How to hold UAE property: personally, through a company or a foundation (2026)

An individual can hold Dubai freehold title in their own name, and an individual's rental income from real estate investment that needs no licence is outside UAE corporate tax under Cabinet Decision No. 49 of 2023. A company can also hold title if it is a type the Dubai Land Department registers, but it pays corporate tax at 9 per cent on taxable income above AED 375,000 under Cabinet Decision No. 116 of 2022. A DIFC foundation can hold Dubai property and is mainly a succession tool. The right choice depends on tax at home and in the UAE, who should inherit, whether you need a mortgage and how much privacy you want.

This guide is written for private investors and family offices in the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Gulf. It is general information, not tax or legal advice. Every structure below should be confirmed with a UAE lawyer, a tax adviser in your home country and the relevant authority before you buy, because the Land Department's entity rules are administrative policy that changes over time.

Should I buy Dubai property in my own name?

For most buyers of one to a few units, personal ownership is the default and often the right answer. The title deed is issued in your name, the purchase runs through the Land Department's standard process, and nothing has to be formed or maintained.

The UAE tax position is the main reason. Cabinet Decision No. 49 of 2023, issued on 8 May 2023 and effective from 1 June 2023, sets an AED 1 million annual turnover threshold before a natural person's business becomes subject to corporate tax. Article 2(2) of the decision then says that wage, personal investment income and real estate investment income are not counted as business, whatever the amount. Real estate investment is defined as investment by a natural person in the sale, leasing, subleasing or renting of land or real estate in the UAE that is not conducted, and does not need to be conducted, under a licence.

The Federal Tax Authority published its guide on natural persons on 24 December 2023, confirming that registration is required where turnover from business exceeds AED 1 million in a calendar year from 2024. A further Authority guide on real estate investment for natural persons was issued on 24 October 2024. Hadef and Partners, commenting on 1 November 2024, wrote that an Ejari or Tawtheeq tenancy registration is "an administrative record" and not a licence, while a Department of Economy and Tourism holiday home permit is a licence. An owner who lets on long tenancies therefore stays outside corporate tax; an owner running licensed short lets may not, once turnover passes the threshold.

The limits of personal ownership are liability, privacy and succession. Your name is on the register, the asset sits in your personal estate, and what happens on death depends on your religion, your will and the UAE succession rules described below.

Can a company own property in Dubai, and which ones does the Land Department accept?

Yes. A company buying or selling must first be registered with the Dubai Land Department. The Department's "request to register companies" service, accessed on 7 November 2026, lists the types it registers: single person establishments, limited liability companies, private and public joint stock companies, branches, free zone entities, and foreign and GCC companies. It states that foreign companies must be registered in a free zone in Dubai or Ras Al Khaimah, and that GCC companies must be registered with Dubai's Department of Economic Development.

The same page sets out the documents. A free zone entity provides its licence or certificate of incorporation, its memorandum or articles of association with any amendments, the owner's passport and identity documents, and, for a property purchase only, a no objection certificate from its licensing authority. The listed service partner fees are AED 2,000 for a limited liability company and AED 4,000 for a company with foreign shareholders, plus VAT.

Law firm commentary fills in the vehicles investors use most. Chambers and Partners, in an article of 26 May 2019, listed Dubai mainland companies, Dubai free zone companies, JAFZA offshore companies, ADGM entities and DIFC entities as accepted, with DIFC companies, partnerships and foundations covered by a 2017 memorandum between DIFC and the Land Department. The same article listed the documents usually requested: certificates of incorporation, incumbency and good standing, the memorandum and articles, shareholder identification, a no objection certificate from the free zone authority, a power of attorney for the signatory and, where needed, a board resolution approving the purchase.

Ras Al Khaimah vehicles were added later. Sovereign Group reported on 31 July 2019 that the Land Department signed memorandums with RAK ICC and RAKEZ on 16 July 2019 to accept freehold registrations, with RAK ICC issuing its no objection letter only to a company in good standing with individual shareholders. Al Tamimi and Company wrote in September 2024 that DIFC and ADGM foundations have been approved by the Land Department to hold real property.

Can an offshore company own Dubai property?

Only some. "Offshore" covers two very different things. UAE offshore vehicles, such as JAFZA offshore companies and RAK ICC companies, sit inside the Land Department's framework, subject to the no objection certificates and shareholder conditions above. A company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, Cayman or Delaware is a foreign company, and on the Land Department's published rule it must be registered in a free zone in Dubai or Ras Al Khaimah before it can hold title.

In practice a family office that already uses a foreign holding company usually places a UAE vehicle underneath it to hold the Dubai title. Chambers and Partners noted in 2019 that companies from other emirates also needed a Dubai presence or Land Department approval before buying. Any structure with corporate shareholders, rather than individuals, should be checked with the Land Department and the free zone first, because several of these arrangements were written around individual shareholders.

