Buying or renting in Dubai
How to check who owns a property in Dubai
Not by its address — by its deed.Ask for the title deed and check it on the Land Department’s site — free, in about a minute.
The short answer
Not by its address — by its deed. Dubai has no public search that turns an address into an owner’s name. Instead, ask the seller or landlord for the title deed and check it on the Dubai Land Department’s Verify Title Deed service — free, on dubailand.gov.ae, no account needed — with the certificate number, year, property type and owner’s name. A genuine deed in that name validates; a fake, or one in someone else’s name, returns no record. For the full record — the owner, any mortgage or seizure — the department’s Detailed Property Report costs AED 70 online and arrives in about ten minutes.
By Sam McCone, Managing Partner · Checked against the Land Department’s service pages 20 Oct 2026
Your situation
Which check do you need?
Pick where you stand.
Verify the seller’s deed, then order the full report before the deposit.
- 1Ask the seller for the title deed and their passport or Emirates ID.
- 2On dubailand.gov.ae, open Verify Title Deed, choose “Validate owner and property”, and enter the certificate number, year, property type and the seller’s name.
- 3Before paying a deposit, order the Detailed Property Report to see any mortgage, seizure or suspension.
Whether the deed is real, and registered in the name you give it.
The owner, any mortgage, seizure or suspension, by email.
Check the deed is in the landlord’s name before you hand over a cheque.
- 1Ask for the title deed and the landlord’s ID. A landlord who won’t show the deed has answered the question.
- 2Run Verify Title Deed with the landlord’s name.
- 3Make cheques out to the owner on the deed, or to the licensed agency managing the home — never to anyone else.
Whether the deed is real, and registered in the name you give it.
The property, the brokerage the owner signed with, and whether it is still valid.
There is no free search from an address to a name — start from the advert or the land number.
- 1If the home is advertised, scan the permit’s QR code on the advert: it names the brokerage the owner signed with.
- 2With the area and land number, the Property Status Enquiry in the Dubai REST app shows the property’s status.
- 3For the full record, the Detailed Property Report covers one property for AED 70.
The property, the brokerage the owner signed with, and whether it is still valid.
The property’s status on the register, from its area and land number.
The owner, any mortgage, seizure or suspension, by email.
There is no title deed until handover — the purchase is registered on Oqood instead.
- 1Buying from the developer: check the project in the Dubai REST app — that it is registered, and its escrow account.
- 2Buying from an earlier buyer: ask for their Oqood registration and the developer’s no-objection letter.
- 3If an agent is selling it, scan the permit on the advert, as for any home.
The property, the brokerage the owner signed with, and whether it is still valid.
Reading the deed
The five lines to check on a title deed
Tap a line to see what to look for.
Certificate number and year
What you type into Verify Title Deed, with the property type and the owner’s name.
Owners and their shares
Must match the passport of whoever is selling or letting. If there are several owners, all of them have to agree to a sale.
Building and unit number
Must match the home you viewed. A deed for the flat next door is somebody else’s deed.
Area
Should match the listing. A big gap usually means a different unit.
Mortgage status
Common, and no reason to walk away — the seller’s loan is paid off from the price on transfer day.
An illustration with stand-in values, not a copy of the document. More on what a deed does and does not prove in the title deed explained.
Do it before any money moves.
Questions
Common questions
Can I find out who owns a property in Dubai by its address?
Not through a free public search — the Land Department does not publish owners’ names. Ask whoever is offering the home for the title deed and verify it, scan the permit on the advert to see which brokerage the owner signed with, or order the department’s Detailed Property Report for AED 70.
Is title deed verification in Dubai free?
Yes. Verify Title Deed on dubailand.gov.ae is free and needs no account. It also runs in the Dubai REST app, and newer deeds carry a QR code that opens it.
How do I know if a property in Dubai is mortgaged?
The deed prints its mortgage status, and the Detailed Property Report lists any registered mortgage. A mortgage is common and no reason to walk away: the seller’s loan is paid off from the price on transfer day.
How do I check that a landlord owns the property?
Ask for the title deed and the landlord’s ID, and run Verify Title Deed with the landlord’s name before handing over any cheque. Make cheques out to the owner on the deed or to the licensed agency managing the home.
Services and fees as the Dubai Land Department listed them on 20 Oct 2026; its site is the last word. The transfer itself is on conveyancing in Dubai.
