Sharjah freehold: the project decides, not the emirate

1. What the law actually changed

Until 2022, non-GCC nationals buying in Sharjah were generally taking a usufruct — a long-term right to use the property, commonly written for 100 years, rather than ownership of it.

That changed with Sharjah Law No. (2) of 2022, which amended Article 4 of Sharjah Law No. (5) of 2010 on real estate registration. The Sharjah Executive Council announced the decision on 1 November 2022, in wording worth reading closely: it allows all nationalities to own real estate of all kinds without limitation of time in real estate development areas and projects.

Two phrases in that sentence do all the work.

"Without limitation of time" is the part that matters legally. It is ownership, not a lease with an expiry date. This is why the old "100-year usufruct" framing is now out of date for approved projects — though it still describes the position elsewhere.

"In real estate development areas and projects" is the part that matters practically. The right is not granted across the emirate. It attaches to specific approved developments, under controls set by the Executive Council. Outside those, the default rule still limits ownership to UAE and GCC nationals, with narrow exceptions for inheritance and transfers to a first-degree relative.

2. Which projects are open, and to whom

This is where buyers get stuck, because there is no published government list of approved projects. The Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department has reported that roughly fifty projects have been approved for foreign ownership since the 2022 decision, but it does not publish them by name.

So the working knowledge sits with the market. Developments generally sold as open to all nationalities include:

• Aljada — Arada
• Masaar — Arada
• Hayyan — Alef Group
• Al Tai Hills
• Sharjah Sustainable City
• Al Zahia

And some developments are open to Arab nationalities only — Shamous is one.

Treat that list as a starting point, not an authority. It reflects how these projects are currently sold, not a government publication. Approvals are granted project by project and can be added over time, so the only answer that protects you is the one confirmed for the specific development, in writing, before money moves.

The practical consequence is simple, and it is the opposite of how Sharjah is usually marketed: you cannot reason from the emirate to the project. Two developments a few minutes apart can carry different ownership rights for the same buyer.

3. What to ask, and when

Ask before the deposit, not after. A reservation fee is far easier to pay than to recover.

1. "Is this project approved for foreign ownership, and for which nationalities?" The answer should be specific. "Sharjah is open to everyone now" is not an answer about your project.
2. "What ownership type will the title show — ownership, or usufruct?" If it is usufruct, ask for the term in years and what happens at the end of it.
3. "Will you put that in writing before I pay?" A developer whose project is genuinely approved has no difficulty doing this.
4. "What is the project’s registration number with the Registration Department?" It lets you verify independently rather than take the sales floor’s word.

Then confirm it yourself with the Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department. One phone call, before the deposit, settles a question that is expensive to get wrong.

4. Sharjah now regulates off-plan money

A development that got much less attention than the ownership change, and matters just as much if you are buying off-plan.

Sharjah Executive Council Resolution No. (37) of 2024 regulates real estate development projects in the emirate. Its core requirements:

• A developer must establish a dedicated escrow account for each project, under an agreement with an approved financial trustee.
• Buyer payments go into sub-accounts linked to specific units.
• Disbursement is restricted to construction progress certified by licensed engineering consultants.
• Projects must be registered in a Real Estate Development Register, with a feasibility study, proof of solvency and evidence of technical competence — and no developer may market units before completing that registration.

The Registration Department can freeze escrow disbursements, fine a developer, suspend or cancel a project’s registration, and liquidate escrow with refunds to purchasers.

One thing not to assume. Dubai buyers often ask for the Sharjah equivalent of an Oqood certificate — the interim register entry that makes an off-plan purchase legally effective in Dubai. Resolution 37 establishes a register of developers and projects and unit-linked escrow sub-accounts, but a direct equivalent of Dubai’s interim buyer register is not something you should assume exists. Ask what document evidences your specific purchase, and what register it is entered in.

5. What it costs

Sharjah charges a registration and transfer fee of 4% on purchase, and the point most buyers miss is who carries it: in Sharjah the buyer pays the whole 4%.

That is worth setting against Dubai, where the off-plan registration fee is published as 2% from the seller and 2% from the buyer. Same headline number, half the burden. So when you compare a Sharjah price against a Dubai price per square foot, the Sharjah side is carrying two extra percent of cost that the comparison usually hides.

It is discounted periodically, and the saving is real. The Executive Council approved a 50% reduction during the ACRES property exhibition in January 2026, as it had the year before. On a two-million-dirham purchase, that is forty thousand dirhams for signing inside a particular window rather than outside it. If your timing is flexible and an exhibition is close, ask before you commit to a date.

And it comes back at you on the way out. When you sell, your buyer pays the 4% — which means it is priced into what they are willing to offer you. On a short hold, that is a real drag on the exit, and it is one of the reasons a Sharjah flip needs more price movement to work than the discount to Dubai first suggests.

Confirm on the day whether a reduction is currently running. If a broker quotes you something different, ask where it is published.

6. The question nobody asks about the developer

Ownership type is the question buyers remember to ask. Delivery record is the one they forget.

Sharjah’s off-plan market has drawn a number of newer developers, some launching their first project. A first project is not automatically a bad project — but it is a different risk from buying from a developer with completed, handed-over communities you can walk through.

Three checks worth making:

• What has this developer actually completed and handed over in the UAE? Not launched. Handed over.
• Which legal entity is on the contract? Groups often build through a subsidiary, and the name on the marketing is not always the name on the sale agreement or the escrow account. Read the entity name and check it is the one registered for the project.
• How much falls due at handover? Plans that back-load a large share to the handover payment leave you needing finance approved at a rate you cannot see today, years out. Only the construction-linked portion is paced by escrow verification.

None of this argues against Sharjah. It argues for asking the same questions you would ask in Dubai — which is precisely what the price difference should be buying you room to do.

7. Frequently asked questions

Sources & verification. Legal position per Sharjah Law No. (2) of 2022 amending Article 4 of Sharjah Law No. (5) of 2010 on real estate registration, and the Sharjah Executive Council decision announced on 1 November 2022 permitting all nationalities to own real estate without limitation of time in approved real estate development areas and projects. Off-plan regulation per Sharjah Executive Council Resolution No. (37) of 2024. Project-level ownership status is market information gathered from developers and is not a published government list — confirm your own project directly with the Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department before committing. The registration and transfer fee is 4% of the purchase value and is paid by the buyer in Sharjah; Dubai off-plan registration fees are published by the Dubai Land Department as 2% from the seller and 2% from the buyer. Sharjah has applied temporary 50% reductions during the ACRES exhibition. Confirm the rate in force with the Registration Department on the day of your transaction. Position as at 14 September 2026.