Power of Attorney for Dubai Property
How to Authorise Someone to Buy, Sell or Register on Your Behalf
A Dubai property transfer is completed in person at a Real Estate Registration Trustee centre. If you cannot be there, someone has to attend for you — and the document that lets them do it is the part of the deal most likely to delay it. Here is what a property power of attorney must contain, the legalisation chain for one signed abroad, the digital route inside the UAE, and how to keep the authority you hand over narrow.
Why a Power of Attorney Sits at the Centre of a Remote Deal
A power of attorney is a document by which one person, the principal, authorises another, the attorney, to act on their behalf. In Dubai property it is not an exotic instrument. It is the ordinary mechanism by which overseas investors buy, by which owners who have left the UAE sell, and by which a spouse, a relative or an appointed representative signs a transfer that the owner cannot attend in person.
It matters because of how a Dubai transfer actually completes. The Dubai Land Department lists the service channel for property sale registration as a Real Estate Registration Trustee centre — a physical office where the parties attend, identity is verified and the transfer is registered. The Land Department’s own requirement is the Emirates ID of both seller and buyer for identity verification, or a valid passport for non-resident foreigners. Somebody has to be in that room. If it is not you, it has to be an attorney holding a document the Trustee will accept.
That last clause is where deals slip. A power of attorney that is valid and perfectly ordinary in London, Mumbai or Johannesburg is not automatically recognised in the UAE. It has to be executed and authenticated in a way the UAE recognises, and it has to be readable by the authority relying on it, which means Arabic, or a certified Arabic translation. Buyers routinely budget weeks for financing and days for the power of attorney, when in practice it is often the other way round.
The second thing to understand is scope. A power of attorney is not a formality to be signed as broadly as possible so that it covers every eventuality. It is a transfer of authority over an asset, and the sensible instinct is the opposite one: grant the narrowest authority that gets the transaction done. Our guide to buying a Dubai property remotely sets out the wider process this document sits inside.
Property POA at a Glance
What the document has to do
What the Transfer Costs, Whoever Signs It
Using an attorney does not change the cost of the transfer itself. These are the fees the Dubai Land Department publishes for property sale registration, payable whether you attend in person or someone attends for you.
| Item | Tutar | Who Pays / Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Registration fee — seller | 2% of sale value | Satıcılar |
| Registration fee — buyer | 2% of sale value | Buyer |
| Title deed certificate issuance | 250 AED | Per transaction |
| Unified map — Dubai Municipality | AED 225 | Where applicable |
| Map — lands outside Dubai Municipality | AED 100 | Where applicable |
| Villas and apartments | 250 AED | Where applicable |
| Knowledge fee | AED 10 | Fixed |
| Innovation fee | AED 10 | Fixed |
| Service partner fee — sale value AED 500,000 and above | AED 4,000 + VAT | Trustee centre |
| Service partner fee — sale value below AED 500,000 | AED 2,000 + VAT | Trustee centre |
| Developer no-objection e-certificate (e-NOC) | Required document | Via Dubai REST app |
Source: Dubai Land Department, Property Sale Registration service page, dubailand.gov.ae, retrieved 25 August 2026. The DLD lists the service channel as the Real Estate Registration Trustees Center and requires the Emirates ID of both parties for identity verification, or a valid passport for non-resident foreigners. Costs of preparing, notarising, legalising and translating a power of attorney are separate and are not part of this schedule.
Getting a POA Recognised in the UAE, Step by Step
Two routes, depending on where you are standing when you sign. The route from abroad runs through several authorities in a fixed order — skip one and the document is returned.
Buying or selling in Dubai from abroad?
TruHauz will tell you exactly what your power of attorney needs to say before you pay to have it legalised.
Three Ways a Property POA Goes Wrong
Almost every problem with a property power of attorney traces back to one of these three. All are avoidable at drafting stage and expensive afterwards.
Authority beyond the deal
A general power drafted to cover everything hands an attorney the ability to act on matters you never contemplated. Restrict it to one property, one transaction and a defined set of acts. If the attorney does not need to receive the sale proceeds, say so expressly rather than leaving it unaddressed.
The property is not identified
A power that authorises the sale of “my property in Dubai” invites rejection. Identify the unit by its registration details and name the transaction in terms the registry uses — sell, purchase, mortgage, gift, lease or manage — rather than in general language that leaves the authority open to interpretation.
No expiry, no revocation plan
A power with no end date survives the transaction it was created for. Set an expiry. And understand before you sign that revoking one is not a phone call: it has to be formally executed and notified to everyone holding or relying on the document, including the Land Department and any bank.
Sıkça Sorulan Sorular
The questions overseas buyers and sellers ask most often about powers of attorney in Dubai.
Yasal Uyarı: This guide is general information about a procedural topic and is not legal advice. Requirements for the form, content, validity period, notarisation and attestation of a power of attorney are set by the relevant UAE authorities and by the authorities of the country where a document is signed, and they change. Fees quoted are those published by the Dubai Land Department for property sale registration on the date stated and do not include the separate costs of preparing, notarising, legalising or translating a power of attorney. Confirm the current requirements with the Dubai Land Department, the Notary Public and the relevant UAE mission, and take qualified legal advice before granting authority over a property.
Buy or Sell in Dubai Without Getting on a Plane
TruHauz has taken overseas buyers and sellers through the Trustee centre process many times over. Tell us where you are and what you are trying to do, and we will map the document chain before you spend anything on it.
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