Buying Dubai Property Through a Company in 2026: The Share Transfer and 4% Question Nobody Can Answer With a Document, the Corporate Tax Inversion That Costs Owners Money, and Which Vehicles the Land Department Actually Registers

You can buy Dubai freehold through a company. Two of the three reasons you were probably given for doing it do not survive contact with the primary material. Selling the company's shares is not a confirmed way around the 4% Dubai Land Department transfer fee, and moving a rental property into a company can create a UAE corporate tax charge you did not have as an individual.

The 4% itself is not in doubt. DLD's own sale registration page sets it out as 2% from the seller and 2% from the buyer of the sale value, plus a short list of fixed charges [1]. What is in doubt, and what almost every article states flatly in one direction or the other, is whether transferring the shares of a company whose only asset is a Dubai property triggers that same fee. We could not confirm the answer on any DLD-owned page, and no circular could be cited by number. What follows is what law firms consistently report, what the underlying law says, and how to price a deal when the answer is not certain.

Where a figure is confirmed on a government page below, we cite it. Where it is provider-advertised or reported second hand, we say so and show the spread. This is a guide, not legal or tax advice, and on the share transfer question you should get written confirmation from DLD for your specific transaction before relying on anything.

Can a company own freehold property in Dubai?

Yes, subject to two separate restrictions that people collapse into one. The area must be a designated freehold area, and the company itself must be a type DLD will register as an owner. Natural persons of any nationality clear the second test automatically. Companies do not.

The legal frame is Law No. 7 of 2006 on real property registration in Dubai, which governs the register and the transactions that must pass through it, together with Regulation No. 3 of 2006 identifying the areas where non-UAE and non-GCC nationals may hold freehold and long leasehold interests. DLD publishes its legislation index on its own rules and regulations page [3]. One practical note: the federal legislation portal returns a 403 to automated requests, so the text is readable in a browser but not machine-fetchable. Anyone quoting it has either opened it or copied someone else's summary.

DLD's sale registration service confirms that a company can be the buyer. Its own requirements state that the company must be registered with DLD by submitting a company registration request before it can appear on a title deed [1]. What that page does not do is tell you which company types are eligible, and that gap is the source of most of the confusion in this topic.

Read the second column carefully. The words "reported as" are doing real work, and the next sections explain why they cannot be upgraded.

Does selling the company's shares avoid the 4% DLD transfer fee?

Nobody can tell you yes with a document. The 4% on a property transfer is confirmed on DLD's own page. Whether a share transfer in a single-asset property company triggers the same fee is reported consistently by law firms, reasoning from Law No. 7 of 2006, but could not be confirmed on any DLD page or by circular number.

Start with what is solid. Here is the fee schedule as DLD sets it out for a sale registration [1].

Two observations on that table. The published split is 2% and 2%, but the market convention in Dubai is that the buyer contractually absorbs the whole 4%. That is an allocation between the parties, not a change to the schedule, and it is negotiable in a soft market. The fixed charges are trivially small next to the percentage, which is why every structuring conversation is really about the 4%.

On a AED 8,000,000 apartment the 4% is AED 320,000. That is the number driving the entire share transfer industry, and it is why an advisor offering to make it disappear gets a meeting.

Now the part we cannot resolve. Here is exactly what we could and could not establish.

Real Talk: The internet answers this question with total confidence in both directions, and neither camp has a document. What law firms report, repeatedly and independently, is that where a company's only or principal asset is DLD-registered real estate, DLD treats a change in the shareholding as a change in the beneficial ownership of the property itself, requires notification and an NOC, and applies the transfer fee. One advisory source we reviewed was notably more careful, going no further than saying a share sale "should not be marketed as a guaranteed way to avoid transfer costs". That is the most defensible sentence written on this topic anywhere, and it is the position we take.

What does Law No. 7 of 2006 have to do with a share sale?

