Yes. Foreigners can own property in Abu Dhabi, including freehold, but only inside the emirate's designated investment areas. That has been the rule since an amendment in 2019. Outside those areas, ownership stays closed to most foreign buyers. Registration is generally quoted at 2% of the price, and on off-plan homes your payments must go into an escrow account for that project.
This is a summary to help you ask the right questions, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules here have changed often in the past two years, so confirm the details for your purchase with ADREC, Abu Dhabi's real estate regulator, or a lawyer.
What does the law allow foreigners to own?
The UAE government portal says the April 2019 amendment to Law No. 19 of 2005 gives non-UAE nationals, people and companies alike, the right to own and acquire all property rights within investment areas. CMS, the law firm, dates the amendment to Apr 16, 2019, and explains the change: foreign buyers could hold long leases and similar rights before, but not the freehold.
Be careful with one thing. The same government page still opens with the older description, which says foreigners get 99-year deeds with no land included, and only then describes the amendment. Law firms read the amendment as allowing freehold title to land too (Al Tamimi & Company says so directly). Read the ownership type written on your own contract rather than assuming it.
| Right | What it gives, per the government portal |
|---|---|
| Usufruct | Use of the property and its facilities for up to 99 years, with no right to change it |
| Musataha | Use, building or alteration for 50 years, renewable by agreement |
| Long-term lease | An initial term of at least 25 years |
Freehold sits above these, with no fixed term. Holders of a usufruct or musataha for more than 10 years may also sell or mortgage it without the landlord's consent, unless the parties agree otherwise, according to the same page.
Which areas are open to foreign buyers?
Sources give different lists, so treat any list as a starting point:
- The government portal names nine: Yas Island, Saadiyat, Reem, Maryah, Lulu, Al Raha Beach, Sayh Al Sedairah, Al Reef and Masdar City.
- The National, citing the municipal department in April 2019, printed a longer list that adds places such as Jubail Island, Nurai Island and Al Jurf in Ghantoot.
- Al Tamimi describes a resolution creating a twentieth investment area, where foreign ownership is capped at 50% of the units.
We did not find a current official list we could read, so confirm your exact plot with ADREC. That 50% cap, set for plots in Kaser Al Amwaj, also shows why an area's name alone may not settle it.
In our own catalog, 40 of the 59 Abu Dhabi projects we listed on Oct 28, 2026 state freehold ownership, and 19 had not yet published it. Of the 59, 42 are in communities on the government portal's list and 17 are elsewhere, so those 17 especially deserve the question. Those counts reflect what developers publish, not a legal check.
What does registration cost?
Budget 2% of the price, and confirm it. Modon, a major Abu Dhabi developer, gives a 2% registration fee on the transaction value, so AED 40,000 on an AED 2 million home. That is a developer's guide and not the official fee schedule, which we could not read directly. Guides also disagree on who pays it, so read that clause in your contract. Our purchase cost calculator lets you run the figure on any budget.
Modon also lists agency commission and developer administrative charges as costs to ask about, plus bank arrangement and valuation fees if you borrow.
What do you receive when you buy off-plan?
An interim registration certificate first, then the title deed. Modon's guide says the developer registers the interim certificate at purchase, through DARI, the emirate's registration platform, and that the full deed follows at completion and handover. Ask for that certificate and keep it.
Paying to reserve a unit has its own rule now. Since February 2026, developers launching new projects must register expressions of interest through ADREC's Madhmoun platform, with the money held in a government-managed preparatory escrow account, Aletihad reported.
How is your money protected during construction?
Mainly by escrow, and the rules tightened in 2025. King & Spalding's summary of Law No. 2 of 2025 sets out the main points:
- Each project has its own account, opened with an approved trustee, and buyers' installments go into it.
- The money has limited uses. It may no longer pay the land price or broker commissions.
- Nothing comes out early. Withdrawals wait until 20% of construction is complete, as verified by approved consultants.
There is one exception. A&O Shearman explains that a developer with at least four years' registration, three projects delivered on time and a clean recent record can ask ADREC to release funds sooner, against a bank guarantee of at least 20% of the construction cost.
Escrow lowers a risk; it does not remove it. Pay into the account named in your contract, and never to a person or another company.
What happens if you stop paying?
You can lose a real share of the price. Under Administrative Decision No. 165 of 2025, if a buyer defaults and the unit is canceled, the developer may keep a percentage of the contract value and refund the rest. A&O Shearman sets out the scale:
| Construction stage at cancellation | Developer may deduct |
|---|---|
| Not started, for reasons outside the developer's control | Nothing: full refund |
| Below 10% | 10% of the contract value |
| 10% to 30% | 15% |
| 30% to 60% | 25% |
| 60% to 100% | 40% |
ADREC can decide the percentage case by case once a buyer has paid 60% or more of the unit's value. On an AED 2 million contract, 25% is AED 500,000, so make sure a payment plan still works for you if your circumstances change.
Are Al Reem and Al Maryah Islands different?
Yes. Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) says it registers property interests on both islands under its own Real Property Regulations, based on English common law, through its AccessRP platform, and that disputes go to the ADGM Courts. So the fees and rules above may not be the ones that apply there. If you are looking at Al Reem Island or Al Maryah Island, ask ADGM for its current fees and off-plan rules.
Does buying get you a Golden Visa?
It can, and the details need confirming. The UAE government portal lists real estate investors with minimum capital of AED 2 million, for 5 years, while Modon's guide speaks of a 10-year visa on a registered deed of that value. Ask the authorities about the duration, and how an off-plan purchase counts, before you rely on it.
What should you do before signing?
- Confirm with ADREC, or ADGM on its two islands, that the exact plot allows foreign ownership and of what kind.
- Find the ownership type and who pays each fee in your contract.
- Check that the escrow account belongs to this project.
- Read what happens if you default, using the scale above.
- Get the interim registration certificate after you sign.
- Have a lawyer read anything you do not fully understand.
You can browse every Abu Dhabi project we list, look at communities such as Yas Island, Saadiyat and Masdar City, or ask the advisor to narrow them down. Buying in Dubai instead? Read how the same question works there.
