
Dubai Land Department, Golden Visa (investor) service

Can foreigners buy property in Dubai?Yes, but only on designated plots.

What this means for youBefore you pay a deposit, confirm the plot is open to foreign owners and order the Land Department's property statement. The register decides who owns a home.

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Under Dubai's Law No. 7 of 2006, a person who is not a UAE national may own freehold (ownership with no time limit), or hold a lease or a right of use for up to 99 years, only in areas the Ruler designates. An agreement made to get round the law is void.

The first regulation named 23 areas, each limited to specific plots, and later resolutions added more. We do not hold a current plot-by-plot map, so an area's name alone does not prove a home can be bought by a foreigner.

A transfer has no effect until it is recorded in the Real Property Register, and the register can be challenged only for fraud or forgery. Anyone can check a title deed with the Dubai Land Department (DLD) Verify Title Deed service. A detailed property statement costs AED 70 online and shows the owner and any mortgage or seizure.

From: Dubai Land Department, Real Estate Legislation compilation (2019), Verify Title Deed service and Detailed Property Certificate service; Dubai Legislation Portal, Regulation No. 3 of 2006

Dubai property fees and taxesThe 4% fee is shared by law, unless the contract says otherwise.

What this means for youAgree in writing who pays the 4% registration fee, and ask for proof that the seller's service charges are paid. A unit with unpaid charges cannot be sold.

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The Dubai Land Department charges 4% of the price to register a sale. By law it is shared equally, 2% each, unless buyer and seller agree otherwise. Stating a lower price to cut the fee is fined at double the fee.

Registering at a trustee office (an office licensed to register sales) adds AED 4,000 plus value added tax (VAT) for a price of AED 500,000 or more, AED 250 for the title deed and AED 250 for the map. Registering a mortgage costs 0.25% of the loan.

The UAE charges no personal income tax. The first sale of a new home within three years of completion carries VAT at 0%, and later sales and lets of homes are generally exempt. Yearly service charges are approved by the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) and published, building by building, in the Service Charge Index.

From: Dubai Land Department, Property Sale Registration service, Mortgage Registration service, Service Charge Index and Real Estate Legislation compilation (2019); Federal Tax Authority; US Department of State

Dubai property market in 2026New supply is arriving faster: 36% more units than a year ago.

What this means for youAsk what else is due to complete near the building you like. Rising supply affects the price you can resell at and the rent you can ask.

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104 projects were completed in January to June 2026, adding 24,537 units. The same half of 2025 added 18,043.

The Dubai Land Department recorded 60,303 property transactions in January to March 2026, up 6% in a year, worth about AED 252 billion (about USD 68.62 billion), up 31%.

We do not hold a count of sales alone, leaving out mortgages and gifts, and we do not hold prices by area. Do not read the figures above as the number of homes sold.

From: Dubai Land Department, first quarter 2026; Emirates News Agency, reporting Dubai Land Department data. The 36% is our calculation from the Emirates News Agency figures.

Renting out a property in DubaiHoliday letting needs a permit for each home.

What this means for youIf a seller's figures rest on short stays, ask for the unit's holiday-home permit and the building's rules in writing. We hold no rental return for Dubai after costs.

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An apartment or villa let as a holiday home must be registered and approved by the Department of Economy and Tourism before it is listed. The permit lasts one year and must be renewed.

Tax differs by how you let. An individual's ordinary rental income is outside corporate tax where no licence is needed. A licensed holiday-home business can fall within corporate tax.

For a long let, a landlord who wants the home back at the end of the tenancy to sell it or to live in it must give the tenant 12 months' notice through a notary or by registered post. Registering a tenancy contract online (called Ejari) costs AED 177.75.

From: Department of Economy and Tourism; Federal Tax Authority; Dubai Land Department

Off-plan and flood risks in DubaiAn unregistered off-plan sale is void.

What this means for youFor a home not yet built, ask for the provisional registration certificate and check the completion percentage with the Land Department. For a finished one, ask about April 2024 flooding.

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An off-plan sale (a home sold before it is finished) must be registered by the developer on the Land Department's interim register, known as Oqood, within 90 days of signing. A sale that is not registered is void. The buyer receives a provisional certificate by email.

Buyers' payments go into an escrow account (a bank account kept for that project alone), which the developer's creditors cannot reach. The developer answers for structural defects for 10 years from completion.

Heavy rain in April 2024 caused severe flooding in Dubai. The city's drainage programme, Tasreef, is due to finish in 2033, and a plan does not show that a given building is protected today.

From: Dubai Land Department, Real Estate Legislation compilation (2019), Oqood registration service and Real Estate Project Status service; Francis and colleagues (2025 study); Dubai Municipality

Questions buyers ask

Buying property in Dubai: short answers.

Can a foreigner buy property in Dubai?

Yes, in designated areas. Under Law No. 7 of 2006 a non-UAE national may own freehold, or hold a lease or right of use for up to 99 years, only in areas the Ruler designates. The Dubai Land Department registers the sale.

