How to buy property in Abu Dhabi as a foreigner: zones, fees and the 2026 rules
Where foreigners can own in Abu Dhabi, the 2% registration fee, how ADREC and DARI work, and the 2025-26 off-plan rules on escrow and cancellation.
In this guide
Foreigners can buy and own property outright in Abu Dhabi, but only inside the emirate's designated investment zones. The purchase is registered with the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (ADREC) through its DARI platform, the registration fee is 2% of the price, and off-plan buyers are covered by an escrow and cancellation regime that was tightened by a 2025 amendment and four decisions announced in March 2026. This guide explains the zones, the process, the costs and those new rules. It is general information, not legal or tax advice.
Can foreigners buy property in Abu Dhabi?
Yes, within investment zones. Abu Dhabi Law No. 19 of 2005 reserves property ownership in general to UAE nationals, to public companies with no more than 49% foreign shareholding and to anyone named by a specific resolution. Law No. 13 of 2019 rewrote Article 3 so that non-UAE nationals, whether individuals or companies, may own and acquire all property rights in investment areas. Those areas are designated by decision of the Executive Council.
Before 2019 foreign buyers were limited to apartments and to long-term rights: usufruct of up to 99 years, musataha (a right to build on and use land) of 50 years renewable, or a long lease. Those structures still exist and some older official pages still describe the pre-2019 position, which is why you will read conflicting accounts online. For a new purchase in an investment zone today, expect full ownership and a title deed.
Which areas are investment zones?
The federal government portal lists nine:
- Yas Island
- Saadiyat Island
- Al Reem Island
- Al Maryah Island
- Lulu Island
- Al Raha Beach
- Sayh Al Sedairah
- Al Reef
- Masdar City
That list is not complete. Further zones have been designated since, and ADREC's own sales data for the first half of 2026 shows Al Hudayriyat Island as the largest single district by value. Because zone status is set plot by plot, do not rely on a district name. Ask the developer for the project's DARI registration and confirm that the unit can be registered in a foreign national's name. Our Abu Dhabi area pages show tenure for each community we cover.
Who regulates the market: ADREC, DARI and Madhmoun
| Name | What it is | What you use it for |
|---|---|---|
| DMT | Department of Municipalities and Transport | Issues the laws' implementing decisions |
| ADREC | Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre, set up under Executive Council Resolution 223 of 2023 | The regulator: licensing, project registration, escrow oversight, complaints |
| DARI | The government's digital property platform (dari.ae) | Checking a project's registration, escrow account number and completion rate; registering sales |
| Madhmoun | ADREC's verified listing service | Confirming a listing is real; each property is limited to three approved brokers |
| TAMM | Abu Dhabi's government services portal | Where most ADREC services are accessed |
Anyone carrying out development, brokerage, valuation or property management needs a licence. Since the 2025 amendment, unlicensed activity carries up to six months' imprisonment and a fine of AED 50,000 to AED 200,000. Advertising an off-plan project needs a permit, and brokers must show their licence number on adverts. Dubai's Trakheesi permit does not cover Abu Dhabi.
How to buy off-plan in Abu Dhabi, step by step
Off-plan accounted for 89% of residential sales value in the first half of 2026, so this is the route most overseas buyers take.
- Verify the project on DARI. A developer may not sell off-plan until the project is approved and registered, it holds rights over the land, an escrow account is open and the regulator has approved a disclosure statement (Law No. 3 of 2015, Article 15).
- Read the disclosure statement. It sets out the project, the plans and the budgets. If the developer does not provide the required disclosure you may seek to terminate, and under Decision 25 of 2025 the developer is liable for two years after transfer if it was materially inaccurate or incomplete.
- Reserve and sign the SPA. The sale and purchase agreement must be in Arabic or bilingual; where the two texts differ the Arabic prevails.
- Register on the interim register. Off-plan sales are recorded in the Initial (Interim) Real Estate Register. Ownership passes only by registration; an unregistered deal binds only the two parties.
- Pay instalments into the project escrow account. The account number is on DARI. Money collected outside escrow is a breach by the developer.
- Track construction. DARI shows the completion rate certified for the project.
- Inspect, take handover and receive the title deed. Moving the unit from the interim to the main register costs AED 1,000.
How to buy a ready property in Abu Dhabi
- Agree terms through a licensed broker and check the listing on Madhmoun.
- Obtain clearance from the community management that the seller owes no service charges; the registrar requires it for units in a complex.
- Buyer and seller, or their attorneys, sign before the registrar or at a trustee office with ID, the title deed and three copies of the contract.
- Pay the registration fee and receive the new title deed.
A power of attorney must be authenticated and legalised. For one signed in the UK that means a notary, an apostille from the UK Legalisation Office, then UAE attestation, as described in our Dubai buying guide.
What are the fees in Abu Dhabi?
