As of May 2002 Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, issued a decree stating that foreign nationals should be allowed to purchase property in Dubai. Purchasing a property in Dubai is a lot simpler than the property process in the UK - there are no property taxes involved and the purchase comes direct from the developer. There are rarely any legal costs as the contract comes direct from the developer. The only legal costs that may be incurred are if you decide to have an independent lawyer to act on your behalf. There are codes of standards set by the Dubai Munciplicity regarding building permits and contractual clauses, these are there to protect you in case of non-completion or poor construction. All developers normally require a deposit of between 10-20%. Most developers are offering freehold properties and your contract will confirm this. The law in regards to freehold property is currently being passed through the courts. It is understood that the freehold title announced by H.H General Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum in 2003 shall be freehold as is understood in the national sense, where the owner has absolute rights to the property. Not all developments are freehold. For instance Dubailand is leasehold on a 99-year renewable basis. There is no registration of title being carried out by developers in Dubai yet with the land registry, instead the property is being registered to the purchaser. Once the new land registration becomes law, then it is expected that the land department will be empowered to register land title in favour of foreigners for a registration fee of 2%of the purchase price. This is usually broken down into payments of 1.5% by the purchaser and 0.5% by the vendor