UAE real estate, for families who plan in generations.

A family can run its UAE affairs through a DIFC family office, which needs family net assets of USD 50 million under the Family Arrangements Regulations 2023, or an ADGM single family office, which ADGM lists at USD 10 million, and can hold property through a DIFC, ADGM or RAK ICC foundation. This guide sets out what each vehicle requires, whether it can register Dubai freehold property, how it is taxed and how principals obtain residency, with the regulation behind every point.

An individual can hold Dubai freehold title in their own name and, under Cabinet Decision No. 49 of 2023, rental income from real estate investment that needs no licence falls outside UAE corporate tax, while a company pays 9 per cent on taxable income above AED 375,000. This guide sets out what personal, company and foundation ownership each change for tax, the Land Department fee, succession and financing, with the law behind every point.

Since 1 February 2023, Federal Decree Law No. 41 of 2022 gives half of a non Muslim's UAE estate to the surviving spouse and half to the children where there is no will, and a will registered with the DIFC Courts, Dubai Courts or the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department replaces that default. This guide sets out each will, what happens to joint owners, mortgages and bank accounts, how a company or foundation changes the result, and the steps heirs take to register the property at the Dubai Land Department.

The DIFC asks a family office for USD 50 million of family net assets and ADGM lists USD 10 million, while Singapore's Section 13O fund scheme starts at SGD 20 million and its 13U scheme at SGD 50 million, according to MAS. The sharper difference is property: a foreign buyer of Singapore homes pays 60 per cent Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty, while Dubai's designated freehold areas carry a 4 per cent Land Department fee.

ValuStrat said on 22 July 2026 that prime industrial yields in Dubai had tightened to between 8 and 9 per cent, and CBRE put office occupancy at about 95 per cent in Dubai and 96 per cent in Abu Dhabi on 3 November 2026. This guide sets out, for each income asset class a family office might buy in the UAE, the dated rent, vacancy and yield evidence, how leases work and how to get from gross to net yield.

A foreign investor or family office can own a whole building in Dubai's designated freehold areas under Law No. 7 of 2006, pays a Dubai Land Department sale fee of 4 per cent of the contract value, and, if it holds the building through a company, pays UAE corporate tax at 9 per cent on taxable income above AED 375,000. This guide sets out how a whole asset transaction runs, how buildings are priced, what due diligence must cover and how the income is taxed, with the law or regulator behind every point.

A bulk purchase off plan in Dubai is still registered unit by unit: each sale contract must enter the Land Department's interim register within 90 days of signing, and a sale left unregistered is void under Law No. 13 of 2008. The price of a block of units is negotiated privately, so the buyer's protection lies in escrow, registration and diligence on the developer, not in the headline discount.

Foreign individuals and companies can buy development plots outright in Dubai's designated freehold areas under Law No. 7 of 2006 and in Abu Dhabi's investment zones under Law No. 19 of 2005 as amended in April 2019. What a plot is worth depends on its site plan, its master developer's controls and the permits it can win, and selling units off plan requires Land Department project registration and an escrow account under Law No. 8 of 2007.

To develop and sell off plan in Dubai, a company needs a Dubai Land Department real estate development licence at AED 25,000 a year, a place on the Register of Real Estate Developers, a registered project at AED 150,000 and a project escrow account with an approved trustee bank. This guide sets out the order of those steps, how escrow money is released, what happens at completion, and how a landowner can take part through a development agreement, a joint venture company or Musataha.

Switzerland, Italy, France and the Netherlands each have a double taxation agreement with the UAE, while Germany has had none since its 2010 agreement expired on 31 December 2021. This guide sets out, country by country and from official sources, how UAE property income is treated at home and what to check before relocating, then how a European family buys, holds and finances UAE property.

A UK resident who buys property in Dubai is taxed by HMRC on the rent and any gain as they arise, because the remittance basis was replaced on 6 April 2025, and from that date inheritance tax on overseas assets turns on long term UK residence rather than domicile. This guide sets out the UK rules for owners, for families moving to the UAE and for family offices, beside the Dubai fees, escrow, finance and Golden Visa rules, with the official source for each.

A resident Indian can buy property in Dubai from India under the Reserve Bank of India's Liberalised Remittance Scheme, which allows up to USD 250,000 per person per financial year, and family members can combine limits only if each is a co owner. An Indian company may buy property abroad only if it has an overseas office, for its business and its staff, so most family businesses buy through their individual members.

A US citizen can hold freehold title in Dubai's designated areas under Law No. 7 of 2006, without UAE residency, and pays a Dubai Land Department registration fee of 4 per cent of the price, split 2 per cent each between buyer and seller on the DLD service page accessed on 7 November 2026. At home, the IRS taxes the rent and the gain, requires depreciation over 30 years for residential rental property used outside the United States, and does not treat directly held foreign real estate as reportable on FBAR or Form 8938, although the UAE bank account that receives the rent can be.

The Dubai Land Department's Golden Visa service, updated on 3 November 2026, lets an owner of property bought for AED 2 million or more sponsor a spouse, children and parents, and every other step of a family move, from Emirates ID and health insurance to Ejari, DEWA and school places, follows from that residence visa. This guide sets out each step from official sources, flags where those sources disagree, and gives a numbered sequence for the first 90 days.