Prepare a power of attorney for your property task

Start with the transaction the representative needs to carry out. The receiving organisation and signing location help determine what must be confirmed before a document is prepared.

This site sets out how property POAs are constructed, notarised, accepted, and revoked in Dubai. It is a reference resource and not a substitute for legal advice.

The Operative Framework

Three legal layers apply to any property POA used in Dubai.The first is the UAE Civil Transactions Law — Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025, in force from 1 June 2026, which repealed Federal Law No. 5 of 1985. Articles 866 to 903 govern agency. They define the contract, set capacity requirements, distinguish general from special agency, and set the rules for termination.The second is the federal notary regime — Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2022, implemented by Cabinet Resolution No. 16 of 2024. The framework recognises both Public and Private Notaries and gives legal effect to electronic notarisation. Dubai Resolution No. 137 of 2022 authorises digital notarisation procedures within the Emirate.The third is Dubai Land Department guidance on the acceptance and verification of POAs in real estate dispositions in Dubai (Circular No. 29/R/2025), covering transactions such as sale, purchase, gift, mortgage, usufruct and musataha. It sits over the federal layers and informs what DLD accepts at the registration counter; confirm its current requirements with DLD or the Real Estate Registration Trustee before relying on an instrument.

Identify the receiving organisation

A property POA is accepted by the DLD when three conditions are satisfied.

Wording. The POA should expressly authorise the specific transaction and identify the property. Generic phrases such as “full authority to manage property” may not be accepted for a registration; confirm the wording the receiving DLD service expects for the transaction type.

Verification. The POA’s authenticity, scope and current status are confirmed through the issuing authority’s official platform — for example the Dubai Courts, Abu Dhabi Courts or Ministry of Justice e-notary records. A QR code on the instrument should lead to an official verification record; confirm the accepted verification method with the receiving DLD service.

Validity and authentication. The POA must be within DLD’s acceptance limits and its own validity. For a foreign-issued POA the UAE authentication route must be complete — notarisation in the country of issuance, that country’s foreign-ministry attestation, legalisation by the UAE embassy or consulate there, and attestation by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs — and the receiving institution should be asked whether the original physical document is required.

Define the intended property task

DLD has historically preferred Special POAs that name the specific property and the specific transaction, and its current guidance reinforces transaction-specific wording. A General POA may be acceptable where it expressly authorises the named transaction type and references the relevant property — at which point a Special POA is the cleaner instrument. Confirm with the receiving DLD service before relying on a general instrument.

Match the instrument to the intended act

The scope of the POA should match the act the agent will actually perform. The table links each purpose to the corresponding POAS drafting service; whether a given instrument is accepted for a given act is decided by the notary and the receiving DLD service, not by the drafting route.

Intended act	Usual instrument	Drafting route
Sell a named property	Special POA naming the property and the sale	Property sale POA
Buy a named property	Special POA naming the property and the purchase	Special POA
Manage, lease or maintain a property	Property-management POA limited to those acts	Property management POA
Sign from outside the UAE	POA executed abroad, then authenticated for UAE use	POA from abroad

Confirm signing and document requirements

A POA executed outside the UAE may be used for a Dubai property transaction subject to DLD’s acceptance limits and the UAE authentication route. DLD’s published FAQ gives two years from notarisation for a POA used for a sale, mortgage or gift, and five years for a purchase. These are transaction-acceptance limits rather than a universal lifespan: an open-ended POA, including one notarised through the Dubai Courts Notary Public, should not be assumed usable at DLD indefinitely. Check the instrument’s own expiry or revocation and the receiving authority’s current requirements before use.

Sale Proceeds

The Circular prescribes specific rules for the routing of sale proceeds where the seller is represented by an agent. Acceptable methods include a manager’s cheque in the seller’s name, a cheque in the agent’s name supported by a receipt explicitly stating the funds are received on behalf of the seller, or a notarised acknowledgement from the owner.

Revocation

The principal may revoke a property POA at any time under Article 898 of the Civil Transactions Law, unless a third party’s right is attached to it or it was issued for the agent’s benefit. For a property POA registered with the DLD, revocation is a two step process: revocation through the issuing notary, followed by filing with the DLD to remove the POA from the property record.

Discuss the preparation route

Prepare the instrument

Drafting, notarisation and, where the principal is abroad, the authentication chain are handled through POAS. The service prepares the instrument for the act you describe; it does not decide whether the DLD or a trustee office will accept it.

Review the property POA scope

Tell us the transaction you need to authorise and where you will be signing.

Complete the transfer

Once the POA is in hand, the transfer itself — documents, NOC, bank and trustee-day coordination for a principal who is overseas — is a separate step covered in the overseas transfer guide.

Prepare the overseas transfer

This resource, POAS and Conveyance are operated by Cendale Documents Clearing Services FZCO.