Owning Real Estate in Dubai using an ADGM SPV
Dubai opened its doors to foreign property ownership in 2006. Since then, there have been incremental changes in the approach of the Dubai Land Department, benefitting investors in the long-term. Allowing a common-law vehicle such as an ADGM SPV to hold real property in Dubai has been a significant change.
Who can own property in Dubai? Ownership of real estate in Dubai is restricted to UAE Nationals and GCC nationals, as well as companies wholly owned by them and public joint stock companies. Other foreign nationals - and companies wholly or partly owned by them - have the right to own real estate in Dubai but only in certain designated areas. These include both residential and commercial areas in and around Dubai, and include Downtown Dubai and Burj Khalifa, The Palm, Emirates Hills, The Meadows, The Lakes, The Springs, Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Lakes Towers. The investor is not required to hold any type of residency or similar permits in order to purchase real property. Can I register the ownership of my property under a BVI or Cayman Offshore company? Initially, the DLD allowed all types of onshore and offshore companies to own real estate in Dubai. In 2012, it made a change in policy, allowing only JAFZA Offshore companies as corporate holders of Dubai property. The DLD had not, however, applied any restrictions on the structure of the corporate offshore entity, so that a JAFZA offshore company could, in turn, be owned either by an individual or a foreign offshore company, such as a BVI company. While this is permissible, in practice, this calls for a lot of additional compliances (Certificates of Incumbency, updated Powers of Attorneys etc.) and attestations from Embassies and Ministries, that are time-consuming and cost additional money. Significant changes: In 2018, the Dubai Land Department entered into an MoU with the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), thus allowing investors to tailor structures for real estate ownership, under a more familiar Common Law framework. What kind of corporate vehicles are available in the ADGM, for real estate ownership? As it stands, all ADGM-registered entities are eligible for ownership of real estate in Dubai. However, from a cost and efficient structuring perspective, the following vehicles may be considered: