Can I own property in Kuwait?

A citizen of Kuwait living abroad: Yes. A Kuwaiti living abroad buys like any citizen. A foreign national: No. 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.

Does the rent agreement need registering?

No registration threshold. Notarisation is a choice the parties make at signing.

Who withholds tax on the rent, and how much?

No withholding at source. No. Kuwait has no personal income tax, no property tax and no tax on rent for any individual, resident or not.

How does the rent reach me in Russia?

Kuwaiti banks open accounts for residents with a civil ID; a non-resident owner usually receives rent through a representative or a GCC bank. 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. Inward transfers are allowed, but sanctions decide the route: rent from a Western country rarely finds a bank willing to send to Russia, while rent from India, the UAE or the Gulf moves through banks that remain connected.

Renting out property in Kuwait while living in Russia

Kuwait's rules for a landlord living in Russia: ownership, the rent agreement, who withholds tax, and how the rent reaches you.

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.

Desk research Last reviewed 1 October 2026 Report an inaccuracy

The short answers

Can I own property in Kuwait?: A citizen of Kuwait living abroad: Yes. A Kuwaiti living abroad buys like any citizen.; A foreign national: No. 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.
Does the rent agreement need registering?: No registration threshold. Notarisation is a choice the parties make at signing.
Who withholds tax on the rent, and how much?: No withholding at source. No. Kuwait has no personal income tax, no property tax and no tax on rent for any individual, resident or not.
How does the rent reach me in Russia?: Kuwaiti banks open accounts for residents with a civil ID; a non-resident owner usually receives rent through a representative or a GCC bank.; 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.; Inward transfers are allowed, but sanctions decide the route: rent from a Western country rarely finds a bank willing to send to Russia, while rent from India, the UAE or the Gulf moves through banks that remain connected.

Renting out property in Kuwait

What applies because the property is in Kuwait, whoever owns it.

Who may own residential property

Who may own residential property, by audience
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.

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 Russia

What Russia asks of its residents who own and let property abroad.

Owning property abroad from here

Buying abroad: Allowed under Russian law, but the destination decides: many Western countries and banks refuse Russian nationals, and a Russian resident must notify the tax office of the foreign account used and report its movements every year.
Reporting foreign assets and accounts: A resident must notify the Federal Tax Service within a month of opening, changing or closing a foreign account and file a movement-of-funds report by 1 June each year. Currency-control rules also restrict which foreign transfers a resident may make.
Tax at home on foreign rent: Taxed. A Russian tax resident declares worldwide income on 3-NDFL at the progressive scale from 13 percent. Credit for foreign tax depends on the treaty: Russia suspended most articles of its treaties with 38 unfriendly states in August 2023, so credit under those is no longer assured, while the treaties with India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar stand.
Bringing rent home: Inward transfers are allowed, but sanctions decide the route: rent from a Western country rarely finds a bank willing to send to Russia, while rent from India, the UAE or the Gulf moves through banks that remain connected.
Digital identity for e-signing: Gosuslugi and a qualified electronic signature work inside Russia. Abroad, a foreign platform's own e-signature or a notarised paper signature does the job.

Between Russia and Kuwait

What applies to this pair of countries in particular.

Tax treaty between the two countries: Yes
Withholding under the treaty: Not applicable: Kuwait withholds nothing and taxes nothing; the Russia–Kuwait treaty stands, Kuwait not being on Russia's unfriendly list.
Banking blocks: A Russian individual cannot own a home in Kuwait in the first place. Where rent arises, Kuwait applies only UN sanctions, but its banks run strict checks on Russian clients and transfers to Russia run through the few banks that keep a link, within the Bank of Russia's limits.
What most people do: Rare on both counts.

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
Bank of Russia: restrictions on money transfers abroad, extended and partly eased — www.cbr.ru
President of Russia: the law introducing the progressive personal income tax scale from 2025 — en.kremlin.ru
Federal Tax Service: reporting on foreign bank accounts and the annual movement-of-funds report — www.nalog.gov.ru
RBI: A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 10 of 11 July 2022, international trade settlement in Indian rupees — www.rbi.org.in
IRS: announcement on the Russian Federation's suspension of tax treaty provisions — www.irs.gov
Income Tax Department of India: the India–Russia tax treaty — www.incometaxindia.gov.in