Everything, because it is the only text the argument rests on. The law requires that transactions creating, transferring, changing or cancelling rights over real property in Dubai be completed through the Land Department. The reported practice reads a share transfer in a single-asset company as changing a right over the property in substance, even though the title deed never moves.

That is reasoning, not a quoted rule. The law does not contain a sentence about shares. What it contains is a wide formulation about rights over real property, and a registry that exists to be the single record of them. If the effect of moving 100% of the shares in a company is that a different person controls the property, the reported DLD position is that the substance is a transfer and the register should reflect it. Whether a partial transfer, say 30% of the shares, is treated the same way is a further question that we could not resolve at all, and the answer may well be transaction-specific.

There is a second, quieter reason the share sale is oversold. Even where it works commercially, you are buying a company, not a property, and companies carry history.

Common Mistake: Pricing a deal on the assumption the 4% will not apply, then finding at the NOC stage that it does. On a AED 8,000,000 asset that is a AED 320,000 hole appearing after heads of terms are signed. If you want to attempt a share sale, do two things first: put the specific transaction to DLD in writing and get the answer back in writing, and price the deal so it still works if the fee applies. A structure that only works if a regulator does something you cannot evidence is not a structure, it is a bet.

Which corporate vehicles does DLD actually register as an owner?

This section hedges on purpose. DLD's sale registration page confirms companies can buy but publishes no eligibility list, and the underlying circular market practice refers to could not be retrieved. What follows is the reported position, corroborated across law firm and advisory sources, not a list we can point at on a government page.

Common Mistake: Reading "free zone company" and "JAFZA Offshore" as the same thing. The conflation is close to universal online. JAFZA Offshore is a specific non-operating offshore vehicle with a long reported history of direct DLD registration. An operating free zone company in DMCC, IFZA, Meydan, SHAMS or any of the others is a licensed trading entity in a different category, and it is not automatically a DLD-approved property owner because it sits in a free zone. If a consultant says "any free zone company can buy freehold", ask which DLD list their zone appears on.

If you are still choosing between structures generally, our free zone vs mainland vs offshore comparison sets out how the three categories differ on ownership, market access and running cost. Our mainland company setup page covers what a mainland LLC actually involves once you strip away the property question.

Can a RAK ICC company own Dubai freehold?

The sources genuinely contradict each other and we are not going to pretend otherwise. A 2019 memorandum points one way, a 2024 decree and the legal commentary around it point another, and neither could be resolved against DLD or RAK ICC primary text. Confirm this one with DLD directly before you incorporate anything.

Here is the conflict laid out.

You cannot reconcile those without primary text, and we could not obtain it. What is safe to say is narrower: the 2019 MoU exists and is published by RAK ICC itself [8], and something material changed in 2024 that the secondary literature has not settled. The one claim that is definitely misleading is "RAK ICC has had the same freehold access as JAFZA since 2019, and nothing has changed since".

Pro Tip: Ask DLD in writing, in the form you actually need answered, before you spend money. Not "can RAK ICC companies own property in Dubai", which invites a general answer, but "will DLD register a title deed in the name of this named RAK ICC company holding a RAKEZ commercial licence, for a property in this named area". Specific questions get answers you can rely on. General questions get brochures.

Does holding property in a company lower your UAE corporate tax?

Usually the opposite, and this is the finding that costs owners the most money. An individual's unlicensed rental income sits outside UAE corporate tax entirely, regardless of amount. Wrap the same property in a company and the rent can be pulled into charge at 9%. The structure sold as a tax play can create the tax.

Take the two instruments in order, because both are primary text and both are quotable.

Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025, Article 2, Clause 2(e) makes "ownership or exploitation of immovable property" an Excluded Activity, "other than Commercial Property located in a Free Zone where the transaction in respect of such Commercial Property is conducted with a Free Zone Person" [4]. Read what that carve-back covers. Commercial property, inside a free zone, let to a Free Zone Person. Nothing else. A free zone company holding a Dubai apartment, a villa, or commercial space let to a mainland tenant is earning excluded income and does not qualify as a Qualifying Free Zone Person on it. Our Qualifying Free Zone Person guide works through what that status requires and what one breach costs.

