The foreigners are allowed to own or lease property in Iran. The only restriction is that such property should be either for commercial/industrial use or for personal residence. The foreigners are not allowed to own agricultural lands in Iran. If a foreigner resident changes the domicile, he is then required to transfer the title of his immovable property to an Iranian or a duly qualified foreigner within a period of six months of the departure, in order to ward off the adjudication by the Land Registration Office.

For all the non-residents, the Council of Ministers may grant the right in terms of ownership of a dwelling to all the foreigners who lack their permanent residence permit, however, travel regularly to the country either for tourism or seasonal recreation.

The following steps are followed while investing in a property in Iran:

• Obtaining a tax clearance certificate from the Economic Affairs and Finance Department and the Municipality.
• Securing a certification of completion of the concerned property that has been stood on the land from the municipality.
• Securing a social security clearance certificate. This is a must and is obtained from the Social Security Organization.
• Preparation of the documents and notarizing of the deed so done by the notary.
• Registration of the title at the Real Estate Registration Department who is responsible for sending abstract of the deed.

In addition, following taxes are levied upon the buyer while investing in the property in Iran:

• The transfer tax is charged at the rate of 5 percent of the total property value.
• The stamp duty is charged at a flat rate of 0.50 percent of the total property value.
• The registration fee is charged at the rate of 0.10 percent of the total property value.