Insights
Buying, selling, letting and living in Dubai property: the fees, the forms and the authorities behind each step.
25 guides
What a non-resident actually needs to buy and register property in Dubai: the designated areas, the passport-only document list, powers of attorney signed abroad, the Land Department's remote registration route, the published fees, and the residence permits that ownership can support.
7 min read
Law No. (6) of 2019 abolished the owners association and left owners with a committee of up to nine members appointed by RERA. What that committee can do, who manages the common parts, and how the reserve fund works.
7 min read
What a Dubai home costs to connect and run: the DEWA security deposit and activation charges, the 5 per cent Dubai Municipality housing fee, and how district cooling capacity and consumption charges are capped and split between landlord and tenant.
8 min read
An explanation of Ejari, the system that registers Dubai tenancy contracts with the Real Estate Regulatory Agency, covering the legal basis, who must file, the fee, the documents required, and why DEWA and other processes will not accept an unregistered lease.
6 min read
How Law No. 8 of 2007 governs an off-plan project's escrow account in Dubai: who holds the money, what a developer may draw and against what proof, the five per cent held back at completion, and what happens when RERA cancels a project.
8 min read
Dubai's unified contracts are generated inside the Dubai Brokers system rather than drafted by hand. This sets out what each form commits the parties to, who owes the broker's fee and when, and why a signed Form F is not ownership.
8 min read
How Dubai decides which land foreign buyers may own outright: Article 4 of Law No. (7) of 2006, the plot numbers listed in Regulation No. (3) of 2006, the 99-year ceiling on leasehold, and what changes at resale.
7 min read
How gross and net rental yield are calculated in Dubai, which deductions are routinely left out of the arithmetic, and what the Dubai Land Department and Dubai law actually fix. With a worked example from 7% down to 4.78%.
7 min read
Dubai requires a licence for the business and a separate permit for each furnished unit before it is let by the night. This sets out the Decree behind both, the deluxe and standard split, the Tourism Dirham, and the published fines.
8 min read
Dubai's permitted rent increase on renewal is fixed by Decree No. 43 of 2013 and the index behind it. This sets out the five bands, the ninety-day notice, and what the Rental Disputes Centre charges to hear the argument.
7 min read
How eviction works under Law No. 26 of 2007 as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008: the grounds a landlord may rely on, the notarised twelve-month notice, and what the Rental Disputes Centre asks for at registration.
7 min read
Where the money sits, when the 4% registration fee falls due, which register holds the buyer's name, what a developer may keep if instalments stop, and when service charges begin. The two purchases diverge from the day of signature.
8 min read
Off-plan sales in Dubai are entered in the Interim Property Register through the Land Department's Oqood portal. What the law requires, which fees apply, who files the registration, and what a buyer holds before a title deed exists.
8 min read
A resident individual in India may remit USD 250,000 a financial year. This sets out what that limit has to cover, when family members may pool it, the 20 per cent tax collected at source, and the Schedule FA disclosure that follows.
8 min read
How a Dubai sale works when the seller still owes the bank: the liability letter, the three manager's cheques, the Land Department service the market calls blocking, the release of the mortgage, and what happens when the buyer is borrowing too.
7 min read
How service charges are calculated, audited and approved in Dubai's jointly owned buildings, what the money may lawfully be spent on, who levies it now that owners associations are gone, and how to look up any building's approved rate.
7 min read
How a Dubai handover works, what the snagging inspection is for, and the two separate liability periods Article 40 of Law No. 6 of 2019 places on a developer. Includes the dates each period runs from.
8 min read
The no-objection certificate is the usual reason a Dubai resale misses its transfer date. What the developer checks before issuing it, how the Dubai REST eNOC differs, what the Land Department actually charges, and where the delay sits.
7 min read
What property ownership has to prove to qualify for a UAE Golden Visa: the AED 2 million threshold, mortgaged and off-plan units, the ten-year term, dependants, and the published fees at each issuing authority.
7 min read
Dubai keeps two property registers and issues different paperwork from each. What a title deed proves, what an Oqood entry proves, where the sale contract sits, and how to verify a deed with the Land Department.
7 min read
How a Dubai property sale is actually registered: which kind of trustee office handles it, what each party brings, the manager's cheques the Land Department requires, the published fees and the law behind them, and how long the deed takes.
8 min read
What Circular No. 31/2013 allows a UAE bank to lend: the loan-to-value caps for nationals and expatriates on first and subsequent homes, the 50 per cent off-plan limit, the debt burden ratio, and the income multiples that sit alongside them.
8 min read
What a Dubai notary will and will not attest on a property power of attorney, the Arabic and translation rules, the consular legalisation chain for a document signed abroad, the published fees, and what the Land Department reads at the counter.
8 min read
Dubai has two valuations that answer different questions: the Land Department certificate and the bank's own appraisal. This covers who may sign one, what each costs, how comparables are drawn, and why a lender's figure and an asking price are not the same number.
8 min read
The Dubai Land Department's 4% transfer fee is the headline. This sets out every other line on transfer day, with the published amounts, a worked total on an AED 2,000,000 purchase, and who customarily pays each one.
7 min read
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