Buying property in Ajman: where foreigners can own, fees, off-plan registration, escrow and residency

Ajman is the smallest of the seven emirates, and many of its new homes are priced under AED 1 million. Its off-plan market is smaller than Dubai's, but it runs on its own laws, its own land register and its own fee schedule, and those differ from Dubai's in ways a buyer should know before paying a deposit.

This guide explains where foreigners can own, who regulates the market, what the Land Department charges, how an off-plan sale is registered and protected, what happens if either side falls behind, and how residency works. For every project we track in the emirate, see our Ajman page.

It is general information, not legal advice. Ajman's laws and fee schedule are issued in Arabic; we have translated the relevant parts, and a lawyer should check anything you rely on.

Yes, in the areas opened to them. Ajman's Law No. 3 of 2023 on real estate registration reserves the right to own property in the emirate to UAE nationals, those treated as nationals, companies wholly owned by them and public joint-stock companies. Article 4 adds that the areas where non-nationals may own, and the duration of that ownership, are set by Emiri decree from the Ruler.

In practice, the off-plan towers sold to all nationalities are in the emirate's real estate development zones. Ajman's real estate development law allows development only in areas set by Emiri decree, and the zones themselves are defined by Emiri Decree No. 3 of 2022 and its amendments.

Freehold and other rights

Inside the designated zones, a foreign buyer can register ownership of a unit. Ajman's register also records other rights over property, each with its own registration fee:

• Long-term lease: a lease for a defined period of up to 99 years.
• Usufruct: the right to use and benefit from a property owned by someone else.
• Musataha: the right to build or plant on someone else's land.

For an off-plan apartment the document you receive is an initial registration certificate for the unit while it is being built, followed by a unit ownership certificate once it is complete. Ownership passes only when the transaction is recorded in the register, and any transaction not recorded is void.

Our guide on whether foreigners can buy property in the UAE compares the rules across all seven emirates.

In the development zones open to non-nationals. The projects we track that are sold to all nationalities sit in four areas, each with its own guide:

• Al Zorah: a coastal community of creeks, mangroves, a marina and an 18-hole golf course, linked directly to Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road. The master developer puts Sharjah International Airport about 20 minutes away and Dubai International Airport about 25.
• Al Amerah: the eastern district that includes the Emirates City towers, close to Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road (E311).
• Al Rumailah: the coastal district of Ajman City beside the Ajman Corniche, its public beach and promenade.
• Al Alia: home of Tiger Downtown Ajman, built around a lagoon.

Ask the developer to confirm, in writing, that the plot is open to your nationality before you pay. The initial registration certificate issued in your name is the proof.

These tables come from our project data and update as we add projects. Each is followed by the area guide for that part of the emirate.

Al Zorah

We are not tracking an off-plan project in Al Zorah on sale today. See all off-plan projects.

Lorévia Collection Al Zorah by DECA is a collection of semi-furnished waterfront apartments.

Al Amerah and Emirates City

Platinum Heights by Team Arcon is a 32-storey tower in Emirates City.

Al Rumailah and the Corniche

We are not tracking an off-plan project in Al Rumailah on sale today. See all off-plan projects.

Amwaj Tower by GJ Properties is on the Ajman Corniche in Al Rumailah 3.

Al Alia and Tiger Downtown Ajman

We are not tracking an off-plan project in Al Alia on sale today. See all off-plan projects.

Tiger Lily Tower Phase 2 by Tiger Properties is part of Tiger Downtown Ajman.

Many Ajman projects start under AED 1 million; our under AED 1 million page and AED 1 million to 2 million page list them alongside projects in other emirates.

The Department of Land and Real Estate Regulation (often shortened to AjmanRE). Ajman's government portal records that it was established under Emiri Decree No. 7 of 2017. Older guides and marketing material sometimes refer to ARRA, the Ajman Real Estate Regulatory Agency; today the Department is the body to deal with.

It keeps the land register and the registers of developers, projects and escrow trustees, values property, licenses brokers and approves advertising. Its services include sale registration, initial registration of off-plan units, mortgage registration, valuation and dispute settlement, through customer centres in Ajman and Masfout, its e-services site and the Ajman One app.

The laws that matter most to a buyer are on the Department's laws page:

The fees are set by Emiri Decision No. 9 of 2025, which took effect 60 days after it was issued on 29 May 2025. The structure differs from Dubai's single 4% fee: Ajman charges by nationality, splits the fee between buyer and seller, and adds an ownership fee for non-nationals.

Sale registration

For the sale of a property, the schedule sets:

• Seller: 1% of the Department's valuation.
• Buyer who is a UAE or GCC national: 2% of the valuation, minimum AED 2,500.
• Buyer of any other nationality: 3% of the valuation, minimum AED 3,000, plus the ownership fee (tamleek). Where buyers of different nationalities buy together, each pays the rate for their nationality on their share.

