Decree No. 23 of 2022 sets the rules for granting musataha rights over commercial land in Dubai: 35 years maximum, extendable to 50 in total, mandatory entry in a dedicated register — without which a disposition is void, a completion certificate within five years, and a fine of 1% of the land's market value for every year beyond that. The buildings belong to the right holder for the term, then pass to the landowner.
Verified against official sources on 2026-09-15: the text of Decree No. 23 of 2022 comes from the Dubai Legislation Portal (dlp.dubai.gov.ae). Source links sit next to each rule and again at the end. The portal notes that the English version is a translation and that the Arabic text prevails in case of conflict. This is not legal advice: a specific plot and a specific contract are judged on their own documents.
Musataha — the right to build on someone else's land and own what you build — is known as one of Dubai's forms of tenure. But for commercial plots it has its own instrument, with hard deadlines and an explicit fine for building slowly.
The document is Decree No. (23) of 2022 Regulating the Grant of Musataha Rights over Commercial Land in the Emirate of Dubai, issued on 7 July 2022. A general overview of the forms of tenure is in usufruct and musataha; this piece reads the decree itself.
The terms: 35 and 50
Article 6 sets two limits at once:
«A Musataha Right may not be held for more than thirty-five (35) years. This period may be extended upon the approval of the Owner, provided that it may not exceed fifty (50) years in total.» — Decree No. (23) of 2022, Article 6(a)
Then paragraph (b) makes the term an essential condition: it must be stated in the contract, and a right with no stated term may not be entered in the register; any disposition in breach of the article is void and has no legal effect.
Article 7 adds a practical detail for the holder: the right takes effect from the date of entry in the register, and where he wishes to renew it, the renewal application goes to the owner at least two years before expiry — unless the parties agreed otherwise.
Registration is a condition of validity
Article 5: a musataha right is created by a contract between the holder and the owner, but the holder must enter the right in the register and comply with the decree, the resolutions issued under it and the contract terms. Any disposition in breach of that paragraph is void and has no legal effect.
A dedicated register for these rights is created by the DLD (Article 9). The "the right lives in the entry" logic here matches the main property register — read from Law No. 7 of 2006.
What the holder must do
Article 8 lists the obligations, and two of them set the project's tempo:
- use the land only for the purpose stated in the contract;
- construct within the prescribed time frames;
- obtain the completion certificate within five years of the right's entry in the register;
- pay the fees prescribed for registering the contract;
- not change the land's use without the approvals of the owner and the concerned entities;
- not dispose of the right in any legal manner, except by mortgage, before the completion certificate is issued;
- not do anything that may harm the owner or affect use of the land after the right lapses;
- comply with any other obligations set by the DLD.
The sixth bullet is worth rereading for investors: before the completion certificate the right can be mortgaged — and that is all.
The fine for building slowly
Article 14 turns delay into a number:
«a fine of one percent (1%) of the market value of the Commercial Land will be imposed on the Holder of Musataha Right for each year beyond that time frame until the issuance of the Completion Certificate» — Decree No. (23) of 2022, Article 14(c)
Three clarifications from the same article. First, a part of a year is rounded up to a full year (paragraph e). Second, where the delay is due to reasons beyond the holder's control or to an emergency or force majeure event, he is exempt from the fine (paragraph d). Third, the fine is collected by the owner or the DLD, as the case may be.
The completion certificate itself is issued by Dubai Municipality or the competent licensing authority (paragraph a).
Who owns the buildings
Article 11 answers in parts. The holder owns the buildings and structures he constructs throughout the period of the right, and that ownership is limited both by the term and by the purpose for which they were built. Once the completion certificate is obtained, he may dispose of them in any lawful manner — without prejudice to the landowner's rights.
A carve-out in paragraph (b): notwithstanding the general ban on disposing before the certificate, the holder may sell off-plan units under Law No. 13 of 2008 and the DLD's rules. What that law demands of an off-plan seller is covered separately.
And paragraph (c) sets the endgame: unless the parties agreed otherwise, ownership of the buildings passes to the landowner when the musataha right lapses.
When the right lapses
Article 12 names five grounds: expiry of the term without renewal; the parties' agreement to terminate early; a definitive judgment of the competent court terminating it; the holder becoming the owner of the land itself; and failure to obtain the completion certificate for three consecutive years after the five-year limit in Article 14.
Paragraph (b) removes a common misconception: removing the buildings before the term ends does not end the right — the holder may use the land for the remaining period in any lawful manner.
Mortgage, inheritance, and selling the company
Mortgage (Article 10). A musataha right may be mortgaged under Law No. 14 of 2008, but only with the prior written approvals of the owner and the DLD. How the mortgage itself works: our reading of the mortgage law.
Inheritance (Article 13). On the holder's death the right passes to his legal heirs under the DLD's rules, and it may be bequeathed by will. How an inherited property right moves through the register is a separate piece.
Company shares (Article 15). The holder may not sell, mortgage or assign ownership of, or shares in, the establishment or company granted the right without the approvals of the owner and the DLD and coordination with the commercial licensing authority. The rule closes the workaround of changing who owns the legal entity.
Who handles complaints
Article 4 includes among the DLD's powers the consideration of grievances and complaints by any party to a contract about another party's failure to perform — seeking amicable settlement and issuing the necessary decisions under the DLD's procedures. The same article has the DLD determine which commercial land may be granted under musataha at all, and submit that list for approval.
⚠️ We do not print the registration fees here
Article 8 refers the payment of registration fees to Executive Council Resolution No. 30 of 2013. We do not reproduce rates that are thirteen years old: publishing them as current would be exactly the case where a stale figure is worse than none. Current fees are checked with the DLD.
What we do NOT claim here
- Registration fee rates. See above: the decree's reference exists, the figures we do not print.
- The list of commercial plots available under musataha. The DLD determines it and it is approved separately; the decree contains no list.
- How the land's "market value" is assessed for the fine. The decree names the base, not the valuation method.
- The contents of Law No. 3 of 1996 and Decree No. 31 of 2016. Both are named in the text as frameworks; we do not quote their provisions.
Sources
- Decree No. (23) of 2022 Regulating the Grant of Musataha Rights over Commercial Land in the Emirate of Dubai — Dubai Legislation Portal: Article 2 (scope), Article 3 (objectives), Article 4 (DLD's powers, including complaints and determining eligible land), Article 5 (creation by contract and mandatory registration on pain of nullity), Article 6 (35 years, extension to 50 in total, the term as a condition of registration), Article 7 (effect from entry, renewal application two years ahead), Article 8 (nine obligations of the holder, including the completion certificate within five years and the ban on disposing before it except by mortgage), Article 9 (the dedicated register), Article 10 (mortgage with the approvals of the owner and the DLD), Article 11 (ownership of the buildings for the term, off-plan sales, transfer of the buildings to the landowner), Article 12 (five grounds for lapse; removal of buildings does not end the right), Article 13 (transfer to heirs and bequest by will), Article 14 (certificate issued by the Municipality, fine of 1% of market value per year, part-year rounded up, exemption for force majeure), Article 15 (ban on dealing in the holder company's shares without approvals). Issued on 7 July 2022.
