Abu Dhabi Real Estate Law

Abu Dhabi real estate sector law of 10 June 2015, effective six months after Gazette publication: developers must be entered in the Real Estate Development Register, off-plan sales need a project escrow account and Department approval, and off-plan transfers are recorded in official registers; the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre lists it as amended by Law No. 2 of 2025.

Summary

Law No. (3) of 2015 is Abu Dhabi's real estate sector law. In 90 articles it licenses everyone who works in the sector, makes developers register before they sell, puts off-plan buyers' money into project escrow accounts, creates an Initial Real Estate Register for off-plan dispositions, codifies real estate mortgages and foreclosure, and sets up owners' associations for jointly owned buildings. The Ruler of Abu Dhabi issued it on 10 June 2015 and, under Article 90, it became effective six months after publication in the Official Gazette. The text read here is the 2015 original in the Department of Urban Planning and Municipalities compilation hosted by the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre; the index records a later amendment by Law No. 2 of 2025, which should be checked for current detail.

Article 5 bars anyone from acting as developer, broker, broker's employee, auctioneer, owners' association director, valuer or surveyor without a Department licence, renewable annually, and denies an unlicensed person any fee or commission. Article 7 requires brokers to sign the Department's form of brokerage contract and register it within 15 days.

Articles 12 to 17 govern development. A developer must be registered in the Real Estate Development Register (Article 12); off-plan advertising needs written permission issued within 30 days (Article 14); and Article 15 allows an off-plan sale only once the project is approved, the plans are deposited, the developer holds or controls the land, an escrow account is open and the Department has approved the unit disclosure statement, with the buyer paying by construction progress unless otherwise agreed. Article 17 lists the material breaches that let either side rescind after notice.

Articles 18 to 26 are the escrow regime: one account per project with an accredited account trustee, no drawdown until 20% of construction is complete (Article 19), no attachment of the funds (Article 20), quarterly and audited annual trustee reporting (Article 21), project financing paid into the account (Article 23), a performance bond of at least 5% of project value held for a year after completion (Article 24), cancellation and delay penalties where buyers of 5% of sold units complain or delivery is more than six months late (Article 25), and an order of distribution if the project fails (Article 26). Articles 27 to 31 make off-plan dispositions binding only when entered in the Initial Real Estate Register, require transfer to the main Register on completion, and adjust the price for area variances above 5% with a right to rescind above 10%.

Articles 32 to 57 regulate mortgages, which may be taken only by Central Bank-licensed lenders, and foreclosure. Articles 58 to 76 cover development plans and owners' associations, which Article 64 makes non-profit legal persons. Articles 77 and 78 set the penalties, Articles 79 to 81 licence cancellation and developer de-registration, and Article 84 gave licensees 90 days and developers 12 months to regularise.

Who it applies to

Developers, brokers and their employees, auctioneers, valuers, surveyors and owners' association directors working in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi; buyers, financiers and mortgagees of off-plan and completed units, including ADGM and free zone companies holding Abu Dhabi property; account trustees managing project escrow accounts; owners' associations; and the Department as regulator.

Contents

English official text in 90 articles. Open the full text or jump to a provision:

