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No. Under Dubai Law No. 7 of 2006 a disposition of registered property has no legal validity unless it is registered, and Article 7 gives the register absolute evidentiary value. Until the Land Department registers the transfer, the buyer holds contractual rights against the seller, not ownership.

Because the register, not the paperwork behind it, determines ownership. A signed contract, a paid deposit and a handed-over key do not make you the owner. This single point explains most of the property disputes we see: the parties acted as though the deal was done at signature.

We do not publish an average, because the honest answer is that it depends on things outside the parties' control: the developer's no-objection certificate, discharge of any existing mortgage, the buyer's finance, and the availability of a transfer appointment. The Land Department publishes an estimated processing time for the registration transaction itself, which is a much shorter thing than the deal timeline.

The Land Department publishes its own fee schedule, and we keep those figures in one place on this site so that they can be checked and kept current. See the Dubai Land Department page for the published fees and the date on which we last checked them.

Article 3 of Dubai Law No. 13 of 2008 provides that dispositions of off-plan units are void unless registered in the interim property register. Registration is not an administrative formality that can be caught up later; it is what makes the sale effective. See off-plan and booking.

Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007 requires payments for off-plan units to be made into an escrow account tied to the project, so that buyer money is applied to construction rather than to the developer's general business. It protects the application of the money. It is not a guarantee that the project will complete.

No. The rent agreed for the term is the rent for the term. Under Law No. 26 of 2007 as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008, a party who wants to change the terms on renewal must notify the other at least 90 days before the contract expires, unless the parties have agreed otherwise.

Increases are governed by Decree No. 43 of 2013, which permits an increase only where the rent sits below the average market rent, by reference to bands set against that gap. The calculation runs off the Land Department's rental index. The figures and the current index are set out on the lease renewals page.

At the Rental Disputes Centre. Decree No. 26 of 2013 gives the Centre exclusive jurisdiction over rental disputes in the Emirate of Dubai, with limited exceptions. Filing in the wrong forum costs time rather than the claim, but it costs time.

Yes. Law No. 26 of 2007 requires tenancy contracts and their amendments to be registered, which is done through Ejari. An unregistered tenancy is a practical problem long before it is a legal one, because other processes ask for the Ejari certificate.

The law does not fix one. Annual contracts are the common practice rather than a legal requirement, and longer terms are negotiable. What matters is what the contract says about renewal, notice and rent review, not the length by itself.

Only on the grounds set out in Article 25(1) of Law No. 26 of 2007. They are specific and fact-based, and include failure to pay rent within 30 days of a formal demand, subletting without written consent, using the property unlawfully, and failure to remedy a breach within 30 days of notice. Eviction at the end of a term is a different provision with different requirements.

Landlord and tenant disputes go to the Rental Disputes Centre. Ownership, contract and developer disputes go to the Dubai Courts unless the contract provides for arbitration. Regulatory complaints about a broker or a developer are an administrative route through the regulator, which is not the same thing as a claim. See property disputes.

At a minimum: the parties and the property identified as they appear on the register, the price and the payment mechanism, who bears which fees, what each party must do and by when, what happens if either fails, and where a dispute is decided. Most of the trouble we see comes from the last two being left out.

Yes, by agreement of the parties, recorded in writing in the same form as the contract. Where the transaction is registered or requires registration, the amendment has to be capable of being acted on by the Land Department; an agreement the register cannot give effect to has not achieved what the parties intended.

The core instruments are Law No. 7 of 2006 on real property registration, Law No. 13 of 2008 on the interim register including off-plan sales, Law No. 8 of 2007 on escrow accounts, Law No. 26 of 2007 as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008 on landlord and tenant, and Decree No. 43 of 2013 on rent increases. Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025 governs succession to property in the State.

The Dubai Land Department maintains the register and administers transactions. The Real Estate Regulatory Agency is its regulatory arm, responsible for brokers, developers, escrow and project registration. See RERA matters and the Land Department.

The Land Department levies registration fees, which are fees rather than a tax. VAT treatment differs between residential and commercial property and between first and subsequent supplies. We do not advise on tax; those questions belong with the Federal Tax Authority or a tax adviser, and we say so rather than answering them.

Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025 came into force on 1 June 2026. Article 17(1) applies the law of the deceased's nationality at the time of death to succession, and Article 17(5) applies UAE law to a will made by a foreigner over immovable property in the State. Dubai Law No. 15 of 2017 established registers for the wills of non-Muslims. See property inheritance.

If you want the property to pass in a particular way rather than by the default rules, yes. A will does not by itself move the register: the transfer to the heirs still has to be registered. See wills.

We are a property practice. We do not hold ourselves out as a general commercial, tax or family firm, we do not predict outcomes or timescales, and we do not publish success rates. Where a matter falls outside property work we say so rather than accepting the instruction.