Plain-English guide

Dubai real estate glossary

Every term you’ll meet buying or renting in Dubai — Ejari, DLD, Oqood, freehold, service charge, Golden Visa and 52 more — explained in simple English, with no jargon. Search it, or jump to a section.

58 of 58 terms

Authorities & official systems

The government bodies and digital systems that record and police every Dubai property deal.

Dubai Land DepartmentDLD: The Dubai government department that records who owns what and regulates every property sale, purchase and registration in the emirate. If a deal is not registered with the DLD, it is not official.
Real Estate Regulatory AgencyRERA: The regulatory arm of the DLD. It licenses brokers and developers, runs the escrow and rent rules, and sets the standard contracts. Think of it as the referee for the industry.
Ejari: The DLD’s official system for registering a tenancy (rent) contract — and the name of the registered contract itself. Arabic for “my rent”.No Ejari, no legal lease: you need it to set up DEWA, get residence visas, and enrol kids in school.
Oqood: The DLD system that registers off-plan (under-construction) sales. Your “Oqood certificate” is the interim proof you own the unit until the building is finished and a title deed is issued. Arabic for “contracts”.
Trakheesi: The DLD/RERA permit system for property adverts. Every legitimate listing must show a Trakheesi permit number — proof the ad is approved and the agent is allowed to market it.No permit number on a listing is a red flag. Property Scanner reads it off your screenshot.
Mollak: The DLD system that regulates and collects service charges for shared buildings and communities, through registered owners’ associations. It keeps service-charge money transparent.
Dubai REST: The DLD’s official app and platform for doing property tasks digitally — viewing your title deed, managing Ejari, checking transactions — without visiting an office.

Types of ownership

What you actually own — the property, the land, or just the right to use it for a while.

Title DeedMulkiya: The official DLD certificate proving you own a property. It is the single definitive document of ownership — in Dubai it is often called by its Arabic name, Mulkiya.
Freehold: You own the property and the land outright, forever. You can live in it, rent it out, sell it or pass it on. Foreigners can buy freehold in designated areas.This is what most overseas investors want — full, permanent ownership.
Leasehold: You own the right to use a property for a long, fixed term (usually up to 99 years) but not the land. At the end of the term it returns to the freehold owner.
Usufruct: A long-term right to use and benefit from a property you don’t own outright — commonly up to 99 years. Similar in feel to leasehold.
Musataha: A right to use a plot of land and build on it for a fixed term (usually up to 50 years, renewable). Mostly used for development rather than buying a home.
Jointly Owned Property: A unit in a building or community where shared areas — lobby, pool, gym, corridors — are owned in common by all owners and paid for through service charges.
Designated (freehold) area: A zone where non-UAE nationals are allowed to buy freehold — for example Dubai Marina, Downtown, Business Bay, JVC and many more. Outside these zones, foreign ownership may be leasehold only.

Buying & selling — process and paperwork

The contracts, forms and steps that move a property from seller to buyer.

Sale and Purchase AgreementSPA: The binding contract between buyer and seller (or buyer and developer) that sets the price, the payment plan and the handover terms.
Memorandum of UnderstandingMOU / Form F: The standard RERA contract signed between a buyer and seller in a resale, locking in the agreed terms before the official transfer. Almost always called “Form F” in Dubai.
Form A: The agreement between a seller and their agent — the listing agreement that lets the agent market the property.
Form B: The agreement between a buyer and their agent, setting out what the agent will do and their fee.
Form I: The agreement between two agents from different agencies who cooperate to close one deal and share the commission.
No Objection CertificateNOC: A letter from the developer confirming they have “no objection” to the sale — usually meaning service charges are paid up. The DLD will not transfer ownership without it.
Title transfer: The DLD process where ownership officially passes from seller to buyer and a fresh title deed is issued in the buyer’s name. Done at a Registration Trustee office.
Registration Trustee: A DLD-approved private office where buyers and sellers go to complete the official transfer and pay the fees.
Manager’s cheque: A cheque guaranteed by the bank. It is the standard, secure way to pay the seller the purchase amount at the transfer appointment.
Power of AttorneyPOA: A legal document that lets someone act for you — sign papers, complete a transfer — if you cannot be in Dubai in person. Common for overseas buyers.
Conveyancing: The professional service that manages the legal paperwork and the flow of money during a property transfer, protecting both sides.

Fees & costs

What you pay on top of the price — to the government, the agent and the building.

