How to start a Real Estate business in Dubai Free Zone?

As experts in business licensing procedures, Meydan Free Zone will make it easy for you to enter the dynamic industry of real estate, secure third-party approvals, and streamline your Dubai incorporation. 

Setting up a successful real estate company in the UAE requires a thorough understanding of the necessary steps, approvals, and do’s and don’ts. As we outline here, there are several things you must know to operate a real estate business in Dubai, UAE, such as:

• Deciding Business Location 

• Choosing Business Activity 

• Choosing Company Name 

• Getting RERA Certification 

• Memorandum of Association 

• Applying for Trade License 

• Getting Approval from RERA (Dubai Land Department)

Dedicated to integrating government agencies and harnessing all expertise to enhance trust among real estate investors, the Dubai Land Department (DLD) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai through the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), the DLD’s regulatory arm. The MoU outlines a mechanism for monitoring and inspecting real estate facilities licensed by RERA, and it oversees real estate operations, settles disputes, and offers a legal framework to everyone associated with the real estate sector of Dubai.

You don’t have to worry, though. If a business activity requires third-party approval, entrepreneurs won’t have to deal with all permits directly; Meydan Free Zone will help you. It is just one of the many benefits of Meydan Free Zone that makes setup simple and cost-effective, from quick and effortless incorporation to hassle-free company bank accounts.

Important Real Estate Business Activities Approved by RERA in Meydan Free Zone

Real estate businesses in the Meydan Free Zone are easy to set up, and we have extensive experience helping businesses get started. Industry conditions are competitive, although, with Meydan Free Zone’s purpose-built platform, scaling up your real estate business will seem more straightforward than ever. We can guide you through the process comprehensively by assisting you in choosing the best business activity and structure, supporting you with all aspects of the paperwork and giving you the tools you need to succeed in the real estate business. Our general suggestions for real estate activities are listed below in detail. 

Activity: 6499.98 Real estate development 

Nature of Activity: This refers to companies established for the development and founding of real estate projects which include housing and commercial complexes, tourism projects, and the development of the infrastructure and leisure facilities associated with them. It also covers the selling of the property or projects per the freehold ownership law of property, whether owned by the license holders or another party through a contract signed between the developer and the land owner and registration of the contract in the Escrow Accounts Department ahead of the commencement of the project. This activity can be combined only with other Group 4 of RERA, such as buying and selling real estate.

The license will be issued from Meydan Free Zone with authorization from the Department of Economic Development (DED), Dubai, after having approval from RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Agency) for fulfilling the above requirements. In Meydan Free Zone, we can assist you in getting external approval from RERA. Having this done will allow you to focus on establishing the company rather than fretting about getting additional approval and documentation involved with it. 

Real estate development licences require that a title deed to the land is provided, and the title deed must be in the name of the licence holder or one of the partners. The title deed data is verified electronically through the system. In addition, an official permit must be obtained from the Trakheesi system to market the project. Contact us today for your external party approval for getting a Real estate development license.

Activity: 6619.94 Real Estate Mortgage Consultancy 

Nature of Activity: include firms that specialize in advising clients how to mortgage property to get loans from financial institutions. Choosing a financial institution to finance freehold properties, the process of mortgage and release of property, documentation and disclosure, defaulting and mortgaging in the middle, refinancing and mortgaging fully paid properties, remortgaging and transfer to another financer, evaluating financing rates, etc., are all involved in the financing process. Such firms cannot seek or carry out their own mortgages. 

Activity: 6619.96 Real Estate Mortgage Broker 

Nature of Activity: Includes personal and corporate brokers who advise and assist borrowers in obtaining the best borrowing conditions from lenders and commercial banks to acquire or build properties; such service is against commission without exercising direct lending to borrowers. 

Activity: 6810.00 Real estate activities with own or leased property (Not available for selection) 

Nature of Activity: The activity consists of buying, selling, renting, and operating self-owned and leased real estate, primarily apartment buildings and dwellings, and non-residential buildings. Among these are exhibition halls, self-storage facilities, malls and shopping centers, land—leasing of homes and furnished or unfurnished flats or apartments that are rented long-term, typically on a monthly or annual basis. This class also includes the development of building projects for own operation. For example, renting space in these buildings —subdividing real estate into lots without land improvement —operation of residential mobile home sites, but is not available for selection. This class excludes the development of building projects for sale, subdividing and improving the land; operation of hotels, suite hotels and similar accommodations; operation of campgrounds, trailer parks and related housing; operating of workers’ hostels, rooming houses and similar accommodations.  

