With the exception of 4 cases, the ownership of real estate in Sharjah is restricted to citizens of the state and Gulf countries

His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, issued Law No. 2 of 2022 amending Law No. 5 of 2010 regarding real estate registration in the emirate.

According to the law, the text of Article 4 of Law No. 5 of 2010 shall be replaced by the following text:

The right to own real estate in the Emirate is limited to persons who are citizens of the State and citizens of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, and as an exception to this, the right of ownership may be granted to others according to the following:

1. Ownership with the consent of the ruler.

2. Transferring by inheritance by virtue of a legal notification.
3. Assignment by the owner to one of his first-degree relatives, in accordance with what is specified in the executive regulations of this law.
4. Ownership of real estate development areas and projects in accordance with the controls set by the Council.
The law also stipulated that the text of Article 7 of Law No. 5 of 2010 would be replaced by the following text:
Subject to the provisions of Article No. 4 of this Law, a legal person who owns real estate in the Emirate is obligated to:
1. Inform the Real Estate Registration Department of any change in the ownership of the legal person if it will lead to a decrease or increase in the partners’ shares, transfer of ownership, or a change in its legal form or trade name.
2. Correcting the violating situation in the event of introducing a partner or transferring his ownership to persons who are not entitled to own real estate in the Emirate, in violation of the provision of Article 4 of this Law, within two years from the date of the Department’s notification to the legal person of the violation, and this period is subject to extension after the approval of the Council If this period elapses without correcting the situation, the competent court in the emirate, at the request of the department, will sell the property to persons who have the right to own property, provided that the sale price goes back to the legal person after deducting the fees and expenses prescribed for that.