DLD transfer fee: The government fee to register a purchase — 4% of the price (plus small admin charges). Usually paid by the buyer, though it can be negotiated.Budget this in: on a AED 1,000,000 home it’s about AED 40,000.
Oqood (off-plan) fee: The DLD registration fee on an off-plan purchase — typically 4% of the price, paid when the sale is registered with the developer.
Agency commission: The agent’s fee on a resale — typically 2% of the price plus 5% VAT. Agreed up front in Form B.
Service charge: The annual fee owners pay to maintain shared areas — security, cleaning, pool, gym, lifts. Charged per square foot and approved under RERA/Mollak.High service charges quietly eat into your rental yield — always check the rate per sq ft.
Sinking (reserve) fund: A slice of the service charge saved up for big future repairs — replacing lifts, repainting the façade, roof works — so owners aren’t hit with a sudden bill.
Mortgage registration fee: A DLD fee to register a home loan against the property — 0.25% of the loan amount plus a small admin fee.
Housing (municipality) fee: A fee equal to 5% of the annual rent, charged to the occupant in monthly instalments through the DEWA utility bill.
Value Added TaxVAT: UAE sales tax of 5%. It applies to commercial property and to most services (like agency fees), but the sale and rent of residential homes is generally exempt or zero-rated.

Off-plan & new builds

Buying before or during construction — the payment plans, protections and handover.

Off-plan: A property bought before or during construction, directly from the developer, usually on a staged payment plan. Often cheaper than ready property, but you wait for it to be built.
Ready property: A completed property you can move into (or rent out) immediately — the opposite of off-plan.
Secondary market: Buying from a current owner rather than from the developer — i.e. a resale. The “primary” market is buying new from the developer.
Payment plan: The schedule of instalments for an off-plan purchase — for example 60% during construction and 40% on handover (“60/40”).
Post-handover payment plan: A plan where you keep paying part of the price in instalments for a few years after you’ve already received the keys.
Escrow account: A DLD-regulated bank account that holds off-plan buyers’ money and releases it to the developer only as building milestones are reached. It protects your money if a project stalls.Only pay into the project’s registered escrow account — never a developer’s normal account.
Handover: The moment the developer finishes the property and gives you the keys, against your final payment.
Snagging: Inspecting a newly handed-over property for defects — cracks, leaks, finishing faults — so the developer fixes them under warranty before you move in.

Renting

For tenants and landlords — contracts, deposits, rent caps and utilities.

RERA Rental Index: The official tool (the “Rent Calculator”) that caps how much a landlord can raise the rent at renewal, based on how far the current rent sits below the market rate.If your rent is already near market, the landlord usually can’t raise it at all.
Security deposit: A refundable deposit a tenant pays the landlord at the start — usually 5% of the annual rent for an unfurnished home (more if furnished). Returned at the end, less any damage.
Post-dated cheques: Rent in Dubai is commonly paid with 1–4 post-dated cheques across the year — fewer cheques is more attractive to landlords.
Notice period: The legally required warning before a landlord can ask a tenant to leave on permitted grounds (such as selling or moving in) — commonly 12 months, served through a notary or registered mail.
Dubai Electricity & Water AuthorityDEWA: The government utility for power and water. You open a DEWA account to switch on a home — which needs a registered Ejari contract.
District cooling (chiller): Central air-conditioning supplied to a whole community by a provider (such as Empower), billed separately from DEWA. Worth checking — it can add a meaningful monthly cost.
Rent-to-own: A scheme where part of the rent you pay each month counts toward eventually buying the property.

Visas & the people in a deal

Residency through property, and the licences that mark out a legitimate agent.

Golden Visa: A 10-year, renewable UAE residency. Property investors qualify by owning real estate worth at least AED 2 million. It can cover your spouse and children.A major reason overseas buyers target the AED 2M mark.
Property investor visa: UAE residency tied to owning property. Lower-value holdings could once get a shorter (2-year) visa; the headline route today is the AED 2M Golden Visa.
Broker Registration NumberBRN: The RERA licence number that every legitimate real-estate agent must hold. Always check an agent’s BRN before you deal with them.
Office Registration NumberORN: The RERA licence number of the brokerage company the agent works for.
Developer: The company that builds a project. A “master developer” builds a whole community’s roads and utilities; “sub-developers” build individual projects within it.

Value & numbers

The figures that tell you whether a property is priced fairly and earns well.

Price per square footPSF: The price divided by the size in square feet. It is the single best number for comparing value between similar properties, because it strips out size.Property Scanner benchmarks a listing’s PSF against real registered DLD sales nearby.
Built-up area vs plot areaBUA: Built-up area (BUA) is the total constructed floor space. Plot area is the size of the land — the figure that matters most for villas.
Gross vs net yield: Annual rent as a percentage of the price. “Gross” is before costs; “net” subtracts service charges and other expenses — the more honest number for an investor.
Capital appreciation: The rise in a property’s value over time, separate from the rent it earns.
Vacant on transfer: The property is empty and available to use the moment you buy it — no existing tenant to wait out.

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This glossary is plain-English guidance to help you understand the market, not legal, tax or financial advice. Fees, thresholds and rules change — always confirm specifics with a RERA-registered professional or the Dubai Land Department before you transact. Property Scanner is independent and uses only public Dubai Government data.