UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Duncan Pickering, Nicola de Sylva, Sean Cope and Marta Almeida, DLA Piper Middle East LLP
1. General 1.1 Main Sources of Law
attracting interest among major developers, giv - en its potential for increased capital access. The UAE Security and Commodities Authority and its ADGM and DIFC counterparts are each focused on putting regulatory environments in place to encourage crypto-fundraising and develop mar - kets for trading within the UAE. 1.3 Proposals for Reform There is no formal requirement in the UAE to make public any proposals for reform. 2. Sale and Purchase 2.1 Categories of Property Rights In the UAE, five main types of property interests can be held, namely: • absolute ownership (freehold); • usufruct interest; • musataha interest; • leasehold interest; and • granted land. Absolute Ownership (Freehold) In Abu Dhabi, the following may have absolute ownership of real estate: • UAE nationals and UAE-incorporated compa - nies wholly owned by them; • UAE-listed public joint stock companies in which non-UAE national shareholding does not exceed 49%; and • any person or company specifically author - ised to hold real estate by decision of the Crown Prince or Executive Council. All other nationalities are only permitted to own real estate in areas for foreign ownership – ie, the designated “investment areas” .
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Civil Code (Fed - eral Law No (5) of 1985, as amended) and the UAE Constitution provide regulation of property and property transactions at a federal level. Each of the Emirates within the UAE enacts its own laws relating to real estate ownership. Within the Emirates are “free zones” which are authorised to issue their own laws and regula - tions. For example, the Abu Dhabi Global Mar - ket (ADGM) and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) have real estate laws that differ from the remainder of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. This guide focuses on Abu Dhabi and Dubai, which are the main commercial hubs and attract the most foreign investment into real estate in the UAE. 1.2 Main Market Trends and Deals The Dubai real estate market continues to attract record foreign direct investment inflows, with the UAE ranking second globally in the number of greenfield projects in 2023. The authors have noticed a trend of regional developers partner - ing with international developers on large-scale development projects as an alternative means of sourcing international investment. A particular growth area is branded residential projects, with Dubai having the largest number of completed schemes and pipeline schemes in the EMEA region. A noteworthy trend is the increase in standalone branded residential pro - jects (without a hotel component). The UAE is taking positive steps towards regu - lating and embracing digital finance. Tokenisa - tion, underpinned by blockchain technology, is
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