1. Article 1
2. Article 2
3. Article 3
4. Article 4
5. Article 5 — License
6. Article 6 — The Code of Conduct
7. Article 7 — Rights and Obligations of the Broker
8. Article 8 — Functions of the Valuer
9. Article 9 — Obligations of the Valuer
10. Article 10 — Functions of the Surveyor
11. Article 11 — Obligations of the Surveyor
12. Article 12 — Obligation of Registering the Developer
13. Article 13 — Registration of Real Estate Projects
14. Article 14 — Marketing Real Estate Development Projects Sold Off-Plan
15. Article 15 — Off-Plan Sale
16. Article 16 — Inadmissibility of Imposition of Registration Fees
17. Article 17 — Breach of Execution of the Off- Plan Sale Contract
18. Article 18 — Opening the Project Escrow Account
19. Article 19 — Disposition of the Funds Deposited in the Project Escrow Account
20. Article 20 — Attachment of the Funds Deposited in the Project Escrow Account
21. Article 21 — Obligations of the Account Trustee
22. Article 22 — Access to Data
23. Article 23 — Mortgage of the Real Estate Related to the Real Estate Development Project
24. Article 24 — Amount of the Performance Bond
25. Article 25
26. Article 26 — Failure to Complete the Project
27. Article 27 — Obligation of Registering the Dispositions
28. Article 28 — Registration Responsibility
29. Article 29 — Disposition of the Registered Real Estate units
30. Article 30 — Moving the Registration to the Real Estate Register
31. Article 31 — Area of the Real Estate Unit
32. Article 32 — Mortgagee
33. Article 33 — Mortgagor and Mortgage
34. Article 34 — Comprehensiveness of the Mortgage
35. Article 35 — Registration of Mortgage
36. Article 36 — Consideration for Mortgage
37. Article 37 — Enforcement of the Mortgage
38. Article 38 — Restrictions on Dispositions
39. Article 39 — Ownership Clause
40. Article 40 — Rights of the Mortgagor
41. Article 41 — Loss of the Mortgaged Property
42. Article 42 — Claiming the Debt
43. Article 43 — Assignment of Rights and Ranks
44. Article 44 — Secured Mortgage Sum
45. Article 45 — Rank of the Mortgage
46. Article 46 — The Right to Trace Mortgaged Property
47. Article 47 — Insurance of the Mortgaged Property
48. Article 48 — Termination of Mortgage
49. Article 49 — Musataha and Usufruct Rights
50. Article 50 — Long-Term Lease
51. Article 51 — Termination of Special Mortgages
52. Article 52 — Mortgage of Contractual Rights
53. Article 53 — Notifications of Violation
54. Article 54 — Violation of the Mortgagor
55. Article 55 — Postponing the Sale in Public Auction
56. Article 56 — Early Settlement and Repayment
57. Article 57 — Binding Force of Mortgage
58. Article 58 — Development Plans
59. Article 59 — Division Plans
60. Article 60 — Division pursuant to the Compound and Floor Plans
61. Article 61 — Division pursuant to the Volumetric Plan
62. Article 62 — Dividing the Rights related to the Land and Real Estate
63. Article 63 — Property Rights Related to the Real Estate Unit
64. Article 64 — Formation of the Owners' Association
65. Article 65 — Common Parts
66. Article 66 — Rights and Obligations related to Common Parts
67. Article 67 — Contribution Percentage
68. Article 68 — Service Fees
69. Article 69 — Compound Fees
70. Article 70 — Insurance
71. Article 71 — Right of Support and Public Services
72. Article 72 — Modifications and Changes by the Owner
73. Article 73 — Developers' Liability for Defects
74. Article 74 — Pre-emption
75. Article 75 — Termination of the Floor Plan or Compound Plan
76. Article 76 — Liquidation of the Owners' Association
77. Article 77 — Practicing an Activity without a License
78. Article 78 — Violations of Practicing the Activity of Real Estate Development
79. Article 79 — Cancellation and Suspension
80. Article 80 — Deletion of Developer's Registration
81. Article 81 — Renewal of Registration
82. Article 82 — The Procedures of Violations
83. Article 83 — Capacity of Judicial Police Officer
84. Article 84 — Adjusting the Status
85. Article 85 — Plan Registration
86. Article 86 — Fees
87. Article 87 — Issuance of Executive Regulations
88. Article 88 — Issuance of Regulations and Resolutions
89. Article 89 — Contrary Provisions
90. Article 90 — Applicability of the Provisions of the Law

Key provisions

Obligations and deadlines

• Hold a Department licence before acting as developer, broker, auctioneer, valuer, surveyor or owners' association director, and renew it annually (Article 5).
• Register the development project and obtain written marketing permission before any off-plan advertising (Articles 13 and 14).
• Open a project escrow account and meet the Article 15 conditions before selling any unit off-plan.
• Pay all buyer and financing money into the escrow account; draw nothing before 20% completion (Articles 18, 19 and 23).
• Register every off-plan disposition in the Initial Real Estate Register, the assignor bearing responsibility (Articles 27 and 28).
• Transfer completed units to buyers who have paid in full on the main Real Estate Register after the completion certificate (Article 30).
• Account trustees must report quarterly and file an audited annual report with the Department (Article 21).

Penalties

Article 77 punishes unlicensed practice as broker, broker's employee, auctioneer, owners' association director, valuer or surveyor with up to six months' imprisonment and/or a fine of AED 50,000 to AED 200,000. Article 78 imposes AED 100,000 to AED 2,000,000 for unregistered development, false licensing documents, selling units in fictitious projects, withholding escrow deposits, misusing project money, false audit reports, endorsing incorrect documents or using an unregistered broker. Article 79 allows licence suspension or cancellation after 21 days' notice, Article 80 de-registration of a developer, with no re-application for 12 months (Article 81), and Article 25 a delay penalty payable to buyers. Article 82 has the Department refer violations to the Public Prosecution.

History and citations

“Cites” and “Cited by” are built automatically from references in the full texts held in this library; they cover only instruments in the library.

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