Figures below are from the fee resolutions and decisions published by ADREC, checked 12 November 2026.
| Cost | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Off-plan sale registration | 2% of value, split equally between seller and buyer, capped at AED 2 million | Decision 247 of 2015 |
| Sale registration (ready) | Set within a 1% to 4% band; 2% is the rate applied. Split equally unless agreed otherwise | Resolution 49 of 2018; rate as stated by master developer Modon, September 2026 |
| Transfer from interim to main register | AED 1,000 | Decision 247 of 2015 |
| Mortgage registration | 0.1% of the loan, capped at AED 1 million | Resolution 49 of 2018 |
| Broker commission on a sale | Capped at 2% and at AED 500,000 | Resolution 183 of 2017 |
| Developer administration fees | Capped at AED 5,000; developers may not charge registration fees themselves | Resolution 183 of 2017 |
The published tables split the 2% equally between the parties unless the contract says otherwise. In practice most developer contracts pass the whole 2% to the buyer, so read the clause and budget for 2%.
Worked example. A two-bedroom apartment on Yas Island at AED 2.5 million, bought off-plan with the buyer bearing the full fee: registration AED 50,000, later transfer to the main register AED 1,000. Total AED 51,000, about 2%. The same price in Dubai would carry a 4% fee of AED 100,000. If you take a AED 1.25 million mortgage at handover, registering it costs AED 1,250, against AED 3,125 at Dubai's 0.25%. Compare the three emirates in Dubai vs Abu Dhabi vs Ras Al Khaimah.
How are off-plan buyers protected in Abu Dhabi?
The base law is Law No. 3 of 2015, amended by Law No. 2 of 2025. On 27 March 2026 the DMT announced four implementing decisions: 24, 25, 26 and 165 of 2025.
Escrow
- Buyers' payments must go into a dedicated project account run by an approved trustee.
- Escrow money cannot be used to pay for the land or for brokers' commissions.
- Nothing can be withdrawn until 20% of construction is complete. Decision 24 of 2025 allows earlier access only if the developer has been registered in Abu Dhabi for four years, has delivered at least three projects on time, has a clean 12-month record and lodges an unconditional bank guarantee worth at least 20% of construction cost.
- At least 5% of project value is held back for a year after completion.
If the developer is late or changes the unit
- Either side may rescind for a substantial breach after notice. Examples in Article 17 include a developer that does not link payments to construction stages or substantially changes the agreed specification.
- If construction has not started within six months, buyers holding 5% of the units can complain and the regulator may cancel the project and order refunds. A delay penalty applies once delivery is more than six months late (Article 25).
- If the finished unit is more than 5% larger or smaller than sold, the price is adjusted; beyond 10% you may rescind (Article 31).
- The developer is liable for structural defects for 10 years and for defective installations for one year from the completion certificate (Article 73).
If you stop paying: Decision 165 of 2025
The developer must serve a 60-day notice by notary or registered mail and notify the regulator, which may invite both sides to settle. After that it can cancel without a court order and resell. What it may keep is fixed by a table, as a percentage of the contract value:
| Construction progress | Developer may deduct |
|---|---|
| Not started, for reasons outside the developer's control | Nothing: full refund |
| Started, under 10% | 10% |
| Over 10% and up to 30% | 15% |
| Over 30% and up to 60% | 25% |
| Over 60% | 40% |
Where the buyer has paid 60% or more of the price, ADREC may set the figure itself. The escrow trustee must pay the buyer's balance within 15 working days of the buyer's request, and any money the developer took outside escrow must be returned in full within 30 days.
On a AED 2.5 million unit cancelled at 25% construction, the deduction is 15%, or AED 375,000. A buyer who had paid 30% (AED 750,000) would get AED 375,000 back. The equivalent Dubai rule allows up to 25% at that stage. For the wider picture see buying off-plan in the UAE.
Paying from abroad and inheritance
Instalments can be sent by international transfer to the project escrow account; you do not need to be resident. The dirham is pegged to the US dollar, so sterling and euro buyers carry exchange risk across the payment plan. ADREC publishes a know-your-customer circular, so expect identity and source-of-funds checks.
UAE co-ownership has no automatic right of survivorship. If you are not Muslim, register a will: a DIFC Courts Property Will covers up to five UAE properties for AED 7,500 (AED 10,000 for mirror wills), as of November 2026. See can foreigners buy property in the UAE.
What is the Abu Dhabi market doing in 2026?
It has grown while Dubai's has contracted. ADREC reported AED 171.26 billion of property transactions in the first nine months of 2026, up more than 76% on the year, with sales of nearly AED 120 billion across 23,749 deals. Residential sales in the first half reached AED 70.4 billion, against AED 25.3 billion a year earlier.
Two cautions sit inside those numbers. First, the market is concentrated: Al Hudayriyat Island alone took AED 19 billion in the half, four districts took about 71% of value, and ten developers accounted for 90% of primary off-plan sales. Second, when 89% of sales value is off-plan, most of what is being bought has not been built, let or resold yet. The depth of the resale market for these homes is untested.
Pitfalls to avoid
- Assuming the whole island is a zone. Confirm the plot, not the postcode.
- Relying on a Dubai broker or permit. Abu Dhabi licenses its own brokers and has its own advertising permits.
- Paying outside escrow. The 2025 rules treat it as the developer's breach, but recovering the money is your problem.
- Not reading who pays the 2%. The default split is equal; your SPA may say otherwise.
- Planning a quick exit. With few completed resales in the newest districts, price discovery is thin.
Browse Abu Dhabi developments or contact us if you want a project's DARI registration checked.