The schedule also has a separate line for registering the sale of a real estate unit, at 2% of the unit's valuation, paid by the buyer, minimum AED 2,500. Which line applies to your purchase, and when it is collected, is a question to put to the developer and the Department before you sign.

The ownership fee

Non-nationals pay an ownership fee on top of the sale fee. On land it is set by area and use, with a minimum of AED 10,000, according to the Department's sale registration service. The Department's ownership fee calculator works out the amount; ask the developer for the figure on your unit.

Off-plan registration and certificates

• Initial registration of an off-plan unit: AED 200, plus AED 350 for the initial registration certificate, according to the Department's initial registration service.
• Final registration of a unit: AED 1,700.
• Title deed or ownership certificate: AED 350.
• Valuation of a unit: AED 1,000, with a valuation request at AED 200.

Mortgage fees

Registering a mortgage costs 0.5% of the loan, minimum AED 1,000, and releasing it AED 500.

A worked example

Take a new apartment valued at AED 800,000, bought off-plan by a buyer who is not a UAE or GCC national. These are illustrations of the schedule, not a quote.

Ajman's law also limits what a developer may charge you. Article 36 of Law No. 2 of 2020 lets the Department set the administrative fees a developer may collect on transactions such as a resale, and bars the developer from charging any fee beyond what the Department approves.

By Ajman's real estate development law, Law No. 2 of 2020. It works in the same spirit as Dubai's escrow law, with its own rules and time limits.

Before the developer can sell

• A registered developer and project. Developers must be in the Department's register, and no unit may be offered or sold before the project is registered. Sales in an unregistered project are void (Article 11).
• A sale permit. It needs the project to be registered, an escrow account opened, and either 15% of the works completed or 15% of construction cost deposited in escrow or covered by a bank guarantee (Article 25).
• Funding rules. The developer's financing plan must show its own contribution of at least 15% of construction cost, with no more than 35% funded from buyers' payments and no more than 50% from loans. Land cost may not be paid from escrow (Article 18).
• Advertising. Off-plan advertising needs the Department's permission and must show the project's location, approved handover date, consultant, the developer's and project's register numbers and the escrow account (Article 26).

Reservation and the sale contract

• The booking amount counts towards the price and must go into escrow in full (Article 29).
• The developer must give you the sale contract within 15 days of the reservation. If it does not, you may ask the Department to cancel the reservation and refund the full booking amount (Article 29).
• You may withdraw for any reason within 15 days of receiving the reservation document, and the developer must refund the booking amount within 15 days of your written notice (Article 51).
• You have at least 15 days to review the sale contract before you sign (Article 50). If you do not sign within 15 days of receiving it, the reservation is cancelled and the booking amount is lost (Article 29).
• The contract follows the Department's unified form, in Arabic and English, and the Arabic text prevails if they differ (Articles 30 and 33).
• The contract may not give the developer the right to delay completion by more than a year, or to move you to another project (Article 32).

Registration and escrow

• The developer must register your unit in the initial register within five days of signing. If it does not, you may apply to register it yourself, paying the fee (Article 34).
• Each project has a main escrow account and a sub-account for every unit. You pay into your unit's sub-account in line with the payment schedule, and the developer may not receive money outside escrow or deduct broker commission from the unit price (Articles 41 and 43).
• Money leaves escrow only for construction, once the sale permit is issued and 5% of the works are complete, against the Department's approval (Article 44).
• Where payments are linked to construction milestones, you may hold back an instalment if the matching stage has not been reached, after notifying the developer and the escrow trustee before it falls due (Article 53).

Completion and title

• When the project's completion certificate is issued, the developer must transfer ownership to buyers who have paid in full within 30 days, and you receive a unit ownership certificate (Article 35).
• The escrow trustee holds back 5% of construction cost for one year after completion to cover defects (Article 38).
• The developer remains liable for ten years from the completion certificate for structural defects, and for one year from handover for faulty fittings and installations such as mechanical, electrical and plumbing works (Article 57).

Our guide to Dubai's escrow law explains the Dubai rules if you are comparing the two.

Ajman's law gives buyers two remedies through the courts (Articles 55 and 56):

• Cancel and recover everything paid, with compensation where due, if completion is more than a year late, if the specification or area differs materially (including an area shortfall of more than 20%), or if the developer changes the approved plans without permission.
• Claim compensation without cancelling if completion is between six months and a year late, or for hidden defects and minor differences from the specification.

If a project stops and no settlement is possible, the Department can refer the project file to the courts (Article 63). A project cannot be cancelled until buyers' payments have been returned and the contractor, consultant and escrow trustee settled (Article 23).

