What does freehold mean in the context of Dubai?
As it stands, freehold means ownership of the building you are buying in perpetuity. Dubai’s Government does, however, need to produce a law that defines the legal terminology specifically for Dubai, just as the Abu Dhabi Government has recently done for Abu Dhabi.At the moment, freehold (or leasehold, depending on what you are buying) exists in contract with the primary developer – the quasi-Dubai Government entities called Nakheel, Emaar and Dubai Holdings. The good news is that legal consultants say a new law is in the pipeline. It is almost certain that no law will allow foreigners to own land as freehold – this is likely to remain with the primary developers, and has happened in the few cases where title has been granted to foreigners. This is no cause for alarm though, as it also applied in Europe and the US, for example.