Cabinet Decision No. 49 of 2023 goes the other way for individuals. Article 1 defines "Real Estate Investment" as investment activity conducted by a natural person in the sale, leasing, sub-leasing or renting of land or real estate property "that is not conducted, or does not require to be conducted through a Licence from a Licensing Authority". Article 2(2)(c) then excludes that income from being a Business or Business Activity subject to corporate tax [5]. What matters is the words that are missing. The AED 1,000,000 threshold at Article 2(1) applies to a natural person's other business activities. Real Estate Investment income is not under a threshold, it is outside the scope of the tax regardless of amount. The FTA guide CTGREI1 confirms the same licence-based test with worked examples [6].

Put the two together and the inversion is obvious.

Quick Math: A Dubai apartment producing AED 900,000 a year in rent, with AED 150,000 of deductible costs, so AED 750,000 of profit. Held personally with no licence: AED 0 of corporate tax, because the income never enters the scope of the tax [5][6]. Held in a mainland LLC: 0% on the first AED 375,000 and 9% on the next AED 375,000, so AED 33,750 a year. Held in a free zone company that claims QFZP status for its other income: the property income is non-qualifying with no AED 375,000 band, so 9% on AED 750,000, or AED 67,500 a year. Over ten years the wrapper marketed as the tax-efficient one costs AED 675,000 more than doing nothing at all.

That is not an argument against ever using a company. It is an argument for knowing what the wrapper costs before deciding the succession or asset protection benefit is worth it. If someone is selling you a free zone company setup on a 0% headline rate for property income, they are quoting a rate Article 2(2)(e) has already taken away [4]. Corporate tax registration, the return, bookkeeping and, for some entities, an audit are real annual work, which our post-setup services team handles for owners who decided the structure was worth it.

Does buying through a company change the VAT position?

No, and this is one of the few clean answers in the topic. VAT on UAE property follows the property and the type of supply, not the legal form of the buyer. A company buying a residential apartment gets the same VAT treatment an individual does. Articles implying a corporate buyer changes the outcome are simply wrong.

The commercial side is where the money is. On a AED 5,000,000 commercial unit the 5% is AED 250,000 on top of the 4% DLD fee, and the FTA publishes a dedicated user guide on how a commercial buyer pays it [9]. A VAT-registered company may be able to recover that input tax where the property is used for taxable supplies, which is the one genuine corporate advantage in this topic. It does nothing for residential, because exempt supplies carry no input recovery.

Is succession the real reason people do this?

It is the reason that holds up. A Dubai property held personally is a UAE-situs asset, and on death, without an applicable registered will, UAE court process governs distribution and the property is generally blocked until succession is resolved. Held through a company, the property never changes hands. Only the shares do.

Be precise about why. The title deed stays in the company's name through the death of a shareholder. What moves is the shareholding, under the company's own constitutional documents and the succession rules of the jurisdiction it was incorporated in. For shares in a DIFC-registered entity, that can mean a will registered with the DIFC Wills Service Centre. The property is not frozen while a court decides who owns it, because from the register's point of view nothing has happened to the property.

Based on our experience: Succession is the only motivation on this list that consistently justifies the cost and the annual compliance. Asset protection, meaning ring-fencing the property from the individual's other liabilities, is real but narrower than it is sold as, and it only works if the company is genuinely maintained rather than treated as a name on a deed. Where clients arrive wanting the structure purely to avoid the 4% on a future sale, the conversation is short. Note also that if DLD treats a shareholding change as a change in beneficial ownership, the same question arises on an inherited transfer.

Does a company give you privacy?

Less than the marketing implies. Ultimate beneficial ownership disclosure is mandatory for UAE entities regardless of the wrapper, so the name behind the company is recorded even where it is not on the title deed. What a company changes is who can see the ownership casually, not whether it is known to the authorities.