How is rental income taxed under each structure?

Federal Decree Law No. 47 of 2022 is the UAE corporate tax law. Article 3 sets a 0 per cent rate up to a threshold fixed by the Cabinet and 9 per cent above it, and Cabinet Decision No. 116 of 2022, issued on 30 December 2022, fixed that threshold at AED 375,000. A UAE company that owns property pays tax on its rental profit and on its gain when it sells.

A foreign company is caught too. Cabinet Decision No. 56 of 2023, issued on 30 May 2023, says a non resident juridical person has a nexus in the UAE "if it earns income from any Immovable Property in the State." A BVI or Delaware company receiving Dubai rent therefore falls within UAE corporate tax on that income.

Free zone companies are the area most often misunderstood. Article 18 of the corporate tax law gives a qualifying free zone person a 0 per cent rate on qualifying income, subject to substance and other conditions. Cabinet Decision No. 100 of 2023, issued on 25 October 2023, then takes most property income out of that regime. Article 3(1) excludes income from the ownership or exploitation of immovable property, and Article 6(1) treats as taxable any transaction with a non free zone person in respect of commercial property and any transaction with any person in respect of property that is not commercial property. Article 1 defines commercial property as property used exclusively for business and not as a place of residence, and includes hotels and serviced apartments in that definition.

Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025, issued on 28 August 2025, repealed Ministerial Decision No. 265 of 2023 and keeps the same exclusion: ownership or exploitation of immovable property is an excluded activity, "other than Commercial Property located in a Free Zone" where the transaction is with a free zone person. The result is simple to state. A free zone company that owns a residential apartment does not earn 0 per cent qualifying income on its rent, wherever the apartment is. Article 4(3)(a) of Cabinet Decision No. 100 of 2023 also leaves that property revenue out of the de minimis test, so it does not by itself cost the company its free zone status on other income.

Foundations have their own route. Article 17 of the corporate tax law lets a family foundation apply to be treated as an unincorporated partnership, which looks through the foundation to its beneficiaries, if it is set up for identified individuals, its main activity is holding and managing investment assets, it does not carry on activity that would be business in its beneficiaries' hands, and its main purpose is not avoiding corporate tax.

Does a share transfer avoid the Land Department fee?

Usually not. Investors sometimes assume that selling the company that owns a property, rather than the property itself, avoids the 4 per cent Land Department sale fee. Al Tamimi and Company wrote in June and July 2024 that the Department "charges fees for any direct or indirect share transfer" in a company that owns property, and may apply the reduced gift rate of 0.125 per cent where the ultimate beneficial owner does not change or the transfer is between first degree relatives.

Chambers and Partners described the same mechanism in 2019: a transfer of shares in a property owning company needs the Land Department's prior no objection certificate and a 4 per cent fee on the value transferred. Al Tamimi wrote in September 2024 that changes in a foundation's founders or in the shareholding of an ADGM or DIFC holding vehicle are treated as indirect changes in ownership that trigger Land Department charges, assessed case by case.

The fee position therefore cuts both ways. Putting property you already own into your own company may be charged at 0.125 per cent rather than 4 per cent, at the Department's discretion. Selling that company later to an unrelated buyer is charged as a sale.

What happens to Dubai property when a foreign owner dies?

Our full guide to Dubai property inheritance for non Muslim owners covers wills, probate and the Land Department transfer step by step; this section covers only how the holding structure changes the answer.

The answer depends first on religion. The UAE government portal states that Sharia, or Islamic law, governs the family matters of Muslims, so a Muslim owner's UAE estate follows Islamic inheritance rules unless a valid structure or will changes what passes through the estate.

For non Muslims, Federal Decree Law No. 41 of 2022 on civil personal status, issued on 3 October 2022, has applied since 1 February 2023 to non Muslim UAE citizens and non Muslim foreign residents, unless a foreigner adheres to the law of their own country. Article 11(1) lets a testator leave a will covering the entire amount they own in the State. Without a will, Article 11(2) gives half of the estate to the surviving spouse and divides the other half equally among the children, "without any difference between male and female." Article 11(3) lets an heir of a foreigner ask for the law that the Civil Transactions Law points to, unless a registered will says otherwise. Abu Dhabi has its own civil family law for non Muslims, Abu Dhabi Law No. 14 of 2021, which the government portal says covers will registration and lets foreigners bequeath all their property as they wish.

A registered will is the simplest way to control the result. The DIFC Courts Wills Service, a joint initiative of the Government of Dubai and the DIFC Courts, registers wills for non Muslims investing and living in the UAE and offers six types, including a full will, a property will and a guardianship will that can appoint guardians for children. On 31 July 2019 the DIFC Courts announced that, from 1 July 2019, registered wills could cover assets across all the emirates and outside the UAE.