The developer must first notify you through the notary and give 90 days to pay. If you do not pay, and the developer is keeping to the approved programme, the Department may cancel your unit's registration at the developer's request, provided construction is ahead of what you have paid. For example, cancellation is possible if the developer has built at least 40% and you have paid less than 40% of the price (Article 58).

The Department then orders the escrow trustee to return part of what you paid, on a scale set by Article 59. A developer and buyer may agree a higher refund.

On the AED 800,000 example, a buyer who had paid AED 280,000 (35% of the price) when the unit was cancelled would fall in the 30% to 40% band and receive 15% of what was paid, AED 42,000.

The lesson is the same as in Dubai: plan the whole payment schedule before you sign, and talk to the developer early if your circumstances change. A buyer may also sell a unit registered in the initial register, provided it is not mortgaged, and the new buyer takes over the remaining payments (Article 52). Our guide on what happens if you can't pay off-plan instalments covers the Dubai side.

1. Choose the project and check it. Ask for the developer's and project's register numbers, the sale permit and the escrow account, all of which must appear in the developer's advertising.
2. Reserve. Sign the reservation and pay the booking amount into escrow. Your 15-day withdrawal window starts when you receive the reservation document.
3. Review and sign the sale contract. Take the 15 days the law allows. Check the payment schedule, the handover date, the net area and the service charge estimate for the first year, all of which the contract must state.
4. Initial registration. The developer registers your unit within five days, and you receive the initial registration certificate.
5. Pay into escrow. Pay each instalment into your unit's sub-account as it falls due.
6. Completion. Pay the balance, take handover and receive the unit ownership certificate within 30 days of completion.

Documents

• Residents: Emirates ID. Non-residents: passport.
• Companies: trade licence and incorporation contract.
• On a resale: the existing title deed, ownership or initial registration certificate, and the developer's no-objection for units in a development.

Buying remotely and powers of attorney

The Department runs a remote sale registration service. Its sale registration rules for powers of attorney are specific:

• A UAE-issued power of attorney may be no more than ten years old.
• One issued abroad must carry all certifications from the country of issue and be attested by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• One not in Arabic must also be translated by an accredited legal translation office in the UAE, with the translation certified by the Ministry of Justice.

Payments to the Department go through Ajman Pay: certified cheques, cards and similar. Cash and personal cheques are not accepted.

Yes. The Central Bank's mortgage regulations apply in every emirate. A home bought off-plan is capped at 50% of value; a completed first home for an expatriate at 80% under AED 5 million. Banks decide which Ajman projects they lend on, so check before you commit to a plan that relies on a loan at handover.

Ajman's law also governs mortgages taken by developers. A developer may mortgage units to finish construction only after the project passes 50% completion, the loan must be paid into escrow, and the sale contract must state clearly that the unit is mortgaged and to whom (Article 20). Our off-plan mortgage guide explains the caps in detail.

The UAE Golden Visa is federal, and its property route is set at AED 2 million. It is not limited to Dubai or Abu Dhabi, so an Ajman owner whose property meets the value can apply. Most new Ajman homes are priced well below that line, so check the value before you count on a visa.

How an Ajman property's value is assessed for the visa, and whether an off-plan unit on the initial register counts, are questions for the federal authority before you buy. Our Golden Visa guide explains the rules as they apply in Dubai.

1. Is the plot open to my nationality, and will I receive an initial registration certificate in my name?
2. Are the developer and project in the Department's registers, and has the sale permit been issued?
3. Is the escrow account in the advertising and contract, and am I paying only into my unit's sub-account?
4. Which fee line applies to my purchase, and what is the ownership fee on my unit?
5. Have I used my 15 days to review the contract, and does it state the net area, handover date and first-year service charge?
6. Has my unit been registered within five days of signing?
7. Can I meet every instalment, including the balance at handover, if a bank lends less than I expect?
8. If I rely on a residence visa, has the federal authority confirmed my property qualifies?

• Department of Land and Real Estate Regulation. Ajman's land register and real estate regulator.
• Initial register. The register of off-plan units sold before completion; Ajman's counterpart to Dubai's Oqood.
• Initial registration certificate. Your proof of ownership of an off-plan unit while it is being built.
• Unit ownership certificate. Your proof of ownership once the unit is complete and in the final register.
• Ownership fee (tamleek). The additional fee a non-national pays on registering ownership.
• Escrow sub-account. The account for your unit inside the project's escrow account.
• Unified sale contract. The Department's standard form of off-plan sale contract.

See every project we track in the emirate on our Ajman page, or compare with Sharjah in our guide to Tilal City. Save homes to your shortlist, or contact us for help with a specific project.