Dubai's lost property law to protect owners' rights

THOSE HANDING OVER LOST PROPERTY TO BE REWARDED

- BY ANUPAM VARMA

A new law that rewards those who hand over lost or abandoned property, and penalises those who use such property as their own without declaring it to the authorities, was announced in Dubai yesterday.

Law No. (17) of 2025 issued by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, in his capacity as the Ruler of Dubai, also sets definitions of lost and abandoned property.

The law defines lost property as money or movable items that can be legally owned and have value, which are lost by their owner without the intention of giving them up. Abandoned property refers to money or movable items that can be legally owned and have value, of which the owner or lawful possessor has intentionally or implicitly given up ownership. Both definitions don’t include stray animals.

Finding lost property