Where the owner is a company, what passes on death is the shares, not the title deed. The will and the company's constitutional documents should both say who takes the shares and who can act for the company in the meantime, or the property can be frozen while that is resolved.

When does a foundation make sense?

A foundation is a legal person that owns assets for stated objects or beneficiaries. The DIFC Foundations Law, DIFC Law No. 3 of 2018, in its consolidated version of March 2024, says in Article 10(1) that a foundation is "a body corporate with a legal personality separate from that of its Founder(s)". Article 22 requires a council of at least two members to administer its property. Article 14(1)(b) protects a transfer into a foundation from being set aside because it defeats heirship rights conferred by a foreign law.

Al Tamimi and Company wrote in April 2020 that a memorandum between DIFC and the Land Department allows DIFC entities, including foundations, to own real estate registered with the Department, and that "once the founder(s) transfers any assets into the foundation, those assets cease to form part of his or her estate." The same article cautioned that DIFC foundations "remain untested to a certain extent."

A foundation suits a family with several heirs, assets in more than one country, minor children, or a wish to keep a portfolio together across generations. It costs more to set up and run than a will, needs a council and proper records, and changes in its founders can attract Land Department charges. For one apartment owned by a couple, a registered will usually does the job at a fraction of the cost.

Does the structure change how I can finance the purchase?

It can. The Central Bank of the UAE's mortgage regulations, in Article 3 of Circular 31/2013 as consolidated, cap loans to expatriates at 60 per cent of value for second and subsequent homes or investment property and set a maximum tenor of 25 years. The debt burden limit in the same framework is tied to the borrower's salary and regular income, which shows how the published rules are built around individual borrowers.

Our mortgage desk compares the retail mortgage products banks offer to non resident individuals. A loan to a holding company or foundation is a different credit decision, and its terms are not set out in those retail rules. A buyer who intends to borrow should ask the lender whether it will lend to the chosen vehicle, and on what terms, before the vehicle is formed. Some owners buy personally with a mortgage and move the property into a structure later, accepting the transfer fee and the lender's consent that this requires.

What it means for investors

For most individual buyers from the Americas, holding Dubai property personally is the cleanest option in the UAE: no corporate tax on unlicensed rental income under Cabinet Decision No. 49 of 2023, the widest mortgage choice, and no entity to maintain. The trade off is that the asset sits in your personal estate, so a registered will is essential.

A company makes sense for a portfolio, a whole building or a commercial asset, where liability protection, joint ownership among partners and a clean exit matter more than the 9 per cent tax on profit above AED 375,000. A free zone company is not a route to 0 per cent on residential rent under Cabinet Decision No. 100 of 2023. A foundation is for succession and family governance, not for avoiding tax or the Land Department fee.

Home country rules can outweigh all of this. A US citizen or resident who is an officer, director or shareholder in certain foreign corporations may have to file Form 5471, and the Internal Revenue Service says "substantial penalties exist" for failing to file, on a page reviewed on 19 April 2026. A Canadian taxpayer with a foreign affiliate or controlled foreign affiliate files Form T1134, and the Canada Revenue Agency's guidance, modified on 19 October 2026, requires 100 per cent of the foreign accrual property income of a controlled foreign affiliate to be reported. A structure that saves nothing in the UAE can still add reporting at home. Latin American investors should check their own country's rules on foreign companies. None of this is tax advice; confirm your position with an adviser in your country before choosing a structure. For larger acquisitions held through vehicles, see our commercial desk.

What we recommend

1. Decide what the structure is for before you form it: tax, liability, privacy, succession or financing. If the answer is only "it seems more sophisticated", buy in your own name and register a will.
2. If you will borrow, confirm with the lender that it will lend to your chosen vehicle before you create it.
3. If you use a company, choose a type the Land Department lists, obtain the free zone no objection certificate, and model UAE corporate tax at 9 per cent on profit above AED 375,000 alongside your home country tax.
4. Do not rely on a free zone company to take residential rent to 0 per cent, and do not plan an exit around a share sale avoiding the 4 per cent fee.
5. If you are a non Muslim, register a will that covers your UAE property; if your family, assets or heirs are spread across countries, ask whether a DIFC or ADGM foundation is worth its cost.
6. Take advice in your home country first. For US and Canadian owners, Form 5471 and Form T1134 can decide the question on their own.
7. Confirm the current position with the authority before relying on it. Land Department entity rules and the fee treatment of share transfers are administrative positions that can change, and free zone tax guidance was reissued in August 2025.

Castilion Estates maps these options before a purchase and coordinates the lawyers and corporate service providers who build the structure, through its asset protection and structuring service. To discuss your situation in confidence, contact the team.