Freehold property refers to the type of property purchase, where the buyer owns the plot as well as the unit. He/She is the landowner and has the title deed under his name. An heir can inherit a freehold property from the title deed holder. The owner of a freehold property is entitled to lease, occupy or sell his/her property. The owner can use the property for any purpose as long as it is in accordance with the local rules and regulations.

Freehold properties were introduced here to encourage foreign investment in Dubai and the most popular freehold areas for expats to purchase property, include Dubai Marina, Emirates Hills, Al Barsha, and Palm Jumeirah.

Oqood, refers to contracts in Arabic, is an online service by Emirates Real Estate Solutions for the developers. It helps with the property registration process between the developers and buyers.

An off-plan property refers to a property whose construction is yet to begin or is in its preliminary stages of construction.

DLD is the abbreviation for Dubai Land Department. It is the regulatory body by the government that deals with all property and real estate related legislation, organisation, and services for any real estate transactions in Dubai.

A DLD Waiver is the waiver of the DLD fee that is levied on property purchase. The DLD Fee is 4% of the property value and is payable by the buyer. Ergo a DLD Waiver means the buyer does not pay this fee and it is instead paid by the developer.

RERA stands for Real Estate Regulatory Agency and is part of the DLD that takes care of the regulations in the real estate industry in Dubai. It is in charge of handling relationship between all parties of a contract and organises the exchange process of the properties.

DEWA is the abbreviation for Dubai Electricity and Water Authority. It is in charge of the electricity and water supply in Dubai.

Ejari is an Arabic word meaning ‘my rent’. It is an electronic online registration system for the regulation and registration of every tenancy contract in Dubai. It is the system used to document all rental transactions and make sure all contracts are done legally. The Ejari system makes the Dubai rental market one of the most regulated markets in the world.

The real estate escrow account is a bank account of a real estate project in which the amounts collected from purchasers for the units sold off the plan (on the map) or from the financiers of the project are deposited.

You can do so by visiting Dubai Land Department’s website (http://www.dubailand.gov.ae/) – Real Estate Regulation – Tracking the status of projects.

The escrow account law applies to all real estate developers working in Dubai and those who sell units off-plan, and, in return, receive payments from purchasers or investors as well as from the financiers of the project.

You can visit Dubai Land Department’s website through the link below to learn more about the approved financial institutions:

The law applies to all the projects that have been completed and sold off-plan. The law provided a period of six months since its issuance to all developers to adapt their situation in line with Law No. 8/2007 on escrow account for real estate development.