Granted Land

Granted land is land allocated by the Ruler or government to UAE nationals — historically for residential, commercial or industrial use — as distinct from land acquired by private purchase. Its defining legal feature is restriction: granted land typically cannot be sold, mortgaged or otherwise disposed of without satisfying conditions and obtaining the competent authority's approval, and the rules differ by emirate and by the type and date of the grant. In Dubai, dealings in granted land are regulated and certain dispositions require consent or conversion of the land's status, sometimes with payment to the government. The classification surfaces in practice when heirs deal with a deceased national's estate, when a national wishes to sell or develop granted land or take financing against it, and in joint ventures where investors must verify whether the underlying plot is granted or privately owned — because title structure dictates what transactions are legally possible.