The UBO regime requires companies to identify and report the natural persons who ultimately own or control them, and to keep registers of beneficial owners, partners and nominee directors current. Our UAE UBO requirements guide covers what has to be filed and by when. Adding a foreign holding company above the UAE vehicle does not defeat this. It adds a layer that has to be documented, and it slows bank onboarding.

A corporate owner also faces heavier KYC at every touchpoint: DLD registration, the developer, the bank, the property manager. If the reason for the structure is discretion from the general public, it works. If the reason is invisibility from a regulator, a tax authority or a bank, it does not.

What does a property-holding structure cost to set up and run?

Less than people fear on the government side and more than they expect on the annual side. Every figure below is indicative and provider-advertised. We could not confirm a live official fee schedule on jafza.ae, difc.ae or adgm.com, and the spread between sources on identical items is wide enough to be the story on its own.

That last row contradicts a common assumption. Buying through a company does not cost more at the Land Department. The extra cost sits entirely in the entity: incorporation, agent or service provider fees, renewals, accounting, corporate tax registration and filing, UBO maintenance and, in some cases, an audit.

Pro Tip: A JAFZA Offshore renewal quoted at AED 2,500 by one firm and AED 11,000 by another is not two prices for the same thing, it is two different scopes with the difference hidden. Ask what the government portion is, what the agent's own fee is, and what is excluded. Any provider who will not separate those three lines is pricing your ignorance.

Can you mortgage a Dubai property held by a company?

Treat this section as indicative. We found no primary bank source, and lending policy is set bank by bank and reviewed constantly. The pattern advisors report is consistent enough to plan around: UAE banks are selective and deal-by-deal on lending to offshore and SPV corporate owners, and some decline offshore lending entirely.

In practice, again as a reported pattern rather than a published rule: larger deposits than a comparable individual purchase, heavier KYC and UBO documentation running through to the natural persons behind the entity, longer approval timelines, and a real possibility the answer is simply no, at which point the purchase becomes a cash deal. We publish no rates, loan-to-value figures or bank names here, because none of that was sourceable from a bank's own material.

Real Talk: The financing question kills more corporate structures than the tax question does. If you need a mortgage, resolve the lending position before you incorporate anything, not after. Get an indicative position in writing from a lender that has actually seen the proposed entity type, because a bank that lends happily to a mainland LLC may decline the identical deal in an offshore vehicle. The order matters: finance first, then structure, then purchase.

Does company ownership affect a property-based residency visa?

Possibly, and this is an area where we could not confirm the treatment of corporate-held property on a government page. Property-linked residency routes are built around the property investor as a natural person, so wrapping the asset in a company is a question to put to DLD and GDRFA before you do it, not after.

What is documented is the valuation side. The property investor route turns on the DLD valuation of the asset, and our guide to the Golden Visa property rule change covers what moved and when, while our UAE property visa guide sets out how the route works for an individual owner. What we are deliberately not doing is telling you how a corporate wrapper interacts with either, because we could not verify it, and this is expensive to get wrong once a title deed has been issued in a company name.

If residency is a primary objective, that is a strong argument for personal ownership, or at minimum for confirming the position in writing first. The succession benefit of a company can often be achieved alongside personal ownership through a properly registered will, which does not disturb the visa position at all.

When does a company make sense, and when does it not?

Rarely for a single apartment, more often for a portfolio, and almost always where succession across generations is the driver rather than a fee saving on a future sale. The test is whether the benefit you actually want survives the corporate tax position and the annual cost.

That last row matters more than it looks. If the plan is to buy, refurbish and sell repeatedly, or to broker deals for others, you are running a property business rather than holding an asset, and that needs the right licence and RERA registration. Our guide to opening a real estate brokerage in Dubai covers what that path involves, and our mainland company setup page covers the licence itself. Those are different questions from the ones in this article.

Which claims about buying Dubai property through a company are wrong?

