What is Right of First Refusal (ROFR)?
Договорное право на первоочередную покупку или аренду объекта на условиях, предложенных третьей стороне, до того, как владелец сможет заключить сделку с посторонним лицом.
Description
A right of first refusal (ROFR) is a contractual clause that gives one party priority to buy or lease a property before the owner can offer it to third parties. The holder of the ROFR can match the best offer received by the owner. If they decline, the owner is free to proceed with the third party.
Existing tenants given ROFR when the landlord decides to sell the unit
Co-owners in a joint venture given ROFR on each other's shares
Adjacent landowners given ROFR to consolidate plots
Property investors should factor this into their financial models when evaluating opportunities across Dubai real estate markets.
How to interpret
An ROFR is a protective right but also a constraint. If you hold an ROFR on a partner's share in a co-owned property, you get priority to acquire it at fair value. However, the ROFR does not guarantee you will want to exercise it at the time the right is triggered. Ensure your liquidity position allows you to act if the right is triggered at an inconvenient moment.
When entering any joint ownership arrangement, clarify whether an ROFR is included, how the triggering event is defined, what timeline you have to respond, and how fair value is determined. Vague ROFR terms create disputes when the moment to exercise arrives.
Контекст рынка Дубая
In Dubai, ROFR clauses appear in SPV shareholders' agreements, joint venture contracts, and some commercial leases. They are less common in standard residential transactions but are frequently used in institutional real estate deals and master-developer agreements.
Dubai investors should review this in context of current DLD transaction data, RERA guidelines, and community-specific market conditions.
Frequently asked questions
A contractual right giving a party the first opportunity to purchase or lease a property on the same terms offered to a third party, before the owner can sell to someone else.
A right of first refusal (ROFR) is a contractual clause that gives one party priority to buy or lease a property before the owner can offer it to third parties. The holder of the ROFR can match the best offer received by the owner.
An ROFR is a protective right but also a constraint. If you hold an ROFR on a partner's share in a co-owned property, you get priority to acquire it at fair value.
In Dubai, ROFR clauses appear in SPV shareholders' agreements, joint venture contracts, and some commercial leases. They are less common in standard residential transactions but are frequently used in institutional real estate deals and master-developer agreements.
Oliva feeds Right of First Refusal (ROFR) into a proprietary 6-dimension score that rates eparticularly Dubai project on Financial Value, Market Dynamics, Location, Developer Trust, Risk, Macro Context, and Liquidity. This keeps comparisons consistent across hundreds of listings.
If they decline, the owner is free to proceed with the third party. Existing tenants given ROFR when the landlord decides to sell the unit Co-owners in a joint venture given ROFR on each other's shares Adjacent landowners given ROFR to consolidate plots
Stop reading theory. See right of first refusal (rofr) on real Dubai projects.
Oliva shows this metric live on 1,000+ Dubai projects, alongside 7 other data points that actually predict returns. DLD and RERA licensed, free to browse.
This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment, financial, legal, or tax advice. Yields, returns, and market data referenced are historical or estimated and are not guaranteed. Capital is at risk. Seek independent professional advice before making investment decisions. Oliva is a licensed Dubai real estate advisor (DLD Broker Card: 92025, RERA BRN: 1573501). Read our Key Risks Disclosure and Disclaimer.