Title deed
A title deed is the land registry's certificate of ownership for a completed property, issued by the Dubai Land Department or, in Abu Dhabi, through ADREC.
What Title deed means for a buyer
The title deed is the official record that you own a completed property. In Dubai it is issued by the Dubai Land Department, now as an electronic document; in Abu Dhabi it is issued through the DARI platform under ADREC. It states the owner or owners and their shares, the plot and unit numbers, the registered area and whether the title is freehold or another form of tenure. A mortgage is noted on it.
On a resale the buyer receives a new deed on the day of transfer at the trustee office. With off-plan there is no title deed during construction: your interest is recorded in Oqood, and the deed follows once the building has its completion certificate, the developer has registered the project and you have paid in full. On a post-handover payment plan that can mean waiting until the last instalment. The DLD's issuance fee is AED 250, plus small map and administrative charges.
Two things are often misunderstood. The value shown on a deed is the price registered when you bought, not today's market value, which matters for a Golden Visa application. And a scanned deed sent by a seller or agent proves little on its own: verify it against the register using Dubai REST or DARI before paying a deposit.
Related terms
Guides that use this term
Where Title deed 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
