Dubai property glossary
The terms you will meet when you buy, own or let a home in Dubai, from Ejari to Oqood, in plain English.
- Agency fee
- The commission a buyer pays their broker on a resale. In Dubai 2% of the price plus VAT is customary, but it is agreed with the broker in Form B rather than set by law. A buyer purchasing off-plan from a developer usually pays none. What it costs to buy property in Dubai
- BRNBroker Registration Number
- The registration number of an individual broker licensed by RERA. With the brokerage's ORN, it must appear in property adverts. Dubai property buying facts
- Completion certificate
- The certificate a planning authority issues when a building is complete: the Dubai Development Authority, Trakhees or Dubai Municipality, depending on the area. It starts the developer's ten-year liability for structural defects. Handover and snagging in Dubai
- Debt burden ratioDBR
- The share of income that goes on debt repayments. All monthly debt repayments together, a mortgage included, may not exceed 50% of income. How mortgages work in Dubai
- DEWADubai Electricity and Water Authority
- The government authority that supplies electricity and water in Dubai. An owner opens an account with the title deed or sale and purchase agreement and a tenant with the Ejari number, and a refundable security deposit is paid when the account is opened.
- District cooling
- Air conditioning supplied to many buildings from a central cooling plant and billed separately from DEWA. Providers include Empower and Emicool; Empower bills a demand charge based on the home's cooling capacity plus a metered consumption charge, together often called chiller charges.
- DLDDubai Land Department
- The Dubai government department that registers property sales, mortgages and leases and keeps the property register. Its regulatory arm is RERA.
- DLD transfer fee
- The Dubai Land Department's fee for registering a sale of property: 4% of the price. DLD's schedule divides it equally between buyer and seller, but by custom the buyer pays all of it unless Form F says otherwise. What it costs to buy property in Dubai
- Dubai REST
- The Dubai Land Department's real estate app: service charges, lease registration, rental and sales indices, off-plan project tracking, broker checks and the developer's e-NOC for a sale.
- Ejari
- The system for registering tenancy contracts with RERA. Dubai Law No. 26 of 2007 requires every lease to be registered. Renting out your Dubai property
- Escrow account
- The bank account of a development project into which off-plan buyers' payments are made. Under Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007 the money may be used only to build that project. Buying off-plan in Dubai
- Final offer letterFOL
- A bank's formal mortgage offer, issued after it has valued the property. It sets out the loan amount, the term, the interest rate and the insurance required, and the buyer signs it before the transfer. How mortgages work in Dubai
- Form A
- The Dubai Land Department's standard contract between a seller and the broker marketing the property.
- Form B
- The Dubai Land Department's standard contract between a buyer and the broker acting for them.
- Form FMOU
- The Dubai Land Department's standard sale contract between buyer and seller, recording the price, the deposit and the transfer date. By custom the buyer pays a 10% deposit when it is signed. How to buy a home in Dubai, step by step
- Freehold
- Outright ownership with no time limit. Under Dubai Law No. 7 of 2006, non-UAE nationals can own freehold property in the areas designated for it.
- Golden Visa
- A long-term UAE residence visa. Property investors in Dubai can apply with property worth AED 2 million or more. The Golden Visa through property
- Handover
- The delivery of a completed home to its buyer. It starts the developer's one-year liability for defective installations. Handover and snagging in Dubai
- Holiday home permit
- The permit from Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) that a furnished home needs before it can be let to short-stay guests. Individual owners can apply for their own homes, and companies can apply to operate holiday homes. Renting out your Dubai property
- Interim real estate register
- The Dubai Land Department's register of off-plan sales under Dubai Law No. 13 of 2008, kept through the Oqood system. A sale of an off-plan unit is void unless it is entered there, and the unit moves to the main property register once the project is complete and the buyer has paid in full. Buying off-plan in Dubai
- Leaseholdusufruct
- The right to use and benefit from property for a fixed term. Dubai Law No. 7 of 2006 allows non-UAE nationals to hold it for up to 99 years in designated areas.
- Liability letter
- A letter from the seller's bank stating how much is still owed on the mortgage, including any early settlement fee. The buyer, or the buyer's bank, pays that amount to the seller's bank to clear the mortgage before the title deed is transferred. The letter is valid only for a short period, so its timing is planned around the transfer date. Buying a resale property in Dubai
- Loan-to-valueLTV
- A mortgage as a share of the property's price. The Central Bank of the UAE caps it at 80% for an expatriate's first home up to AED 5 million, down to 50% for an off-plan home. How mortgages work in Dubai
- Madmoun
- The QR code issued with each Trakheesi advertising permit, which lets anyone confirm a property advert is approved. It has been required on printed and video adverts since 24 April 2023.
- Management entity
- The company that manages a jointly owned building or community and collects service charges under Dubai Law No. 6 of 2019. Owners are represented by an owners committee. Service charges in Dubai
- Manager's cheque
- A cheque issued by a bank itself and paid for from the customer's funds when it is issued, so it cannot bounce. By market practice the price is paid to the seller by manager's cheque at the transfer, and DLD accepts one for its fees. How to buy a home in Dubai, step by step
- Mashrooi
- The project status service in the Dubai Land Department's Dubai REST app; the name means "my project" in Arabic. It shows an off-plan project's completion percentage, inspection reports and photos, expected completion date and escrow account. How to check an off-plan project in Dubai
- Master developer
- A developer licensed to carry out a master project: developing a large area of land, building its infrastructure and shared facilities, and selling plots or buildings, some of them to sub-developers. Under Dubai Law No. 6 of 2019 a master community declaration sets the rules for the whole community.
