backWe are pleased to share our latest article on GCC Branded Residences, examining the legal architecture, structural fault lines and next generation designs for branded residence projects in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Branded residences have become a core feature of the GCC's hospitality and real estate landscape. However, these projects now sit at a critical intersection where international hotel operating models, jointly owned property (JOP) governance, consumer protection and financing structures converge.
Our article explores:
- Standard GCC branded residence architecture, including real estate platforms, hotel management stacks, residential brand and services arrangements, governance frameworks, rental programmes and financing overlays.
- Key structural fault lines, such as operator distance from unit owners, de-branding and stranded asset risk, JOP governance and service charge tensions, rental programme classification issues, and financing constraints.
- Jurisdiction-specific considerations under Saudi Arabia's REGA framework and the UAE's strata regimes, particularly Dubai's regulated management company model.
- Next generation design principles, including calibrating the operator's residential role, aligning governance with JOP policy, simplifying document suites, and designing credible de-branding and transition regimes.
Our view is that the next generation of branded residences in Saudi Arabia and the UAE will be won by jurisdiction-first design treating local governance rules as the operating constitution of the asset, not merely as an overlay.
We hope you find this article useful. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or would like to discuss how these developments may affect your projects.
