Where foreigners can buy property in Dubai: freehold areas explained

If you are not a UAE or GCC national, you can own property outright in Dubai only in areas the Ruler of Dubai has designated for non-UAE nationals. There you can hold freehold title with no time limit, or a usufruct or lease of up to 99 years. Outside those areas, ownership is reserved for UAE and GCC nationals, companies they wholly own and public joint stock companies, so the first check on any property is whether its plot is designated.

You do not need to live in the UAE to buy, and there is no age limit for owning property in Dubai. This guide explains the legal basis, what the different ownership rights give you, how to confirm a plot's status and how company ownership works. For the buying process itself, see our practical guide to buying property in Dubai. This is general information, not legal or investment advice.

What the law says

Two pieces of legislation set the rules. Law No. 7 of 2006 on real property registration limits ownership in Dubai to UAE nationals, GCC nationals, companies wholly owned by them and public joint stock companies. It then lets the Ruler designate areas where non-UAE nationals may hold freehold title, or a usufruct or lease of up to 99 years. Regulation No. 3 of 2006 listed the first of those areas.

The regulation is more precise than most marketing. It does not name communities as they are sold. It lists DLD land areas and plot numbers, each tied to a DLD map: plot 001 on Palm Jumeirah, four plots in Dubai Marina, and specific plots in areas such as Jebel Ali, Al Barsha South, Emirates Hills, Mirdif and Nad Al Sheba. On one plot in Nad Al Sheba it allowed only usufruct and leasehold, not freehold.

Later resolutions have added land to the designated areas, including Resolution No. 14 of 2015 and Resolution No. 8 of 2016, and DLD says designations continue to be made from time to time. The practical point is that freehold status belongs to a plot, not to a neighbourhood name.

Freehold, leasehold and usufruct: what each gives you

In an apartment or a villa in a managed community, freehold means you own your unit outright and share the common areas with the other owners. DLD's investor guide treats freehold property as jointly owned property, so you also pay annual service charges and follow the community's rules.

Usufruct and long leases are registered with DLD too, but they end. If you are offered one, ask how many years remain, what happens at the end of the term and whether your bank will lend against it. Read the type of right on the title deed itself rather than relying on how the property is described.

Well-known freehold communities

DLD's guide for real estate investors lists what it calls the most important designated areas. They include:

• Palm Jumeirah and The World Islands
• Downtown Dubai, Burj Khalifa and Old Town
• Business Bay
• Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) and Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT)
• Emirates Hills, Jumeirah Islands and Jumeirah Village
• Arabian Ranches, Discovery Gardens and International City
• Dubai Sports City, Motor City, Falcon City and Dubai Investment Park
• Mirdif, on specified plots only

The list is not complete, and DLD asks buyers to contact it about other areas. Mirdif shows why that matters: only certain plots there are designated, so the name of a community does not settle the question on its own.

How to confirm a property's status

1. Get the land details, not the brochure name. Ask for the DLD area name and the plot or land number from the title deed, the sale and purchase agreement or the Form F memorandum. DLD keeps a list of areas whose official names have changed, which helps when documents use an older name.
2. Check ready property on DLD's systems. The Property Status enquiry on the DLD website and in the Dubai REST app works from the area and land number, and DLD's title deed verification service confirms that a deed is genuine.
3. Check off-plan projects at source. Look the project up in DLD's Project Status Enquiry and confirm the developer holds the land or a development agreement. Under Law No. 13 of 2008, a developer cannot sell off-plan before it has the land and its approvals. Our guide to buying off-plan property in Dubai covers the other checks.
4. Ask DLD when in doubt. DLD maps the designated areas and can tell you whether a plot falls inside one.
5. Confirm before you pay. A deposit paid on a plot you cannot register is the start of a dispute, not an investment.

Buying through a company

You can hold Dubai property through a company, but DLD decides which companies it will register, and the company must be registered with DLD before it can buy.

• Mainland companies. Companies licensed in Dubai or another emirate can own in the designated areas. If they are wholly owned by UAE or GCC nationals, they can own anywhere.
• Free zone companies. Companies in free zones approved by DLD, such as the Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA) and DMCC, can own in the designated areas. DLD asks for a no objection certificate from the free zone authority for a purchase.
• Foreign companies. A company incorporated abroad cannot register property directly. DLD's current terms require foreign companies to be registered in a free zone in Dubai or Ras Al Khaimah. This is where a free zone or offshore holding company comes in, and our guide to offshore companies in the UAE explains what they can and cannot do.

A company adds cost and paperwork. As of October 2026, DLD's registration of a company with foreign shareholders carries a service partner fee of AED 4,000 plus VAT, and the company has its own licence renewals and filings. Selling the company later does not escape DLD fees either: DLD registers share sales in property-owning companies and charges 2% from the seller and 2% from the buyer. If a shareholder is itself a foreign company, DLD's investor guide recommends getting DLD's approval of the structure before you sign.

There is a residency angle too. DLD's Golden Visa service for property investors expects the property to be owned in the applicant's own name. If residency matters to you, read our guide to the Golden Visa through property before choosing a company structure.

Common mistakes

• Treating a community or project name as proof that a plot is designated.
• Buying a usufruct or a long lease while believing it is freehold.
• Setting up a holding company before checking that DLD will register it.
• Assuming a property-owning company can be sold without DLD fees.
• Paying a deposit before the plot details have been checked.

If you would like a plot or a holding structure checked before you commit, our real estate team can work through it with you.

Sources

• Dubai Legal Portal: Law No. 7 of 2006 on real property registration
• Dubai Legal Portal: Regulation No. 3 of 2006 on areas for ownership by non-UAE nationals
• UAE Government portal: expatriates buying a property in the UAE
• Dubai Land Department: Know Your Rights guide for real estate investors (PDF)
• Dubai Land Department: company registration application
• Dubai Land Department: property status enquiry