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United Arab Emirates · AED

Real estatein the United Arab Emirates

The UAE is a federation of separate property regimes priced in dirhams: Dubai issues freehold in designated zones at a 4% Land Department fee, Abu Dhabi and the northern emirates charge 2%, and Sharjah grants a 100-year usufruct rather than a freehold deed. Four emirate guides, not one scraped classifieds dump.

Abu DhabiSharjahRas Al Khaimah
Freehold zones
RERA escrow
3D map
4% / 2%transfer fee: Dubai vs the other emirates
0%annual property tax — the service charge is the carry
RERA escrowwhere off-plan money is legally required to sit
Ejaritenancy registration that makes a lease enforceable
What a purchase really costs

AED 1,500,000 home in Dubai

Land Department transfer fee (4%)
AED 60,000
Trustee office & title issuance
AED 2,250
NOC and developer admin
AED 1,500
Agency, buyer side (2% + 5% VAT)
AED 31,500
Cash needed at the trustee office
AED 1,595,250

≈ +6.4% over the price. Dubai charges 4% at the Land Department; Abu Dhabi and the northern emirates charge 2%. There is no annual property tax, which is why the service charge — quoted in dirhams per square foot and revised yearly — is the number that actually decides a yield. Off-plan money belongs in a RERA escrow account; if there is no escrow, there is no deal.

Rentals run on rules

The rent side, in three lines

  • Every tenancy must be registered on Ejari — an unregistered contract has no standing at the rental dispute centre.
  • The RERA rental index sets how far a landlord may raise on renewal, and 90 days’ written notice is required to change any term.
  • Rent is still commonly paid in one to four cheques, and DEWA plus district cooling sit outside the quoted rent.

Service charge is the second mortgage nobody quotes. Ask for the per-square-foot figure and the last two years of revisions.

Cities

Four emirates, four rulebooks

Freehold is granted zone by zone and the transfer fee changes at the emirate border. Dubai’s DLD is not Abu Dhabi’s DMT, and a Sharjah title is a different instrument again.

Dubai is the liquidity hub: off-plan towers, ready apartments in Marina, Downtown and JVC, and a rental market tied to visas and school calendars. Abu Dhabi is quieter, with more villa communities and its own land authority. Sharjah is the commuter emirate on a different instrument, and Ras Al Khaimah is being repriced by the Al Marjan resort pipeline.

Buying off-plan should go through a RERA-registered escrow account. Ready property transfers at the emirate’s own land authority — Dubai’s DLD is not Abu Dhabi’s DMT and neither is Sharjah’s registration department. There is no annual property tax here, which is why the service charge, quoted per square foot and revised yearly, is the number that decides a yield.

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FAQ

Can foreigners buy in Dubai?
Yes, in designated freehold areas. The title is issued by the Dubai Land Department. Off-plan payments should sit in a RERA escrow account, not a developer’s personal account.
Is sivrce.ae a separate indexable site?
No. It is a defensive country TLD that 308s to sivrce.com/ae so Google and AI engines see one UAE URL set.

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