# Power of Attorney for Property in Dubai Source: https://poaindubai.ae/property-power-of-attorney-dubai/ Summary: A power of attorney for property in Dubai must name the act, the property and the agent. See the wording, the documents, the fees and how we draft it. Language: en-AE --- Dubai property transactions # Power of Attorney for Property Sales and Transfers in Dubai A property power of attorney lets someone else sign for you at the Dubai Land Department. It has to name the property and the exact act, and it has to be ratified before a notary public in Dubai. [Get started](/contact/) [Call us](tel:+971555640358) - Arabic and English drafting - Checked against your deed - We attend the appointment ![Residential villa of the kind bought and sold under a property power of attorney in Dubai] ## Property POA notarisation in Dubai, in short To sign for you on a Dubai property you need a special power of attorney that names the act and the property, ratified before a notary public. A power of attorney written in general terms only covers management, so it will not carry a sale, a mortgage or a gift transfer. Type you need A special power of attorney, not general Current law Federal Decree-Law 25/2025, Articles 869 to 871 Reported recency rule Reported as two years, Circular 29/R/2025 ## What a power of attorney for property covers in Dubai A power of attorney for property is an agency contract. Article 870 of Federal Decree-Law 25/2025 says that any act beyond management and preservation needs a special agency that specifies the type of act and the dispositions it entails, and it names sale, mortgage and donation among them. A sale, a mortgage and a gift transfer of a Dubai property all sit on that list. Article 871 goes the other way. A power of attorney expressed in general terms, without saying what is intended, only gives the agent power to perform acts of management. That is the trap behind the phrase general power of attorney for property. It reads as if it covers everything, and on the wording of the law it covers the least. ![Title deed and identity documents being checked before a property power of attorney is drafted] ## Six jobs a limited power of attorney for property handles Each of these needs its own wording. A limited power of attorney for property that names one act is safer than a wide one that names none. ### Selling a ready unit The wording names the sale, the property by title deed, and the authority to sign the transfer at the Dubai Land Department and receive the price. ### Buying and registering A buyer abroad can have an agent sign the sale contract, pay the price, attend the registration appointment and take the title deed in the buyer’s name. ### Off plan and Oqood Before handover there is no title deed number to quote, so the wording identifies the unit by its Oqood registration, the developer, the project and the unit number. ### A mortgaged property Where a bank holds a mortgage, the power of attorney has to say the agent may deal with the mortgage, not only sign the sale. Article 870 names mortgage separately. ### Gift transfer to a relative A gift transfer is a donation. Article 870 lists donations as an act that needs a special agency, so a general wording will not carry it. ### Letting and managing Collecting rent, signing tenancy contracts and handling utilities are day to day jobs rather than dispositions. Article 871 limits a general wording to acts of management, so name what the agent may do instead of relying on the general words. ## The Dubai Land Department rule on how recent it is This is the point that catches people out. Law firm commentary on Dubai Land Department Circular 29/R/2025, issued on 16 July 2025, reports that a power of attorney presented in a real estate disposition must have been issued within the preceding two years. We could not read the circular text on an official Dubai Land Department page, so we set out what is reported and where it comes from. ### Two years is not a validity period Nothing in UAE law fixes a validity period for a power of attorney. Article 897 of Federal Decree-Law 25/2025 says an agency ends on the term specified for it, which means the term is whatever the document says. The two year point is an acceptance rule reported for one authority and one class of transaction, not a general rule about how long your document lives. ## What the deed has to identify Article 870 requires a special agency to specify the type of act and the dispositions it entails. For a Dubai property that means six things on the page. - The act in plain words: sell, mortgage, gift, lease or manage - The property by title deed number, or by Oqood, project and unit - The agent by full name and Emirates ID or passport number - Authority to sign the transfer paperwork for the property - Authority to deal with any existing mortgage and its release - The term you want it to run for, and the date it was issued ## What you need to notarise a real estate power of attorney Dubai Courts asks for soft copies in PDF, with Arabic legal translation by a translator registered with the Ministry of Justice. ### From the owner The principal signing it - Emirates ID, or passport for a non-resident - The title deed for the property - Oqood or the sale contract for an off plan unit - The wording you want, agreed before the appointment ### About the agent The person you are appointing - Emirates ID number, or a copy of the Emirates ID - Passport copy where there is no Emirates ID - Full name spelled as it appears on the identity document - Contact details so the wording can be checked with them ### If you sign abroad Three attestations before it reaches Dubai - The foreign ministry of the country that issued it - The UAE embassy or consulate in that country - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs once it reaches the UAE - Arabic legal translation, and the document must not be laminated ## How we draft it and who ratifies it We draft, translate, check the documents and attend. The ratification itself is done before a notary public. 1 ### Confirm the act and the property We ask what the agent has to do and check it against the title deed or Oqood record, so the wording names one clear act on one identified property. 2 ### Draft in Arabic Under Dubai Law 4/2013 the instrument is in Arabic, and a foreign language version needs a certified translation with both versions signed. We draft the Arabic and the English together. 3 ### Attend the notary Ratification happens before a notary public. The notary checks identity from the Emirates ID or passport, checks capacity and consent, and reads the content out before it is signed. 