Five claims recur constantly, and every one of them is either false on the primary text or unproven on any source we could reach. Reading them together is the fastest way to test whether the person advising you has read anything primary, or is repeating the same paragraph everyone else is repeating.

Real Client Stories

These are real situations from clients we have worked with. Details have been changed for privacy.

The family who bought a tax charge they did not have (Dubai freehold, free zone company)

A Munich-based family owned two Downtown apartments personally, producing roughly AED 780,000 a year in combined rent. A consultant persuaded them to move both into a newly incorporated free zone company on the basis that free zone companies pay 0%. They paid the 4% on the transfer in, roughly AED 260,000 on a combined AED 6,500,000 valuation, plus incorporation and agent fees. Rental income they had been earning entirely outside the scope of corporate tax as natural persons became the income of a taxable person, and property income is excluded from qualifying activity in any event [4][5]. The father's summary: "We paid a quarter of a million dirhams for a tax bill."

The share sale that had to be repriced after heads of terms (Palm Jumeirah villa, offshore holding)

A Singapore-based seller and a UK buyer agreed a villa deal at AED 22,000,000, structured as a sale of 100% of the shares in the offshore company holding the title, both sides assuming the 4% did not apply. The buyer's Dubai counsel raised the NOC question during diligence. The deal stalled for six weeks while the parties sought a position from DLD, then completed with the fee provided for and the price adjusted to split it. Nobody was misled deliberately. Both sides had read the same confident blog posts. The buyer's comment afterwards: "Everyone in the room believed something none of us could produce a document for."

The succession structure that was worth its cost (two properties, DIFC entity)

A Nairobi-based family with two Dubai properties and four adult children across three countries came to us wanting the 4% saving. We told them the saving was unproven. What they did have was a real succession problem: heirs in different jurisdictions and no registered UAE will. They incorporated a DIFC entity, moved the properties in, paid the transfer fees openly, registered a will covering the shares, and accepted the corporate tax position on the rent as the price of the outcome. The structure cost them tax and saved them a succession process nobody wanted. As the eldest daughter put it: "We stopped shopping for a loophole and bought the thing we actually needed."

Get the structure decided before the deposit, not after

The order of operations is where most of the money is lost. People agree a price, pay a deposit, then ask how to hold the asset, by which point the tax, financing and residency positions are all constrained by a decision nobody consciously made. Decide the holding structure first, then price the purchase around it.

Since 2013, BusinessDubai has completed 700+ company registrations across the UAE, including holding structures for property owners and, regularly, advice to individual buyers that no company is needed at all. We will tell you which parts of your plan are documented on a government page, which are reported practice we cannot confirm, and which are marketing. On the share transfer question specifically, we will help you put the question to DLD in a form that produces an answer you can rely on, rather than a general reassurance. Talk to a setup expert→ before you commit to a structure, and bring the numbers rather than the brochure.

Where a company is the right answer, the work does not stop at incorporation. Corporate tax registration and filing, bookkeeping, UBO records, licence renewals and, for some entities, an audit are annual obligations, and our post-setup services team runs that cycle so a structure built for succession does not quietly fall out of good standing. If the right answer turns out to be an operating entity rather than a holding vehicle, our free zone company setup page sets out that route. Talk to a setup expert→ if you already hold a property in a company and want the position reviewed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a foreign-owned company buy freehold property in Dubai?

Yes, in designated freehold areas, provided the company is a type DLD will register as an owner. DLD's sale registration page confirms a company can be the buyer after submitting a company registration request, but does not publish which company types are eligible [1]. That eligibility question is where most purchases go wrong.

What is the DLD transfer fee on a Dubai property purchase?

4% of the sale value, made up of 2% from the seller and 2% from the buyer under DLD's published schedule, plus fixed charges: AED 250 title deed, AED 225 or AED 100 map fee, AED 250 villa or apartment map, AED 10 knowledge fee and AED 10 innovation fee [1]. Market convention usually puts the whole 4% on the buyer by contract.

Does selling the shares of a property-holding company avoid the 4%?

