A property investor who needed a company to hold property
A UK property investor. Sophia needed a company to buy and hold property in the UAE, and a generic licence would have caused problems later. We set up a Dubai mainland company with approval from the Real Estate Regulatory Agency, and arranged her visa and the bank account.
Speak to us about your situationThe situation
Sophia wanted to buy and hold property in the UAE and needed a company to do it through — but it had to be the right structure for owning property: safe, compliant, and able to hold real estate properly, not a generic licence that would cause problems later.
Why they came to us
She was introduced by her UK financial advisers, who wanted a firm that would set this up correctly and work with them on it.
So we worked it through with her advisers as well as with Sophia. We do not give legal, tax or investment advice, and it helps when a client's own advisers are part of the conversation.
What we recommended
After working it through with Sophia and her advisers, we recommended a Dubai mainland company with RERA approval, set up to hold and deal in property compliantly. RERA is the Real Estate Regulatory Agency. It is part of the Dubai Land Department. The department describes RERA's job in these words: "Manages the real estate licensing and training systems". That line is from the Land Department's page about itself.
Real estate activities in Dubai are licensed, and the department's own list of those activities includes "Buying and selling land and properties". The application goes in through the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, and the Land Department reviews and approves it. The list and the steps are on the Land Department's real estate activity licence page.
Sophia wanted the company to hold property, so the approval was dealt with as part of the formation, and the company was established with it already in place. The wrong property licence does not show up until much later, so we do the approvals work at formation, because Start Business Services will not set up a Dubai property company and leave an owner to fix the licence with real estate already inside it.
We handled the formation, arranged her visa and the bank account.
The outcome
The company was established with the right approvals to hold property, the visa and bank account completed, and we handle the ongoing accounting, tax filing and compliance.
Where to read next
Thinking about a move like this?
Tell us what the business does and where it is heading, and we will tell you whether we are the right firm.
Talk to us