Best Guide to Buying Real Estate 2026

Guide to Buying Real Estate (Residential, Commercial, Administrative, etc.)

When you are going to buy a property (whether residential, commercial, administrative, etc.), know all the details that can guarantee your rights.

Verify the Company's Documentation: Ensure the company has a Commercial Register (Sijil Tijari) and a Tax Card (Bitaqa Daribiyya), and you must review them.

Verify the Seller's Personal Data: Check the seller's National ID/Personal Card, review their data (quadruple name - national ID number - place of residence), and request a copy of the ID to keep with the contract. If it is a company, ensure the person selling is named in the Commercial Register as one of the individuals with the right to sell.

Property Chain of Title (Preamble): Before the clauses in the contract, there is a Preamble (Tamhid). This usually contains the chain of title for the land the property is built upon, and how it devolved to the current owner who is selling to you. Review the chain of title and compare it with what is written in the Preamble, and keep a copy of the chain of title. This is in addition to describing the land plot in terms of area, surrounding landmarks, and the name of the area where it is located.

Contract Clauses: After verifying the previous steps, we move to the contract clauses, whether it is a Final or Preliminary contract. We will mention the most important clauses:

Key Contract Clauses

Firstly: Property Description (وصف العقار)

State the area/size in both numbers and letters.

Secondly: Payment Details (المبلغ المدفوع)

State the total amount for the unit in both numbers and letters.

State the remaining amount, the required payment due date, and the due date for each installment individually. Be mindful, as you are obligated to pay every amount mentioned.

Delivery Date: If the delivery is immediate, there is no problem. If the delivery is after a period, even if it is one day, it should be mentioned in the contract to guarantee your right.

Thirdly: Land Share (حصة الارض)

Ensure you have a share in the land and the common areas. This share is usually on co-ownership (Masha'a), meaning equally with the rest of the owners without specifying a fixed area, because you have become an owner of the land and what is built upon it, and the original property owner has dropped their right to the land.

Fourthly: Right of Pre-emption (الشفعة)

Waive your right of pre-emption (Shufa'a), and likewise, the neighbors should waive their right of pre-emption over your unit so that no one controls you if you wish to sell the apartment later, and your neighbor does not control the price (The neighbor has the first right of pre-emption - Al-Jār Awlā bi Ash-Shufa'a).

Fifthly: Original Owner's Rights (المالك الاصلي)

Ensure that the seller has dropped all their rights in your unit, whether they are in rem (Ainiya) rights, accessory rights (Tabai'ya), endowment (Hikr), appropriation (Ikhtisas), privilege/lien (Imtiaz), lease (Ijar), mortgage (Rahn), or any other claim, and that you have become the sole owner of your apartment.

Sixthly: Basic Utilities (التزامات البائع)

The selling party must commit to providing full basic utilities to the property (water pipes - sanitation/sewerage - and electricity), and a pledge/undertaking to this effect should be included.

Seventhly: Facility Specifications and Maintenance (المرافق)

Specify the amount required for maintenance/facilities, which should be based on the size of the property, not by comparison with other properties, because you are the one benefiting from all of it.

Specify: (the type of materials used for the entrance - flooring, walls, or ceilings - the materials for the stairs - the colors of the facade - the number of elevators).

Eighthly: Control of the Property (إسقاط ملكية المالك الفعلي)

Drop the actual owner's right to control the property after its completion, and establish an Owners' Association (Ittihad Mullak) from the original owners, like yourself (This applies in the case of a single/individual property).

Ninthly: Penalty Clause (الشرط الجزائي)

There should be a penalty clause in case either party breaches the contract. The amount should be stated in both numbers and letters, and it should apply to all clauses of the contract.

Tenthly: Copies of the Contract (نسختين من العقد)

The contract should be in two identical copies, with each party holding one copy for action.

Eleventh: Witnesses' Signatures (توقيع الشهود)

Signatures of the witnesses.