Activity: 6810.99 Buying and selling of real estate 

Nature of Activity: Includes firms engaged in buying and selling real estates, such as residential and non-residential buildings and land; such firms are not allowed to practice activity no.6499004 ” Real Estate Development. 

Activity: 6820.00 Real estate activities on a fee or contract basis (Not available for selection) 

Nature of Activity: This involves providing real estate services on a fee or contract basis. Among them are real estate-related services that include activities of agents and brokers, as well as services involved in buying, selling and renting real estate for a fee or under contract. —Real estate management on a fee or contract basis —appraisal services for real estate —activities of real estate escrow agents. This class excludes legal activities, facilities support services, and management of facilities. An example would be military bases, prisons and other facilities (except computer facilities management). 

Activity: 6820.93 Real Estate Consultancies 

Nature of Activity:  Includes providing sound advice to potential buyers and developing strategies to achieve their goals and objectives; it involves showing properties, analyzing sales statistics, sourcing appraisers, referring mortgage service providers, contractors and renovation providers, examining contracts before making offers, closing and escrow expertise. The activity can, however, only be combined with other Group 3 RERA activities. 

Activity: 6820.94 Real Estate Valuation Services 

Nature of Activity: This includes the appraisal and assessing the monetary value of a fixed property. In particular, plots of land and building, for various reasons commissioned by specialized surveyors or by official authorities. Activities of this type can only be combined with other RERA Group 3 activities. 

Activity: 6820.95 Property Inspection Services 

Nature of Activity: Includes firms specializing in the inspection of housing and commercial properties providing comprehensive, objective, and professional reports for proprietors, sellers, buyers, and real estate agents to facilitate negotiations and transactions and to provide buyers and sellers with reports and remarks ahead of the completion of buying and selling stating the condition of the property and indicating any technical flows. RERA Group 3 activities can only be combined with this activity. 

Activity: 6820.96 Self-owned Property Leasing & Management Services 

Nature of Activity:  Includes firms engaged in managing commercial, residential, and industrial buildings owned by the owner and his first and second-degree relatives, also handling contractual arrangements with the firms in charge of maintenance, security and as well as issuing tenants contracts, such firms are not allowed to practice real estate Brokerage. This can only be combined with other Group 2 RERA and requires additional approval from RERA.

Activity: 6820.97 Real Estate Management Supervision Services 

Nature of Activity: Includes firms specialized in managing and supervising properties contracting with maintenance companies, cleaning and security services, dealing with administrative issues for the property’s owner, and coordinating with lease brokers for finding tenants for vacant properties. Firms like these are not allowed to practice selling, leasing, or releasing properties and can only be combined with other Group 1 of RERA. 

Activity: 6820.98 Prefabricated Houses Rental 

Nature of Activity: This includes renting prefabricated houses. For example, for majlis, event management, residential, oil and gas industries. You don’t need any preapprovals for this activity. Talk to a Meydan Free Zone expert for more information on the conditions and criteria. 

Activity: 6820.99 Owner Association Management Services 

Nature of Activity: This activity covers service charge evaluation and invoicing, accounting and financial management, generating non-dues revenue and fundraising. It is also essential for owner association management companies to be familiar with laws and regulations applicable to associations and other regulatory bodies like RERA, Dubai Civil Defense, DEWA and Empower. This activity cannot be merged with other activities. 

Activity: 7010.94 Real Estate Representative Office 

Nature of Activity: The purpose of this office is to represent any international company or enterprise in the UAE. Potentially, this would be for marketing and promoting its property outside the UAE or enable commercial transactions between the parent company and its clientele. It is not permitted for such an office to carry out any activities or enter into real estate transactions on its own, unless they are conducted outside the UAE. 

Activity: 7110.99 Real Estate Survey Services 

Nature of Activity: Activities involved in surveying buildings and residential properties. To illustrate, surveying a building to determine the number of floors and joint spaces. Surveying includes lands, buildings and units, vertical and dimensional surveying, joint spaces in buildings lands surveying, drafting maps and construction sketches. This can only be combined with other RERA Group 3 activities. 

Activity: 7490.90 Real Estate Registration Trustee 

Nature of Activity: refers to a real estate business that owns and operates income-producing properties. For example, investing in real estate with high-income potential. 

