ADREC
ADREC is the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre, the government body that regulates the emirate's property market and oversees registration of sales.
What ADREC means for a buyer
The Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (ADREC) was established in November 2023 by the Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT) to bring regulation, registration and promotion of Abu Dhabi's property sector under one body. For a buyer it plays the part that the Dubai Land Department and RERA play together in Dubai.
Its responsibilities include:
- licensing developers, brokers and other property professionals
- registering off-plan projects and supervising their escrow accounts
- registering sales, mortgages and title deeds through the DARI platform
- issuing Madhmoun permits for property listings
- overseeing service charges and the management of jointly owned buildings
A buyer deals with ADREC mostly through DARI, where you can confirm that a project is registered, see its developer and escrow details and reported completion, check a broker's licence and verify an ownership certificate. The registration fee on a purchase in Abu Dhabi is 2% of the price.
Two boundaries are worth knowing. Foreigners can buy only inside an investment zone, so ADREC registration of a project does not by itself mean a foreign buyer is eligible; check the location. And the Abu Dhabi Global Market on Al Maryah and Al Reem islands is a separate jurisdiction with its own rules, to which some ADREC procedures do not extend.
ADREC's remit covers the whole emirate, including Al Ain and Al Dhafra. See buying property in Abu Dhabi.
Related terms
Guides that use this term
Where ADREC comes up in practice, with the costs, rules and steps around it.
Questions about the buying process?
An adviser can explain how this applies to the property you're considering.
- Current price list and availability, direct from the developer
- No fee to you on off-plan purchases: the developer pays us
- One salaried adviser, not on commission, from first call to handover