We cannot tell you it does. Law firms consistently report that where a company's only or principal asset is DLD-registered property, DLD treats a shareholding change as a change in beneficial ownership, requiring an NOC and the fee. No DLD page or circular confirming that could be located, and none contradicting it either. Do not price a deal on the saving.

Why can nobody give a definitive answer on the share transfer question?

Because the reasoning runs from Law No. 7 of 2006, which requires transactions creating, transferring, changing or cancelling rights over real property to be completed through DLD [3], rather than from a published rule about shares. The law does not mention shares. The reported practice reads substance over form, but there is no citable circular.

Is a share transfer of a property company ever cheaper than a normal sale?

Possibly, but the variables that decide it are not published. Even where the fee position is favourable, the buyer inherits the whole company including its tax history, contracts and claims, the diligence cost is higher, financing is harder and the buyer pool is smaller. Those discounts frequently exceed the fee you hoped to avoid.

Does buying through a company cost more at the Land Department?

No. We found no separate or higher corporate fee schedule. The same 2% plus 2% and the same fixed fees apply whether the buyer is an individual or a company [1]. The extra cost of a corporate purchase sits entirely in the entity: incorporation, agent fees, renewals, accounting and filings.

Which company types can DLD register as a property owner?

Reported as accepted: UAE mainland LLC, JAFZA Offshore, ADGM SPV restricted to Designated Areas, DIFC entities including foundations and funds, and operating free zone companies only where the zone is DLD-approved. All of that is reported practice. The underlying DLD circular could not be retrieved and no public list of approved free zones was locatable.

Can a DMCC or IFZA company buy Dubai freehold?

Not automatically, and this is the most common error in the online material. An operating free zone company is only accepted where its free zone is DLD-approved, and there is no public list to check. "Free zone company" and "JAFZA Offshore" are not the same category. Ask DLD about your specific zone before you buy.

What is JAFZA Offshore and why does it come up so often?

It is a non-operating offshore vehicle established in Jebel Ali Free Zone, and it is the most consistently reported DLD-accepted offshore entity for holding Dubai freehold, historically the only one DLD would register directly. That reported history is why almost every Dubai property structure built before the ADGM and DIFC arrangements used it.

Can a RAK ICC company hold Dubai freehold?

The sources contradict each other. RAK ICC published a July 2019 notice of an MoU with DLD and RAKEZ [8], while 2024 commentary around Emiri Decree No. 12 of 2024 states that direct RAK ICC ownership was not previously accepted and now requires a RAKEZ commercial licence layered on top. We could not resolve it. Confirm with DLD directly.

Can a BVI or Cayman company own Dubai property?

Not directly, on the consistently reported position. Foreign offshore entities are not registrable at DLD in their own name, so they are typically placed above a UAE vehicle that holds the title. That adds a layer with its own UBO, banking and cost consequences, and does not change the DLD position on the vehicle underneath.

Do I pay less corporate tax by holding my rental property in a company?

Almost certainly more. A natural person's rental income from an activity that does not require a licence is outside the scope of corporate tax entirely, regardless of amount, under Cabinet Decision No. 49 of 2023 [5][6]. A company holding the same property is a taxable person, so 9% can apply above AED 375,000.

Is rental income really outside corporate tax for individuals with no limit?

Yes, under the licence-based test. Article 2(2)(c) of Cabinet Decision No. 49 of 2023 excludes Real Estate Investment income from being a Business or Business Activity, and unlike the other categories at Article 2(1) it carries no AED 1,000,000 threshold [5]. The FTA guide CTGREI1 confirms the same test with examples [6].

Does a free zone company holding property get 0% corporate tax?

No. Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025 Article 2(2)(e) makes ownership or exploitation of immovable property an Excluded Activity, with one carve-back for commercial property in a free zone let to a Free Zone Person [4]. Residential property and property let to mainland tenants fall outside that carve-back entirely.

If my free zone company is a QFZP, what happens to the property income?

