Dubai Future Foundation, Dubai Land Department Partner to Drive PropTech Innovation

Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) and Dubai Land Department (DLD) have partnered to boost innovation in property technology (PropTech). The partnership comes under DFF’s Sandbox Dubai, an initiative that aims to develop the city’s regulatory frameworks in support of the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33).
PropTech Sandbox further seeks to foster a regulatory environment that accelerates the adoption of emerging technologies, enhancing the efficiency, sustainability, and accessibility of Dubai’s real estate sector.

The partnership will enable the testing and scaling of cutting-edge PropTech solutions within a safe and structured environment. It will facilitate knowledge exchange and capacity building while involving tech companies, startups, and government entities in creating regulatory frameworks and policies. The frameworks will help develop areas like AI-driven analytics and smart building management tools. The agreement will support new initiatives, projects, and use cases using DLD’s data on the local real estate sector.

His Excellency Omar Bu Shehab, Director General of DLD, affairmed that Dubai’s real estate sector is undergoing an unprecedented transformation, which is laying the foundations for a smart city of the future and adopting the latest technological innovations. HE said: “Technology is the key to advancing today’s real estate landscape, from market regulation and data management through to building happier, more integrated communities.”

He added: “This partnership reflects Dubai’s vision for a knowledge-driven economy and reinforces the emirate’s position as a global hub for innovation in property technology. At DLD, we are committed to achieving the objectives of the Dubai Real Estate Strategy 2033 and leveraging technologies to enhance decision-making, transparency, service efficiency, as well as the investment environment.”

His Excellency Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of DFF, said that the partnership with DLD is part of Dubai’s efforts to leverage government, private sector, and academic collaboration to strengthen its future readiness and consolidate its leadership in shaping forward-looking legislation and adopting technologies across different sectors.

HE added: “The PropTech development project within Sandbox Dubai will enhance the performance of Dubai’s real estate sector by providing a platform to test data-driven solutions, advanced technologies, and agile regulatory frameworks. This will help enahnce this pivotal sector and further elevate its global leadership.”

Under the partnership, the Sandbox Dubai team will provide an environment where partners including real estate developers, technology providers, academic institutions, and financial entities can test their innovations.

The PropTech project aims to grow the real estate sector’s contribution to Dubai’s GDP, reduce property operating costs, accelerate mortgage approval processes, and increase the number of jobs in PropTech.