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Glossary

Freehold designated areas

Foreigners can own property in Dubai only in the areas designated by the Ruler. The list is not a brochure of community names. It is Regulation No. 3 of 2006, plot numbers included, plus five instruments since, the latest being the January 2025 opening of 457 plots on Sheikh Zayed Road and in Al Jaddaf.

The rule

Law No. (7) of 2006 Concerning Real Property Registration, Article 4: "The right to own Real Property in the Emirate will be restricted to UAE nationals, nationals of the Gulf Cooperation Council member states and to companies fully owned by these, and to public joint stock companies. Subject to the approval of the Ruler, non-UAE nationals may, in certain areas determined by the Ruler, be granted the following rights: a. Freehold ownership of Real Property without time restrictions; and b. Usufruct or leasehold over Real Property for a period not exceeding ninety-nine (99) years."

Everything else on this page is the answer to "which areas". The title deed carries the answer for any specific unit as a yes-or-no freehold field.

The original list: Regulation No. 3 of 2006

Issued 7 June 2006, Article 3 grants non-nationals freehold "without time restriction", usufruct or leasehold up to 99 years over the plots "indicated opposite each of the following areas as shown by the maps issued by the Department". The list, verbatim:

Twenty-three entries, spelt as the regulation spells them. The regulation's Article 4 separately allowed usufruct or lease, not freehold, on plot 224 in Nad al-Sheba; that was changed in 2010, below.

Note what is not on it. Downtown, Business Bay, JLT, JBR, Arabian Ranches and the rest of the brochure names are not listed as such. They are developments built inside the plots that are, which is why "is my community freehold" is better answered by the plot lookup below than by a list of brands. DLD's own 2017 investor guide gives a short illustrative list of such communities and then says, "For information regarding other areas where foreign ownership is possible, please contact the Dubai Land Department."

Additions since 2006

• Regulation No. 1 of 2010 (18 March 2010): plot 224, Nad Al Sheba, upgraded to freehold: "A non-UAE national may acquire freehold ownership rights, without time restriction, in the Real Property existing on Plot No. (224), Nad Al Sheba".
• Resolution No. 8 of 2016 (9 June 2016): plots 205, 206 and 207 in Madinat Al Mataar (521), the Dubai Aviation City land, added with freehold and 99-year rights.
• Resolution No. 18 of 2019 (4 September 2019): plot 69, Trade Centre Second, and plots 120, 121 and 122, Zaabeel Second, added.
• Resolution No. 6 of 2022 (28 February 2022): plots 58 and 59, Zabeel First, added as freehold.
• 19 January 2025, DLD and the Media Office: "the private property owners in Sheikh Zayed Road area (from the Trade Centre Roundabout to the Water Canal) and Al Jaddaf area can now convert their ownership status to freehold to all nationalities. A total of 457 plots are eligible for conversion to freehold: 128 plots along Sheikh Zayed Road and 329 plots in Al Jaddaf". Owners check eligibility in Dubai REST, apply for a valuation, and pay "a conversion fee of 30% of the property's valuation (based on Gross Floor Area)". We could not find the numbered instrument behind this announcement on the legislation portal.

Freehold, usufruct, leasehold, musataha

The law names three foreign-holdable rights and caps two of them. Freehold is ownership "without time restrictions". Usufruct and leasehold share one bracket, "a period not exceeding ninety-nine (99) years". The register treats a long lease as a registrable right, which is why 99-year leasehold titles exist in non-designated areas. Musataha, the right to build on another's land, is registrable in Dubai (DLD's guide prices its registration at 1% of the musataha value) but its maximum term is set in federal civil law rather than in these instruments; the fifty-year figure commonly cited comes from legal commentary we could not check against the primary text, so we report it rather than assert it.

How to check a plot

DLD's "Property Status Enquiry" "allows a customer to inquire about the status of a property by entering the property-related data such as the area and land number." Log in to the DLD website or Dubai REST, select the service, enter the area name and the land or plot number, and submit. The result is immediate. For a unit you already own or are buying, the deed's own freehold field, shown on DLD's sample deed as a yes-or-no value, gives the same answer without a lookup.

GCC nationals and companies

Article 4 puts GCC nationals with UAE nationals: they may own anywhere in the emirate, not only in designated areas. DLD's guide restates it: nationals of the UAE and other GCC states "(and companies wholly owned by them) and public joint stock companies are permitted to own freehold title to real estate ... anywhere in the Emirate of Dubai."

For companies the same guide is the clearest official statement we found: companies registered with the Department of Economic Development "may own real estate within the Designated Areas, if not wholly owned by UAE or other GCC nationals"; free-zone companies in zones DLD approves, such as JAFZA and DMCC, may do the same; and "DLD does not allow foreign companies to directly own real estate in Dubai. A foreign company must establish a company in the Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA) or Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) or such other free zone approved by the DLD". The guide is dated 2017; check the approved-zone list before relying on it.

Where this comes up

Title deed · Dubai communities · Best areas to buy

Frequently Asked Questions

This entry is part of the Home Guide Dubai glossary - the vocabulary a Dubai buyer or Golden Visa applicant actually meets, defined in plain English and kept consistent with our verified guides.