Ownership guide
Freehold areas in Dubai
Who owns the property decides who can commission the work. Dubai's freehold map is written in cadastral plots rather than community names, and three things people assume about it turn out to be wrong.
Ownership
Dubai freehold areas: where may non-nationals own?
Dubai freehold areas are set by Regulation No. (3) of 2006 Determining Areas for Ownership by Non-UAE Nationals of Real Property, issued on 7 June 2006 under Law No. (7) of 2006. Its Article (3) designates 23 areas, and it does so by cadastral plot number rather than by the names on community signs. That matters to a renovation because the owner signs the contract and the developer NOC, and anyone renting needs the owner's written consent before work starts.
Is my community a freehold area?
Only a plot check with the Dubai Land Department answers that reliably. The regulation lists areas such as Palm Jumairah (plot 001), Dubai Marina, Emirates Hills 1, 2 and 3, Jebel Ali, Mirdif plots 143 and 144, and Nad al-Sheba plots 209, 215 and 222, but the maps that fix those plots are not published with the online text. The honest wording for any community is: designated under Regulation No. 3 of 2006 and its amendments, and the specific plot confirmed with DLD through the Dubai REST app.
Which areas does Article 3 designate?
| Area as written | Plot numbers |
|---|---|
| Umm Hurair 2 | 013 |
| Al Barsha South 2 | 002 |
| Al Barsha South 3 | 002 |
| Emirates Hills 1 | 004, 814 |
| Emirates Hills 2 | 001, 049 |
| Emirates Hills 3 | 001 |
| Jebel Ali | 051, 074, 081, 082, 083, 084, 142, 143, 391 |
| Al Jaddaf | 003, 007, 008 |
| The World Islands | 001 |
| Ras al Khor | 165 |
| Al Rowyah | 063, 065 |
| Sheikh Zayed Road | 118, 147 |
| Sofouh 1 | 069 |
| Sofouh 2 | 005 |
| Al-Qouz 3 | 005, 006 |
| Al-Qouz Industrial Area 2 | 010, 030 |
| Al-Qouz Industrial Area 3 | 028 |
| Mirdif | 143, 144 |
| Dubai Marina | 007, 014, 015, 033 |
| Palm Jebel Ali | 001 |
| Palm Jumairah | 001 |
| Nad al-Sheba | 209, 215, 222 |
| Warsan 1 | 002 |
Article (4) adds one exception worth knowing: plot 224 of Nad al-Sheba is usufruct or leasehold for up to 99 years only, never freehold. The spelling "Palm Jumairah" is the regulation's own.
Three places the map is misread
- Mirdif is only partly freehold. Plots 143 and 144 are named, and nothing else in Mirdif is. The text alone cannot place Mirdif Hills (Dubai Investments) or Uptown Mirdif (Union Properties) on either plot.
- The Al Barsha entries are Al Barsha South 2 and 3. That is Arjan and Dubai Science Park land, not the Al Barsha 1, 2 and 3 villa district, which the regulation does not designate at all.
- Emirates Hills 1, 2 and 3 are DLD sectors, not the villa community. Without the annexed maps nobody can say from the regulation alone that The Springs, The Meadows or The Lakes are freehold.
None of this makes those homes unsellable or unrenovatable. It means the title on your deed, not the community brochure, tells a contractor and a developer who is entitled to sign.
Dubai freehold areas added since 2006
Six published amending resolutions add individual plots: No. (14) of 2015, No. (8) of 2016, No. (18) of 2019, No. (7) of 2021, No. (25) of 2021, which grants usufruct rather than freehold, and No. (6) of 2022. None names a residential community on our list. The larger change came on 19 January 2025, when the Dubai Land Department opened 128 plots on Sheikh Zayed Road, from the Trade Centre Roundabout to the Water Canal, and 329 plots in Al Jaddaf to conversion to freehold for all nationalities. The conversion fee is 30 percent of the property's valuation, based on gross floor area, and eligibility is checked through the Dubai REST app. Mirdif, Al Barsha, Jumeirah and Umm Suqeim were not part of it.
Ask about your title and the job
Which districts are not freehold?
Jumeirah 1, 2 and 3 and Umm Suqeim do not appear anywhere in the schedule of Regulation No. 3 of 2006, and the January 2025 conversion did not reach them. Both are mature villa districts dominated by stock more than 20 years old, the age at which Law No. (3) of 2026 now asks owners to obtain a Quality and Safety Certificate, so the owner's identity matters twice there: for signing the renovation and for the certificate. Rental estates are a separate case. Dubai Residential lets Ghoroob in Mirdif and The Gardens as rental-only stock, where the landlord is the only person who can agree to a renovation.
What does ownership change for a renovation?
Who signs, who applies and who must consent. An owner commissions the work and, in a master community, applies for the developer's NOC. A tenant needs the owner's approval, which Dubai Municipality's décor circular makes a condition of the no-permit route and which the Dubai Development Authority asks for as a building-owner NOC; our rented property guide covers that route. Permit-grade work in a leased property goes through Dubai Municipality's service 4156, NOC to Make Modifications or Additions to Leased Properties. For which authority permits the work itself, see our Dubai permits guide. In Abu Dhabi the question is sharper still, because a usufruct holder has no right to alter the property at all, as our investment zones guide explains. Once the title is clear, our service for renovating a home puts one brief to licensed contractors.
Questions
Dubai freehold, answered
- Is Mirdif freehold?
- Partly. Regulation No. 3 of 2006 names Mirdif plots 143 and 144 and nothing else in the district. Because the maps that define those plots are not published with the regulation, a plot number cannot be matched to a named neighbourhood from the text alone; confirm yours with the Dubai Land Department.
- Is Al Barsha freehold?
- Not the villa district. The regulation designates plot 002 in Al Barsha South 2 and plot 002 in Al Barsha South 3, which is Arjan and Dubai Science Park land. Al Barsha 1, 2 and 3 are not designated.
- Is The Springs freehold?
- The regulation does not say in those words. It names Emirates Hills 1, 2 and 3, which are Dubai Land Department cadastral sectors rather than the marketing community, and the maps that would show whether The Springs falls inside them are not published. Check the specific plot with DLD.
- Can I convert my Sheikh Zayed Road or Al Jaddaf property to freehold?
- If it is one of the 128 plots on Sheikh Zayed Road or 329 plots in Al Jaddaf that DLD opened to conversion on 19 January 2025, yes, for all nationalities, at a fee of 30 percent of the property's valuation based on gross floor area. Eligibility is checked through the Dubai REST app.
- What is usufruct, and can I renovate under it?
- Usufruct is a right to use a property rather than to own it outright. In Dubai, Article (4) of the 2006 regulation limits Nad al-Sheba plot 224 to usufruct or leasehold of up to 99 years. In Abu Dhabi, Law No. 19 of 2005 gives a usufruct holder use of the property without the right to change it, so read the terms of your right before planning structural work.
- Does freehold status change which permit I need?
- No. The permit depends on the land's authority and the kind of work: Dubai Municipality, Trakhees, the DDA or another regime. Freehold status decides who may commission the work and who must consent to it, not which authority approves it.
Who you are dealing with
- OperatorWebsiteOS LLC
- Licence2646567.01
- Cost to homeownerNone
- Figures datedSeptember 2026
Tell us about the renovation
The community, whether you own or rent, and what you want changed. We come back with contractors who quote against the published bands.