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Can two people buy a property together in Dubai? Yes. The Dubai Land Department records more than one owner on a title deed and shows the shares on it. The real question is usually this: what happens to residency in a joint purchase?
How do the residency thresholds work in joint ownership?
Here the difference between sole and joint ownership is concrete.
On the two-year investor visa no minimum property value is required for a sole owner; the condition is that the property is completed and habitable. In joint ownership, however, the share falling to each person must be at least AED 400,000. So where two people buy together, each share has to exceed that figure.
For the ten-year Golden Visa the threshold is AED 2,000,000. That figure can be met with a single property or with several properties combined.
The thresholds and a comparison of the two routes are set out as a table on our page on residency through property in Dubai.
Does a joint purchase change the costs?
No, the items stay the same: the DLD transfer fee is 4 per cent of the price, with title registration and escrow items on top. These are calculated on the property and are not affected by the number of owners. How they are divided between the shares is a matter between you. For your own scenario you can use our Dubai purchase cost calculator.
Dubai has no annual property tax, no tax on rental income and no capital gains tax. That makes the tax planning side of a joint purchase markedly simpler than in the UK.
What to watch in practice
- The shares appear on the title deed. They do not have to be equal; 60 and 40 is possible, but if you intend to apply for residency remember that the share has to clear the threshold.
- Escrow when buying off plan. Payments go to the project’s escrow account, not to the developer. The same applies in a joint purchase; make sure the records show who made each payment.
- A mortgaged property. A mortgaged property is accepted on the investor visa route, but a letter and consent from the lender are required.
- Two signatures on a sale. Selling a jointly owned property requires the consent of every owner. If one wants out and the other does not, the process locks; so put the exit rule in writing at the outset.
What to Check Before You Decide
- If residency is your aim, set the shares accordingly. If two people buy a 600,000 dirham apartment half and half, each share is 300,000 and falls below the investor visa threshold.
- The Golden Visa does not require a single property. The threshold can also be met by combining several properties, which gives flexibility in a joint purchase.
- Who decides how it is let? Short let or annual, and who handles the management; in a jointly owned property these decisions are taken together.
- The exit plan. Transferring a share is possible, but finding a buyer is not as easy as with sole ownership.
Let us work out together which share structure fits your residency goal in a joint purchase. Contact us
