As a legal resident with a valid Emirates ID, any expat can rent or buy residential properties in Dubai. The city boasts a thriving real estate market with options that cater to tenants and buyers who are looking for luxury, affordability, and everything in between. 

From apartments in low-rise, mid-rise, high-rise buildings and skyscrapers, to villa compounds and townhouses communities, the city offers a wide variety of reasonably priced residential units, helping to make Dubai the perfect home.

The most common starting point to find a home in Dubai is online agencies. Hundreds of thousands of residential listings, images, floorplans, and even virtual tours are available on websites such as PropertyFinder.ae, Bayut.com, Dubizzle and many more.

These websites offer a smooth initial search process where one can filter according to what they are looking for, the amenities that are included and their finances, they can also specifically look through furnished and unfurnished units to buy or rent on a yearly or monthly basis. 

Renting a Residential Property:

Once decided on a property, the renter needs to prepare copies of passport, residence, and Emirates ID to start preparing the tenancy contract with the landlord as per the Dubai Tenancy Laws.

To secure the property, a refundable security deposit cheque is required by the landlord and is usually 5% of the annual rent amount. Upon signing the contract, the service agency will also request a fee that is typically 5% of the annual rental amount and post dates cheques for rental payments.

The tenancy contract must be then registered with Ejari, Dubai’s rental contract registration platform that is administered by the Dubai Land Department (DLD) to authenticate rental contracts and agreements between tenants and landlords.

For more information, please visit Ejari.

Buying a Residential Property:

Buying a residential property in Dubai is regulated by the Real Estate Law No. 7 of 2006, which outlines that a UAE or GCC citizen may buy real estate anywhere in Dubai. Foreign expats generally may buy properties on freehold or leasehold ownership in Dubai, in areas that are designated for foreign property ownership.

Once decided on a property to buy, the first legal steps are to establish a buyer and seller agreement after negotiating and outlining the terms of the sale with the seller.

Second, signing the sale agreement, also known as Contract F – one of the RERA real estate forms in Dubai. Once the contract is ready (generally prepared by a real estate agent), both the buyer and the seller must sign it in front of a witness (usually the agent) at the Registration Trustee office.

The buyer also needs to pay a refundable 10% security deposit on the property to the Registration Trustee. The deposit is returned once the property transfer is finalized.

Third, the buyer and the seller along with the real estate agent must meet at the property developer’s office to apply and pay for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to transfer the ownership.

Lastly, once the NOC is finalized, the buyer must meet the seller at the Dubai Land Department office to conclude the transfer, then a new title deed will be issued in the buyer’s name as a property owner in Dubai.

For more information, please visit the Dubai Land Department.

Sources

Dubai Land Department.

Ejari.

Bayut