- Mollak
- RERA's system for regulating jointly owned property: service charge budgets, owners' invoices and oversight of management companies. Service charges in Dubai
- Mortgage pre-approval
- A bank's conditional statement of how much it will lend, based on your income and debts, given before you choose a home. It lasts for a limited period and is not a final offer, because the bank still has to value the property. How mortgages work in Dubai
- Mortgage registration fee
- The Dubai Land Department's fee for registering a bank's mortgage over a property: 0.25% of the loan plus AED 270. It comes on top of the bank's own valuation and arrangement fees. How mortgages work in Dubai
- NOCNo-objection certificate
- The developer's certificate that it does not object to a resale. For a sale in a freehold area DLD requires the electronic version, the e-NOC, issued through Dubai REST.
- Off-plan
- A home bought from the developer before it is built, paid in stages under a payment plan. Buying off-plan in Dubai
- Off-plan resale
- Selling an off-plan home before completion. The developer must first issue a no-objection certificate, usually once the minimum share of the price set in the sale and purchase agreement has been paid, and under Dubai Law No. 13 of 2008 the sale is void unless it is entered in DLD's interim register. Selling off-plan before handover in Dubai
- Oqood
- The Dubai Land Department's interim register for off-plan homes, which records the buyer before a title deed exists. Registration costs 4% of the price plus AED 20. Buying off-plan in Dubai
- ORNOffice Registration Number
- A brokerage's registration number with RERA. It must appear in the brokerage's property adverts. Dubai property buying facts
- Owners committee
- The committee of owners in a jointly owned building or community under Dubai Law No. 6 of 2019. RERA appoints its members from among the owners once at least 10% of the units are registered in owners' names, and it checks the management entity's work and reviews the annual budget. Service charges in Dubai
- Payment plan
- The schedule of payments for an off-plan home: a first payment on booking, instalments during construction and a balance at or after handover.
- Post-handover payment plan
- An off-plan payment plan that leaves part of the price to be paid after handover, in instalments over months or years. The buyer can live in or let the home while still paying the developer. Off-plan payment plans in Dubai, explained
- Power of attorneyPOA
- A legal document authorising someone to act for you. For a Dubai property sale or purchase it must name the transaction specifically, and one issued abroad must be notarised there, legalised by the UAE embassy or consulate, attested by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and translated into Arabic. Buying property in Dubai from abroad
- Property valuation
- An independent estimate of a property's market value. A bank has the home valued before it makes a mortgage offer and lends against the lower of the valuation and the price, so a low valuation means a bigger deposit. DLD also issues valuation certificates on request. How mortgages work in Dubai
- Ready property
- A completed home that is registered in the property register with a title deed. Unlike an off-plan home, it can be lived in or let as soon as it is transferred, unless a tenant is already in place. Dubai property buying facts
- Registration trustee
- A DLD-approved centre that registers property sales and mortgages. Its fee on a sale is AED 4,000 plus VAT, or AED 2,000 plus VAT under AED 500,000. What it costs to buy property in Dubai
- RERAReal Estate Regulatory Agency
- The regulatory arm of the Dubai Land Department. It approves service charges, registers leases through Ejari and regulates brokers and property advertising.
- Reservation form
- The form, also called a booking form, that a buyer signs with a booking payment to reserve an off-plan unit before the sale and purchase agreement. Dubai law firms note that if it sets out the parties, the unit, the price and how it is paid, it can already be a binding contract, so check its refund terms before signing. Buying off-plan in Dubai
- Reserve fund
- The part of a building's service charges set aside for emergencies and for replacing equipment in the common parts, often called the sinking fund. Under Dubai Law No. 6 of 2019 it is held in a separate account and, except in a critical emergency, cannot be spent without RERA's approval. Service charges in Dubai
- Secondary marketResale market
- Homes bought from an existing owner rather than from the developer. They are usually completed homes, although an off-plan home can also be resold before handover. Buying a resale property in Dubai
- Service Charge Index
- The Dubai Land Department's service for looking up the service charges RERA has approved for a jointly owned property, on the DLD website or in Dubai REST.
- Service charges
- The annual charges owners pay to manage, operate, maintain and repair jointly owned property. RERA must approve them. Service charges in Dubai
- Smart Rental Index
- The Dubai Land Department's rent index since January 2025, which classifies buildings by specification, finishes, location and facilities. Rent increases at renewal depend on how far a rent sits below its average. Renting out your Dubai property
- Snagging
- Inspecting a new home before accepting it and listing defects and unfinished work for the developer to fix. It is an industry practice, not a legal procedure. Handover and snagging in Dubai
- SPASale and purchase agreement
- The developer's sale contract for an off-plan home, setting out the price, the payment plan and the completion terms. Every off-plan sale must be entered in DLD's interim register.
- Tenanted property
- A home sold with a tenant in place. Under Dubai Law No. 26 of 2007 a change of owner does not end a fixed-term lease, so the buyer takes over the tenancy, and recovering the home when the lease ends needs one of the grounds set by law and 12 months' notice through a notary public or by registered mail. Buying a tenanted property in Dubai
- Title deed
- The Dubai Land Department's certificate of ownership, issued when a sale is registered in the property register. The issuance fee is AED 250.
- Title deed verification
- The Dubai Land Department's instant check, in Dubai REST or on the DLD website, that a title deed it issued is valid. It uses the certificate number and year, the property type and the owner's name, or the contract number and year for an Oqood registration. Checks before buying a ready property in Dubai
- Trakheesi
- The Dubai Land Department's system for issuing property advertising permits. Every property advert must show its Trakheesi permit number.
- Vacant on transferVOT
- A resale listing term for a home the seller will hand over empty on the transfer date, so the buyer can move in or let it straight away instead of waiting out a tenant's 12-month notice period. Buying a tenanted property in Dubai