4 ### Use it at the Land Department The ratified power of attorney goes with your agent when the transfer is registered. We check the date on it first, for the reason set out above. ## A mortgaged property changes the document The act you are authorising changes when a bank holds security over the unit. No mortgage ### A clean title deed One act to name, the sale or the gift, with the property identified by its title deed number and the agent authorised to sign the transfer. Mortgaged ### A bank holds security Two acts to name. Article 870 treats mortgage as its own disposition, so the wording has to reach the mortgage as well as the sale or transfer. ## What sends a property POA back The first column is what we see go wrong. The second is what we check before you sit down with the notary. - General wording that never names the sale, mortgage or gift - A property described by address only, with no deed or Oqood reference - An old document, when the authority receiving it asks for a more recent one - The act, matched to Article 870 and written out in full - The property reference, matched to the deed or the Oqood record - The issue date, so you know how old the document is before you rely on it ## Related pages If your job is narrower than this page, start on the page that matches it. [Power of attorney to buy property](/power-of-attorney-to-buy-property-dubai/) [Power of attorney to sell property](/power-of-attorney-to-sell-property-dubai/) [Mortgage power of attorney](/mortgage-power-of-attorney-uae/) [Property dispute power of attorney](/property-dispute-power-of-attorney/) [What a power of attorney costs](/power-of-attorney-cost-dubai/) [How notarisation works in Dubai](/how-notarisation-works-dubai/) [Running a property from abroad](/property-management-power-of-attorney/) ## Frequently asked questions The questions we are asked most often on this one. **Does a property power of attorney have to be in Arabic?** Yes. Dubai Law 4/2013 requires instruments before a notary public to be in Arabic. A document in another language is accepted only with an Arabic translation by a certified translator, and both versions are signed by the parties. Dubai Courts also asks for the Arabic legal translation to come from a translator registered with the Ministry of Justice. **Can I sign the power of attorney outside the UAE?** Yes, but it has to travel through the legalisation chain before it is usable here. The foreign ministry of the country where it was issued attests it, then the UAE embassy or consulate in that country, then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the UAE. After that it needs the Arabic legal translation. The document must not be laminated. **Is an apostille enough for a Dubai property power of attorney?** No. The UAE is not a contracting party to the Hague Apostille Convention, and it does not appear on the status table the Hague Conference publishes. An apostille obtained in a member state does not make a foreign power of attorney usable here on its own. The consular legalisation chain still applies, whatever your own country does. **Do I have to attend the notary in person?** Personal appearance is the default under Federal Decree-Law 20/2022, and the same law allows the notary to use IT tools instead, without the parties appearing in person. The Dubai Courts power of attorney service describes capacity and eligibility being verified by virtual or personal attendance. Which route applies to your file is confirmed when the appointment is booked. **How long does a property power of attorney last?** UAE law sets no fixed validity period. Article 897 of Federal Decree-Law 25/2025 ends an agency when the work is completed, when the term specified in it expires, or on the death or loss of capacity of either the principal or the agent. Separately, commentary on Land Department Circular 29/R/2025 reports a two year issue window for property transactions. **What are the official fees?** The federal schedule in Cabinet Resolution 19/2024 sets AED 100 per party for executing or notarising a general or special power of attorney, and AED 50 per page for notarising a translation included in the instrument. Dubai Courts publishes its own schedule, so confirm the Dubai figure first. Attestation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is AED 150 for individual affairs documents and AED 2,000 for commercial documents. **Can a general power of attorney be used to sell my Dubai property?** Not safely. Article 871 of Federal Decree-Law 25/2025 says that an agency expressed in general terms, without specifying what is intended, grants only the power to perform acts of management. Article 870 requires a special agency for a sale, a mortgage or a donation. If the document does not name the act, it does not carry it. **How do I cancel a property power of attorney?** Article 898 of Federal Decree-Law 25/2025 lets the principal revoke or restrict the agent at any time, unless a third party right is involved or the agency was issued in the agent’s interest. The Dubai Land Department runs a power of attorney cancellation notarisation application, published as a free service. Revoking a principal agency also revokes any sub agency under it. Start here ## Send us the deed and tell us the act Send the title deed or the Oqood record, the name of the person you want to appoint, and one line on what they have to do. We will draft the Arabic and English, arrange the legal translation where the source document is in another language, check the documents against what the notary will ask for, and attend the appointment with you. [Get started](/contact/) [Call us](tel:+971555640358) [WhatsApp us](https://wa.me/971555640358) [Send your documents](mailto:info@poaindubai.ae) ## Tell us what the document has to do Say who will receive it and what you need it to allow, and you will get a straight answer on the wording, the government fees and what to bring. You can also [send it through the contact form](/contact/). ### Call us Speak to the person who will handle your file and get an answer on the same call. [+971 55 564 0358](tel:+971555640358) ### WhatsApp Send photographs of your passport, your Emirates ID and anything the matter attaches to. [Message us](https://wa.me/971555640358) ### Email Best for a company matter, or anything that runs to several documents. [info@poaindubai.ae](mailto:info@poaindubai.ae) ### Visit the office Jebel Ali area, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai. Come in, or have it handled remotely and only turn up to sign. [Find us on the map](https://maps.app.goo.gl/J2Aoax7ii4XzNZTt5) **Opening hours.** Monday to Thursday, 9:00 to 18:00. Friday, 9:00 to 12:00. Saturday, 9:00 to 18:00. Sunday, closed.