Ownership & law
ADREC (Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre)
ADREC is Abu Dhabi's real-estate regulator, overseeing property registration, brokerage licensing, and the emirate's official transaction data.
The Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (ADREC) is the government body that regulates and develops the emirate's property sector, taking over real-estate registration and oversight functions previously handled by the Department of Municipalities and Transport. It maintains the official property register, licenses brokers and developers, and operates the systems (such as Tawtheeq and off-plan escrow oversight) that give Abu Dhabi transactions their legal standing. For Abu Dhabi specifically, ADREC is the relevant authority; Dubai's separate regulator, the DLD, has no jurisdiction here.
Related terms
- Tawtheeq — Tawtheeq is Abu Dhabi's official system for registering and attesting tenancy contracts, making a lease legally recognised.
- Oqood (Off-Plan Registration) — Oqood is the registration of an off-plan property purchase, recording the buyer's interest in a unit that is still under development.
- Investment Zone — An investment zone is an Abu Dhabi area designated by law where expatriates and foreign investors can own property under freehold or other tenures.
- Transaction — A transaction is a recorded property deal, whose registered price and details form the raw data behind market analysis and comparables.