Federal Decree by Law No. (35) of 2023 Concerning the Union Owned Properties

Official-text and status notice. This file is a structured English rendering based on the official UAE sources listed in the package. It is not represented as the legally controlling Arabic text. For interpretation and application, consult the original Arabic text, the Official Gazette and the latest official UAE legislation/implementing instruments.

Federal Decree by Law No. (35) of 2023 Concerning the Union Owned Properties

Verified legislative metadata

Verified article / structural index

• Article 1 — Definitions
• Article 2 — Scope of Application
• Article 3 — Property and Rights to which Articles 9–43 do not apply
• Article 4 — Union Owned Properties
• Article 5 — Protecting Union Owned Properties
• Article 6 — Reporting Violations
• Article 7 — Government Official Prohibited Actions
• Article 8 — Security and Police Authorities Tasks
• Article 9 — Disposal of property allocated to serve a Public Facility
• Article 10 — Granting Rights or Guarantees
• Article 11 — Demolition of Buildings and Public Facilities
• Article 12 — Licensing Use or Exploitation
• Article 13 — Licence Cancellation
• Article 14 — Loss of Public Facility Status
• Article 15 — Private Union Owned Properties
• Article 16 — Federal Union Owned Properties Management
• Article 17 — Access to Property Information
• Article 18 — Property Assets Register
• Article 19 — Classification of Property Assets Register
• Article 20 — Modifying Register Data
• Article 21 — Recovered Properties
• Article 22 — Union Owned Properties outside the State
• Article 23 — Obligations of occupying Federal Authorities
• Article 24 — Controls for Private Property Lease
• Article 25 — Controls for Use and Exploitation
• Article 26 — City Planning and Construction Compliance
• Article 27 — Optimal Use
• Article 28 — Informing Ministry of Exploitation Aspects
• Article 29 — Excess Property Space
• Article 30 — Exploitation of Area occupied by Federal Agency
• Article 31 — Lease of Space occupied by Federal Agency
• Article 32 — Residence in Union Owned Properties
• Article 33 — Illegal Use
• Article 34 — Appeal Committee
• Article 35 — Vacation Order
• Article 36 — Vacation Order as Enforcement Instrument
• Article 37 — Costs of Implementing Vacation Order
• Article 38 — Application to Union Non-Owned Properties
• Article 39 — Disposal of Union Non-Owned Properties
• Article 40 — Guide to Use Materials, Papers and Stationery
• Article 41 — Transfer between Federal Agencies
• Article 42 — Purchasing Lands/Buildings and Annexing them
• Article 43 — Arrangement of Rights over Property
• Articles 44–48 — Penalties
• Article 49 — Final provisions concerning certain managed/non-owned assets
• Article 50 — Cabinet powers
• Article 51 — Coordination, Management and Disposal Procedures
• Article 52 — Documentation of Legal Transactions
• Article 53 — Enforcement/implementing resolutions
• Article 54 — Transitional continuation of previous regulations
• Article 55 — Repeals
• Article 56 — Publication and Entry into Force

Structured legislative rendering

Articles 1–4 — Definitions, scope and classification

Defines federal agencies, Union-owned property, private/public categories, subsidiaries and legal acts, applies to covered assets inside/outside the UAE and classifies the assets governed.

Articles 5–8 — Protection and official duties

Declares Union-owned properties inviolable, requires reporting of misuse and creates duties/prohibitions for government officials and security/police cooperation.

Articles 9–15 — Property allocated to public facilities and private federal property

Regulates disposal, rights/guarantees, demolition, licences, loss of public-facility status and rules for private Union-owned property.

Articles 16–23 — Management and Property Assets Register

Addresses management, information access, the Property Assets Register, classification/updates, recovered property, assets abroad and obligations of occupying federal authorities.

Articles 24–33 — Lease, use and exploitation

Regulates leases, use/exploitation controls, city-planning compliance, optimal use, excess space, leasing occupied space, residence and illegal use.

Articles 34–37 — Appeal and vacation/enforcement

Creates an appeal committee and mechanisms for vacation orders, enforcement and cost recovery.

Articles 38–43 — Non-owned assets and transactions

Extends specified rules to Union non-owned property and regulates transfers, acquisitions and arrangement of rights.

Articles 44–48 — Penalties

Creates offences/penalties for specified unlawful conduct involving covered federal property. Exact penalty wording and amounts must be taken from the official articles.

Articles 49–54 — Final/implementation provisions

Extends management rules to specified non-government-owned assets in federal custody/control, grants Cabinet/Minister powers, requires documentation under local property law and preserves prior rules transitionally.

Article 55 — Repeal

Repeals Federal Decree by Law No. (16) of 2018 concerning Federal Government properties.

Article 56 — Commencement

The law was issued on 28 September 2023 and takes effect six months after Official Gazette publication. Exact Gazette publication/effective date was not sufficiently verified for the manifest.

Verified key points

• Contains 56 articles.
• Applies to Union-owned properties inside the UAE and abroad, subject to statutory exclusions.
• Classifies multiple categories of Union-owned and Union non-owned property.
• Declares Union-owned properties inviolable and protects them from unlawful possession, use or disposition.
• Requires reporting of violations and imposes duties on government officials.
• Regulates disposal/licensing/use of property allocated to public facilities.
• Establishes a Property Assets Register managed within the federal framework.
• Regulates leases and optimal use of federal property occupied by federal agencies.
• Provides mechanisms to deal with illegal occupation/use and administrative vacation orders.
• Regulates property outside the State and property acquired/managed by federal agencies.
• Contains criminal penalties in Articles 44–48.
• Article 55 repeals Federal Decree by Law No. (16) of 2018.
• Article 56 provides for commencement six months after Official Gazette publication.
• The decree-law was issued on 28 September 2023.

Use of this rendering

Where a matter depends on an exact offence element, penalty, time limit, definition, exception, threshold, licence requirement or transitional rule, the exact current official article and implementing instrument must be checked. This rendering is designed to cover the verified structure and practical legal effect without presenting generated wording as an official quotation.