Kuwait rent guide
Only Kuwaitis and GCC nationals own. Leases are written, notarised for fast enforcement, rent frozen for five years, and there is no tax at all.
General information, not legal or tax advice.
Rules change and your situation may differ. Check the sources on this page and
confirm with a lawyer or accountant in the country before you act.
Renting out property in Kuwait
What applies when the property is in Kuwait, whoever owns it and wherever they live.
Who may own residential property
| Citizens living in the country | Allowed Anywhere. |
|---|---|
| Residents of any nationality | Not allowed Residency gives no right to buy. The one exception under Decree-Law 74 of 1979 is a national of another Arab country, resident for ten years with a clean record, who may be granted one home of up to 1,000 square metres for the family's own use by a specific decree; it is rarely used. |
| Citizens living abroad | Allowed A Kuwaiti living abroad buys like any citizen. |
| Foreign nationals living abroad | Not allowed A non-GCC foreigner cannot own land or a home in Kuwait. Decree-Law 7 of 2025 opened ownership only to companies, funds and portfolios listed or licensed in Kuwait, not to individuals. A foreigner's route to Kuwaiti rent is a long lease or a share in a listed vehicle, both outside this guide. |
More on ownership
- Barred outright
- Every non-GCC individual, with the narrow Arab-resident exception above.
- Inheritance and gifts
- A non-Kuwaiti who inherits Kuwaiti property must sell within two years unless entitled to own; since 2025 an Arab national inheriting from a Kuwaiti mother is exempt from the forced sale. No inheritance tax.
- Owning through a company
- Only a company listed on Boursa Kuwait, a licensed real estate fund or a regulated portfolio may hold property with foreign owners, under Decree-Law 7 of 2025. Outside this guide.
Letting it out from abroad
- May a non-resident owner let it
- Yes, for the Kuwaitis and GCC nationals who can own; residency is not required to let.
- Licences, permits, landlord registration
- None for a long-term let.
- Local agent or representative
- In practice yes. Notarisation, rent certificates on the Sahel app and the rental court all assume a civil ID holder on the ground.
The rent agreement
- Written agreement required
- Yes. Decree-Law 35 of 1978, as amended by Decree-Law 95 of 2024, requires a written lease signed by both parties stating the rent and its due date.
- Mandatory standard form
- None mandatory. Ministry of Justice notarisation adds an executive formula that lets a landlord enforce unpaid rent without a full trial.
- Language
- Arabic governs; bilingual leases are common.
- Registry
- None for an ordinary tenancy. Notarisation at the Ministry of Justice is optional and worth having.
- When registration is required
- No registration threshold. Notarisation is a choice the parties make at signing.
- Who registers
- Either party can request notarisation; both sign before the notary, in person or through an attorney with a notarised Power of Attorney.
- Registration cost
- A small Ministry of Justice fee for notarisation.
- If it is not registered
- None for an unnotarised lease; it is still valid, but unpaid rent then needs a judgment from the rental judge rather than direct enforcement.
- Stamp duty
- None.
- Notarisation and witnesses
- Optional notarisation at the Ministry of Justice, which since 2024 makes the lease directly enforceable for arrears once the tenant has been notified and a non-payment certificate is issued.
- E-signature
- Recognised under the Electronic Transactions Law No. 20 of 2014; the Kuwait Mobile ID app signs for citizens and residents. Notarisation itself is still done at the Ministry.
- The usual term
- One year, renewed. Rent certificates and key-deposit certificates are issued through the Sahel app.
Rules the agreement must respect
- Deposit
- No statutory cap. One month's rent is usual; the Sahel app issues a deposit certificate that both sides can rely on.
- Rent increases
- Not for five years from the contract date or the last increase, and then only by agreement or by the rental judge where the rent is well below the market.
- Notice periods
- Set by the law according to the term and the rent period, from fifteen days to two months; a landlord may end a lease only on the statutory grounds.
- Disputes
- A single rental judge at the Court of First Instance, under the 2024 amendment, with the notarised lease enforceable directly for arrears.
- Mandatory disclosures
- Not applicable
Tax when the landlord lives abroad
- Is the rent taxed here
- No. Kuwait has no personal income tax, no property tax and no tax on rent for any individual, resident or not.
- Withholding at source
- No
- Withholding rate
- Not applicable
- Who withholds
- Not applicable
- What the tenant must register
- Not applicable
- How to reduce it
- Not applicable
- Filing and tax ID
- None for an individual.
- VAT or GST on rent
- None. Kuwait has not introduced VAT.
- Municipal and housing fees
- No annual property tax. Transfers carry a registration fee at the Real Estate Registration Department.
Money inside the country
- How tenants pay
- Bank transfer, KNET or cheque in dinars.
- Currency of rent
- KWD
- Bank account for a non-resident owner
- Kuwaiti banks open accounts for residents with a civil ID; a non-resident owner usually receives rent through a representative or a GCC bank.
- Paying rent to an overseas account
- Allowed. Nothing requires a local account, though cheques and the Sahel certificates assume one.
- Taking rent out of the country
- No exchange controls and no limit on transfers. Cash at an exchange house is capped per day; above that, transfers go through a bank account and need the Kuwait Mobile ID for online remittance.
Living in Kuwait, property elsewhere
What Kuwait asks of its residents who own and let property in another country.
Owning property abroad from here
- Buying abroad
- No restriction. A Kuwait resident may buy abroad anywhere the other country allows and move money out freely.
- Reporting foreign assets and accounts
- None for an individual.
- Tax at home on foreign rent
- None. Kuwait levies no personal income tax, so foreign rent is taxed only where the property sits.
- Bringing rent home
- No limit and no declaration. Banks apply anti-money-laundering checks to large inward transfers.
- Digital identity for e-signing
- The Kuwait Mobile ID signs within Kuwait. Abroad, a foreign platform's own e-signature or a paper signature does the job.
Sources
- Ministry of Justice of Kuwait (lease notarisation and the rental court) — www.moj.gov.kw
- Central Bank of Kuwait: the CBK law and foreign exchange supervision — www.cbk.gov.kw
- US Department of State: Kuwait investment climate statement (real estate ownership and remittance rules) — www.state.gov
- Prime Minister of India: the protocol amending the India–Kuwait tax treaty — www.pmindia.gov.in