Dubai Power of Attorney for Property: Buying, Selling and Renting

What a property power of attorney lets someone do

A property power of attorney is only as wide as its own wording. Under Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025, a power of attorney written in general terms only grants the agent acts of management, such as collecting rent or paying bills on your behalf. Anything beyond management, and selling, buying and mortgaging a property all count as beyond management, needs a special agency that spells out the type of act and what it covers. That is the legal reason a vague, catch-all document gets rejected at the counter: it never named the sale it was supposed to authorise.

For a property power of attorney to hold up, it should name:

• The principal and the agent, in full, matching their Emirates ID or passport
• The exact property: title deed number, plot or unit number, project and area
• The exact acts authorised: sell, buy, lease, mortgage, register, collect rent, sign the sale and purchase agreement, accept or transfer payment
• Any limits on price, term or conditions you want to keep control over

General versus special: which one covers a property sale

Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025, Article 871, is the reason for that split: a general agency, expressed in general terms, only grants acts of management. Article 869 confirms general and special are the two statutory types. If you want an agent to sell your apartment, name the sale, the property and the agent’s authority to sign the transfer, in a special power of attorney. If you only need someone to manage the unit day to day while you are away, a general power of attorney for management is enough, and it is a narrower, safer document to hand over.

Selling property with a power of attorney

To sell through an agent, the power of attorney needs to authorise the sale of the named property specifically, including signing the sale and purchase agreement (or Form F where a registered broker is involved) and, if you want the agent to receive the proceeds, that has to be stated too. Leaving payment authority out is a common way sellers accidentally limit their own agent.

Buying property with a power of attorney

The same principle applies in reverse: the agent needs express authority to sign the purchase agreement, to pay the price or instalments if that is part of the deal, and to complete registration with the Dubai Land Department in your name. If you are buying off-plan, name the developer and the project so the power of attorney matches what the agent will be signing.

Renting out property with a power of attorney (Ejari)

Landlords who cannot be in Dubai to sign a lease can authorise an agent to negotiate terms, sign the tenancy contract and register it through Ejari. A power of attorney limited to leasing and rent collection is narrower than one covering a sale, and many owners prefer to keep it that way: it gives the agent day-to-day control of the unit without handing over authority to sell it.

Mortgaging property with a power of attorney

A mortgage or refinancing involves the lending bank directly, so a power of attorney used for this needs to name the specific mortgage transaction and the authority to sign the bank’s finance and registration documents on your behalf. Banks and the Dubai Land Department both check the wording closely here, since a mortgage encumbers the property against your interests if it goes wrong.

If the property owner is outside the UAE

You do not need to be in Dubai to grant a property power of attorney, but a document signed abroad has extra steps before Dubai Land Department will act on it:

1. Sign the power of attorney before a notary in the country where you are.
2. Have it attested by that country’s foreign ministry.
3. Have it attested by the UAE embassy or consulate there.
4. Have it attested in the UAE by MOFAIC (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation).
5. Have it translated into Arabic by a legal translator registered with the UAE Ministry of Justice, if it was not drafted in Arabic.

The UAE is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so an apostille from your home country does not replace this chain; MOFAIC attestation is the step that matters here. Our guide to notarising a UAE power of attorney from abroad covers this step by step.

When a property power of attorney ends

This kind of document ends on the term written into it, when the task named in it is completed, or under Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025, on the death or loss of legal capacity of either the principal or the agent. It can also be revoked by the principal at any time, and Dubai Land Department publishes a free power of attorney cancellation notarisation service for that purpose. A power of attorney does not survive the owner’s death for the purpose of dealing with the property afterwards: once the principal has died, their heirs and the inheritance route apply instead, not the old power of attorney. See our power of attorney for inheritance guide if that is your situation.

On the often-quoted “two year rule”: there is no general statutory validity period for a power of attorney under UAE law. Legal commentary reports that in 2025 the Dubai Land Department tightened how it accepts power of attorney documents in property transactions, including a requirement that the document be recent. Do not rely on a fixed number of years without checking the current position first.

Common mistakes that get a property power of attorney rejected

• Naming “the property” without the title deed number, plot number or project name
• Using general wording for what is really a sale or purchase
• Leaving out payment or transfer authority, then finding the agent cannot complete the deal
• Signing abroad and skipping a step in the legalisation chain
• An English-only document with no Arabic translation from a translator registered with the Ministry of Justice