Activity: 7490.97 Real Estate Services Trustee 

Nature of Activity: This includes firms approved by Land Department to carry out real estate services via a computerized system. It involves the registration of tenancy contracts in Ejari, enrollment of the training courses, and issuance of “to whom it may concern certificates”. All of these services require regulations to be preserved. 

Dubai Land Department requires license holders of real estate registration trustees, real estate service trustees, real estate promotion trustees, and real estate service centers to sign an agreement.

Activity: 8230.95 Real Estate Public Auction Organizing 

Nature of Activity: The activity involves firms that organize property public auctions against the commission. A standard process would include handling licensing formalities, fixing the auction date and venue, advertising the property in the media to promote its features and sale terms and conditions, offering consultancy and evaluation from industry experts, coordinating payments and ownership transfer, and conducting the auction remotely in the absence of the concerned parties.

Activity: 8230.97 Real Estate Exhibition Organizing 

Nature of Activity: This activity includes businesses that organize real estate exhibitions to promote property locally and internationally. It is necessary to obtain permission from legal authorities to hold such an exhibition. 

Activity: 8549.78 Real Estate Training Institute 

Nature of Activity: Offering real estate training programs to develop professional abilities and competencies, enabling them to participate in various real estate-related activities and sectors. In addition to obtaining approval from DED, it is necessary to get external approval from the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA). Applying for a KHDA permit for a real estate training institute in Dubai requires several forms and documents. Entrepreneurs may find it challenging to obtain accurate documentation, but the assistance of business setup consultants in the Meydan Free Zone may come in handy. 

Activity: 9609.95 Special Purpose Firm 

Nature of Activity: This includes a firm that is limited by shares. Special purpose firms can only provide financial services with the approval of the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). It may not hold the Trustee, General Partner, or Investment Company position for an Investment Trust or Partnership. 

Service terms for real estate activities in Meydan Free Zone 

For real estate development licences, organising real estate exhibitions, buying and selling lands and properties, real estate representation offices, and leasing and managing private real estate services. 

1- Submitting a licence application through Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism. 

2- Registering in the Trakheesi system through Dubai Land Department’s website www.dubailand.gov.ae 

3- Applying for a professional practice card for a real estate activity must be done immediately after the application for a real estate licence is submitted and approved.

Free zone businesses can generally conduct real estate trade or service with other companies in their free zone as well as with companies located in other free zones within the UAE and abroad. However, they are restricted from trading directly with mainland-based companies. 

Cost of starting a real estate business in Meydan Free Zone

Dubai is the central hub of entrepreneurship in the Middle East, and we are making it easy for you to launch your business in Meydan Free Zone with the flexibility to customize your real estate company license to suit your business needs and grow or shrink it as needed. With the Pay-As-You-Go model at Meydan Free Zone, you can set up your real estate business and pay on your own terms. Our bespoke packages start from AED 12, 500 and all other costs depend on your specific preferences.

As an example, if you need to apply for a visa (1 to 50), the fee is AED 1850 per visa, whereas, for an investor or family visa valid for two years, you need to pay AED 4,000, and for a residency or employment visa valid for two years, you need to pay AED 3,500. In order to obtain medical and an Emirates ID card, you will need to pay AED 2,250 and AED 2,000 for an establishment or immigration card. You will also get exclusive discounts using Meydan Free Zone Cost Calculator and can save up to 15% on a multi-year setup.

Get started now by using our business setup cost calculator, or connect with our team of business setup experts for assistance. Have multiple business activities with a single license.

Why choose Meydan free zone for real estate activities in Dubai ?

Meydan Free Zone provides the perfect environment for setting up and running a real estate business in Dubai. With over 3500 business activities to choose from, the Meydan Free Zone provides licenses for quite a number of real estate activities and can help you set up your business in Dubai at every stage. 

Top clients are more likely to accept your business when you have a distinguished address from Meydan.  Located just 15 minutes from Dubai International Airport, Meydan Free Zone helps make the dreams of aspirational entrepreneurs come true. As a Meydan Free Zone member, you’ll also benefit from a fully-furnished business center and regular networking events. Providing a top-notch working environment and an atmosphere that fosters performance, the Meydan Free Zone offers a highly technologically advanced and productive working environment.

If you wish to begin real estate activity in Dubai, our team at Meydan Free Zone can guide you through the entire process and ensure that all legal requirements are met seamlessly.

Get in touch today!