Acquisition for public benefit is not only about the land. Resolution No. 6 of 2024 lists what counts towards compensation for structures: the condition and completion status of the building, its age, materials and build quality, decorations, fences, wells, plantings and irrigation networks, safety and fire-protection systems, and principal and ancillary real rights. And it names the exclusions just as plainly: removable structures, fittings, equipment and movables, unpermitted construction, and improvements made AFTER the acquisition resolution.
Verified on 15 September 2026 against official sources: the text of Resolution No. 6 of 2024 comes from the Dubai Legislation Portal (dlp.dubai.gov.ae). Source links sit next to every item and again at the end. This is not legal advice: a particular acquisition is judged on its own documents.
Acquisition for public benefit is usually discussed as a matter of land. But there is a house on the plot, a fence around it, plantings and a well in the yard, and a fire-protection system inside. What of that enters the compensation and what does not is set out in a separate instrument.
The document is Resolution No. (6) of 2024 Regulating the Acquisition of, and Compensation for, Buildings and Structures Constructed on Real Property in the Emirate of Dubai, issued on 6 December 2024. It works alongside Law No. 2 of 2022, whose procedure is covered separately.
What counts
Article 9 lists what the valuation of structures is built from:
| Counted | Not counted |
|---|---|
| condition of the building and its completion status | removable structures, fittings, equipment and movables |
| age, materials and build quality | construction or improvements made without permission |
| decorations, fences, wells, plantings and irrigation networks | improvements made after the acquisition resolution |
| safety and fire-protection systems | — |
| principal and ancillary real rights | — |
The right-hand column is practical advice in reverse: what can be unbolted and taken away is not covered, because it stays yours. And improvements made after the acquisition resolution do not raise the figure — otherwise valuation would become a race.
What the amount is measured against
The same article states the anchor:
«The amount of Compensation must be proportionate to market prices as at the date of issuance of the Acquisition resolution» — Resolution No. (6) of 2024, Article 9
The date is fixed by the acquisition resolution — not by the date of payment and not by the date of the dispute. Leasing is dealt with separately: the terms of the lease contract or the prevailing market rent are taken, whichever is higher.
Who values it
From the definitions in Article 1: a valuator is an independent entity responsible for valuing real property, selected by the owner from the list approved by the Acquisition Committee. The committee itself approves the valuation (Article 4).
It is the same construction as in Law No. 2 of 2022: the owner chooses, the committee approves.
The deadlines stated in this resolution
| Step | Period | article |
|---|---|---|
| the Land Department estimates the compensation | 20 working days | 3 |
| the acquiring entity deposits the funds | 30 working days | 4 |
| the owner objects to the amount | 30 days | 8 |
⚠️ Care is needed here. Law No. 2 of 2022 gives ten working days to object to the amount of compensation (Article 10), while this resolution names thirty days (Article 8). We verified both figures in their own texts and reproduce them as they stand. Reconciling them — which period attaches to which stage and to which subject — is not something we undertake: that is a question for the body handling your file. The practical conclusion is single: count from the shortest of the stated periods, not from the convenient one.
What an owner should do
- Record the composition of the property in advance. Compensation is built from the list in Article 9; photographs and documents for fences, a well, plantings and fire-protection systems are not trivia — they are valuation lines.
- Separate the removable from the fixed. The removable is not compensated because it remains yours; taking it away is your job and your timeline.
- Do not build after the resolution. Improvements made after the acquisition resolution do not enter the valuation.
- You choose the valuator. From the committee's list — but the choice is yours.
- The right to the property is proved by the entry. Why only the register, and if the property is co-owned, where a subdivision dispute goes.
What we are NOT claiming here
- How the deadlines of this resolution relate to those of Law No. 2 of 2022. We give both and derive no combined rule.
- The valuation methodology. Article 9 names what is taken into account, not a formula.
- The list of valuators. It is approved by the committee; we do not reproduce it.
- The full text of Articles 3, 4 and 8. We give the periods we verified and do not reconstruct the rest of those articles.
- Any amounts. There is not one in this piece: it is about composition and procedure, not size.
Sources
- Resolution No. (6) of 2024 Regulating the Acquisition of, and Compensation for, Buildings and Structures Constructed on Real Property in the Emirate of Dubai — Dubai Legislation Portal: Article 1 (definition of the valuator, selected by the owner from an approved list), Article 3 (20 working days for the Land Department's estimate), Article 4 (30 working days to deposit the funds; the committee approves the valuation), Article 8 (30 days to object to the amount), Article 9 (what is counted and what is excluded, the anchor to market prices at the date of the acquisition resolution, lease terms or market rent whichever is higher). Issued 6 December 2024.
- Law No. (2) of 2022 Concerning Acquisition of Real Property for Public Benefit in the Emirate of Dubai — Dubai Legislation Portal: Article 10 (ten working days to object to the amount of compensation) — cited alongside as the second text on the same subject.