It is non-qualifying income, taxed at 9%, and a QFZP gets no AED 375,000 zero-rate band on it. That makes the free zone wrapper the most expensive of the common options for residential rental income, which is the reverse of how it is usually sold [4].

Does a company pay a different VAT rate on property?

No. VAT follows the property and the supply, not the buyer's legal form. Residential is generally exempt, the first supply within three years of completion is zero-rated, and commercial sale and lease are standard-rated at 5% [7][9]. Articles implying a corporate buyer changes the outcome are wrong.

Is there any VAT advantage to a corporate purchase?

On commercial property, sometimes. A VAT-registered company buying commercial premises used for taxable supplies may be able to recover the 5% input tax, and the FTA publishes a user guide on how commercial property buyers pay it [9]. There is no equivalent benefit on residential, because exempt supplies carry no input recovery.

What actually happens to a Dubai property when the owner dies?

Held personally, it is a UAE-situs asset, and without an applicable registered will UAE court process governs distribution, with the property generally blocked until succession is resolved. Held through a company, the title deed does not move at all. Only the shares pass, under the company's documents and its jurisdiction's rules.

Is a company the only way to solve the succession problem?

No. A properly registered will covering your UAE assets addresses the same risk without incorporating anything, and it does not disturb the tax position or a property-linked residency application. A company becomes worth the cost where there are multiple properties, multiple heirs across jurisdictions, or a wish to divide value without dividing a physical asset.

Does a company keep my ownership private?

Only from casual public view. UBO disclosure is mandatory for UAE entities regardless of the wrapper, so the natural persons behind the company are recorded and reportable. A corporate buyer also faces heavier KYC at DLD, the developer, the bank and the property manager, not lighter.

Can I get a mortgage if the property is held by a company?

Sometimes, and it is materially harder. The reported pattern is that UAE banks assess corporate and offshore borrowers deal by deal, ask for larger deposits and much heavier UBO documentation, and sometimes decline offshore lending entirely so the purchase becomes cash. We publish no rates, loan-to-value figures or bank names, because no primary bank source was confirmable.

Does buying through a company affect my Golden Visa or property visa?

We could not confirm the treatment of corporate-held property on a government page, so put the question to DLD and GDRFA before you buy. Property-linked residency routes are built around the individual investor. If residency is a primary objective, personal ownership is the safer default until you have the position in writing.

What does a JAFZA Offshore company cost each year?

Advertised figures put incorporation at roughly AED 10,000 to AED 30,000, a registered agent at roughly AED 5,000 to AED 8,000 a year and renewal at roughly AED 2,500 to AED 11,000 a year. All indicative, none confirmed on an official schedule. The fourfold spread on renewal tells you those quotes cover different scopes.

What does an ADGM SPV cost?

Commonly quoted at around USD 1,900 to incorporate, comprising USD 200 name reservation, USD 700 registration including USD 300 for data protection and a USD 1,000 commercial licence, then around USD 1,200 a year. All indicative. The item people miss is the mandatory Company Service Provider, advertised at roughly AED 5,000 to AED 10,000 a year.

What does a DIFC Foundation cost?

Commonly quoted as a USD 200 licence on incorporation, USD 200 on renewal and a USD 300 annual confirmation statement, with consultancy all-in setup advertised at AED 12,000 to AED 18,000. Treat all of it as indicative. We could not confirm a live official schedule on difc.ae, which is true of every free zone figure in this topic.

Is it worth putting a single apartment into a company?

Usually not. For one property held for rental income with no succession concern, personal ownership keeps the rent outside corporate tax altogether [5][6], keeps financing simple, keeps the residency position clean and costs nothing to maintain. The corporate case strengthens with portfolio size, cross-border heirs and genuine asset protection needs.

Can I move a property I already own personally into a company?

Yes, but treat it as a fresh transfer. The reported position is that it registers at DLD like any other transfer, so budget for the 4% on the current value plus the fixed fees [1][2], and model the corporate tax consequence on the rental income before you do it. Paying a transfer fee to create a tax liability is a real outcome we have seen.