What fees do you pay when buying property in Dubai?

The Dubai Land Department charges 4% of the price to register a sale, shared 2% and 2% between buyer and seller unless they agree otherwise. A trustee office adds AED 4,000 plus VAT for a price of AED 500,000 or more, plus AED 250 for the title deed and AED 250 for the map.

Does buying property in Dubai give you a Golden Visa?

It can. The Dubai Land Department offers a 10-year Golden Visa to an investor who owns Dubai property bought for AED 2 million or more (about USD 544,588). A mortgaged property is allowed with a bank letter, and the investor's fees total AED 9,884.75.

Is buying off-plan property in Dubai safe?

The law gives specific protections. The developer must register the sale on the Land Department's interim register within 90 days, an unregistered sale is void, and buyers' payments go into an escrow account used only for that project. The Land Department's Project Status service shows how far building has got.

Can I rent out my Dubai apartment as a holiday home?

Only with approval. The Department of Economy and Tourism requires each apartment or villa to be registered and approved before it is listed, and the permit runs for one year.

Can I buy property in Dubai without travelling there?

Yes, through a power of attorney (a document letting someone sign for you). The Dubai Land Department accepts one issued abroad if it is notarised, attested by that country's foreign ministry and the UAE embassy there, and then by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For a purchase it is valid for five years.

What homes cost here

What a home in Dubai costs, from the records of every sale.

Across Dubai, half of all flats sold from 1 January 2026 to 1 November 2026 went for less than AED 1,709 a square foot: 131,772 homes in all, 69% of them off-plan.

Bluewaters is the dearest of the areas we cover, at AED 5,144 a square foot; Wadi Al Safa 2 the cheapest, at AED 1,213.

Dubai South sold the most homes, 14,195, 92% of them off-plan.

Compare Dubai's areas side by sideFree. Rent and return, how much sells, and what you pay more for, area by area.

Where these figures come from

Every home sale and every new tenancy in Dubai is recorded by the Dubai Land Department and published openly. We read those records on 1 November 2026: sales from 1 January 2026 to 1 November 2026, new tenancies from 1 August 2026. A price a square foot is the sale price divided by the home’s recorded size, flats only unless said; a figure is given only where at least fifteen records sit behind it. These are prices paid, not asking prices, and not a valuation. Nothing here is advice.

The areas

Choose an area, and see what is being built there.

In the developers’ own words, as they publish them. NITARYA checks a project only inside Acquire & Own, for the client who chooses it, and every project here stands on the same footing.

Al Furjan

Also on file, by name only: · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

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The evidence

What this guide rests on.

Every sourced fact we hold on Dubai (18)
  • The record covers the Emirate of Dubai, one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates.
  • Employers must provide health insurance for employees, including those working in free zones.
  • The Knowledge and Human Development Authority publishes private-school inspection ratings and school information in its education directory.
  • Digital Dubai reported an end-2025 population of 4.580 million.
  • The 29 August 2026 US advisory is Level 3 (reconsider travel) because of terrorism and armed conflict.
  • Dubai International Airport handled 95.2 million passengers in 2025.
  • Dubai Electricity and Water Authority reported 0.82 customer-minutes of electricity interruption in 2025 (about 49 seconds per customer).
  • The Metro Blue Line is a construction project with an announced opening target of 9 September 2029; it is not an operating connection.
  • The Dubai Building Code includes requirements for telecommunications and digital infrastructure.
  • On 28 September 2026 Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed and Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed opened Etihad Rail's Dubai Station, and passenger trains between Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Fujairah started on 30 September 2026. Tickets start at 39 dirhams in Comfort Class and 109 dirhams in Premium Class. A footbridge joins the station to Jumeirah Golf Estates Metro Station, and one Nol card QR code works across train, Metro, tram and bus.
  • Federal UAE laws apply alongside emirate-level rules; the national capital is Abu Dhabi.
  • Sponsors must arrange health insurance for dependants, including spouses, children and domestic workers.
  • Arabic is the UAE's official language.
  • Private-school fees are frozen for the 2026–27 academic year under the May 2026 directive.
  • Real economic output grew 5.4% in 2025, according to Digital Dubai's July 2026 release.
  • International visitors totalled 19.6 million in 2025, up 5.0% from 2024.
  • Dubai International Airport handled 31.5 million passengers in January–June 2026.
  • The airport handled 13.0 million passengers in April–June 2026 as traffic recovered during the quarter.

UAE Government · Dubai Government · Knowledge and Human Development Authority · Digital Dubai · US Department of State · Dubai Airports · Dubai Electricity and Water Authority · Roads and Transport Authority · Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority · Dubai Media Office, news release of 28 September 2026, checked 16 October 2026

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Last checked 26 October 2026. This guide is general: what applies to you depends on your nationality, where you pay tax and the property itself.

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