What is the single most important thing to verify before structuring?

Get DLD's answer in writing for your specific entity, your specific property and your specific transaction. Not a general question about company ownership, which produces a general answer, but the named entity, the named area and the intended transaction. Every unresolved point in this article becomes answerable at that level of specificity.

References

[1] Dubai Land Department. Request for Sale Registration. Sets out the transfer fee as 2% from the seller and 2% from the buyer of the sale value, together with the fixed charges: AED 250 title deed issuance, map fee of AED 225 or AED 100, AED 250 villa or apartment map, AED 10 knowledge fee and AED 10 innovation fee. Also confirms that a company buyer must first be registered with DLD by submitting a company registration request, without specifying eligible company types. https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/eservices/request-for-sale-registration/

[2] Dubai Land Department. Request for Transfer of Ownership. The service through which ownership transfers are effected on the register. https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/eservices/request-for-transfer-of-ownership/

[3] Dubai Land Department. Rules and Regulations. DLD's own index of the legislation governing real property registration in Dubai, including Law No. 7 of 2006 on Real Property Registration in the Emirate of Dubai and Regulation No. 3 of 2006 on areas open to ownership by non-UAE and non-GCC nationals. Note that the federal legislation portal returns HTTP 403 to automated requests, so the full text is readable in a browser but not machine-fetchable. https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/about-dubai-land-department/rules-regulations/

[4] Ministry of Finance. Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025 Regarding Qualifying Activities and Excluded Activities. Article 2, Clause 2(e) makes "ownership or exploitation of immovable property" an Excluded Activity, "other than Commercial Property located in a Free Zone where the transaction in respect of such Commercial Property is conducted with a Free Zone Person". https://mof.gov.ae/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/EN-Ministerial-Decision-No.-229-of-2025-Regarding-Qualifying-Activities-and-Excluded-Activities.pdf

[5] Ministry of Finance. Cabinet Decision No. 49 of 2023. Article 1 defines Real Estate Investment as investment activity by a natural person in the sale, leasing, sub-leasing or renting of land or real estate property that is not conducted, or does not require to be conducted, through a Licence from a Licensing Authority. Article 2(2)(c) excludes that income from being a Business or Business Activity subject to Corporate Tax, with no equivalent to the AED 1,000,000 threshold that Article 2(1) applies to other Business Activities. https://mof.gov.ae/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Cabinet-Decision-No.-49-of-2023.pdf

[6] Federal Tax Authority. Corporate Tax Guide CTGREI1, Real Estate Investment for Natural Persons. Confirms the licence-based test in Cabinet Decision No. 49 of 2023 with worked examples. https://tax.gov.ae/Datafolder/Files/Pdf/2024/Real-Estate-Investment-for-natural-persons-22-10-2024.pdf

[7] Federal Tax Authority. VAT frequently asked questions. Confirms that residential property is generally exempt, that the first supply of a residential building within three years of completion is zero-rated, and that the sale and lease of commercial property are standard-rated at 5%. https://tax.gov.ae/en/faq.aspx

[8] RAK International Corporate Centre. DLD Strengthens Ties With RAK Government Entities, July 2019, hosted on rakicc.com. The published notice of the memorandum of understanding between the Dubai Land Department, RAK ICC and RAKEZ. Cited for the 2019 position only. The Dubai Land Department's own press release for this memorandum now returns a 404 and is therefore not cited. https://www.rakicc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/DLD-STRENGTHENS-TIES-WITH-RAK-GOVERNMENT-ENTITIES.pdf

[9] Federal Tax Authority. VAT Payment for Commercial Property Buyers, user guide. How a buyer of commercial property settles the 5% VAT on the purchase. https://tax.gov.ae/DataFolder/Files/Pdf/VAT%20Payment%20for%20Commercial%20Property%20Buyers%20User%20GuideEnglishv20%2006%2005%202021.pdf