# Real estate
Source: https://docs.settlemint.com/docs/business/executive-overview/use-cases/real-estate
Model tokenized real estate as a capped real-asset instrument with property metadata, controlled issuance, compliance checks, and investor-facing asset details.
**Who should read this:** Real estate sponsors, property managers, asset
managers, and integration teams evaluating property fractionalization on DALP.
**Business value:** DALP turns a property into a capped real-asset token. The
platform records property identifiers, classification, location, and physical
details as token claims, controls issuance through the selected creation flow,
and applies the same identity and compliance controls used across other
tokenized assets.
## Business challenge [#business-challenge]
A sponsor owns a $25 million office building and wants smaller investors to hold
regulated fractional interests without losing control over eligibility, supply,
transfer restrictions, and property records.
### Traditional approach [#traditional-approach]
## How DALP models tokenized property [#how-dalp-models-tokenized-property]
Real-estate assets are part of the real-assets instrument category. This page
describes the dedicated real-estate token workflow: it defines capped property
fractions, stores pricing inputs, and issues optional claims for the property
identifier, classification, location, coordinates, area, building year, and unit
count.
### Fractional supply [#fractional-supply]
The `maximumFractions` value defines the total fractional supply for the
property. In the dedicated real-estate token workflow, DALP passes that value as
the premint amount and mints the full supply to the configured
`premintRecipient` during creation. Operators should treat the resulting supply
cap as fixed unless governance intentionally raises the cap later. This
recipient rule applies to the dedicated real-estate workflow, not every
real-assets template.
If a sponsor uses a configurable template instead, validate that template's
issuance and cap controls separately before launch. For the broader distinction
between asset classes, base asset types, and templates, see the
[asset model](/docs/architects/architecture/start-here/asset-model).
For example, a sponsor can model a $25 million property as 250,000 fractions at
$100 per fraction. The token supply represents the ownership ledger. The legal
rights, investor disclosures, tax treatment, and property vehicle remain part of
the sponsor's offering structure and legal documentation.
### Property metadata [#property-metadata]
The dedicated real-estate workflow can attach the following real-estate-specific
claims during asset creation. The asset workspace then uses the claims for
filtering, review, and detail views.
* **Identifier:** Real Estate Number or another property identifier. DALP stores
this as the unique asset identifier claim.
* **Classification:** Property type and property use. DALP stores these as the
asset classification claim.
* **Location:** City, district code, and area identifier. DALP stores these as
the asset location claim for filtering and review.
* **Coordinates:** Latitude and longitude. DALP stores these for map and detail
views.
* **Physical details:** Property area, building year, and number of units. DALP
stores these as physical detail claims for the asset details page.
* **Pricing:** Price currency and base price per fraction. DALP uses these as
pricing inputs. A base-price claim is issued only when the selected compliance
configuration requires it.
Coordinates are stored with fixed precision. The application displays them as
human-readable latitude and longitude values. Omitted physical details are shown
as not provided in the asset details view.
### Investor eligibility and transfers [#investor-eligibility-and-transfers]
Real-estate token transfers use DALP identity and compliance controls. Sponsors
can require investors to pass the relevant verification checks before they hold
or receive fractions. Transfer rules, lockups, maximum ownership thresholds, and
jurisdiction-specific restrictions belong in the selected compliance modules and
the offering's legal configuration.
DALP does not make every investor eligible by default. A transfer is only valid
when the token, identity, and compliance setup permits it.
### Valuation and reporting boundaries [#valuation-and-reporting-boundaries]
DALP stores the asset base price per fraction and property metadata so operators
and investors can review the tokenized property in the asset workspace. External
property-management systems, appraisal processes, rent rolls, expense ledgers,
and investor distribution calculations require integration with the sponsor's
operational systems or custom workflows.
Do not treat the real-estate token template as a property-management platform.
It provides the token, metadata, supply, and compliance foundation for regulated
fractional ownership.
## Operating model [#operating-model]
The diagram separates DALP's shipped tokenization surface from external property
operations. DALP holds the token, claims, supply cap, issuance controls,
identity checks, and transfer controls. The sponsor remains responsible for
property operations, legal structuring, rent collection, expenses, appraisals,
and investor reporting unless those workflows are integrated separately.
## Implementation checklist [#implementation-checklist]
1. Structure the property ownership vehicle and confirm the legal rights each
fraction represents.
2. Define token economics: total fractions, valuation currency, base price,
issuance recipient or minting operator, and any ownership limits.
3. Capture property metadata: identifier, property type, property use, city,
district code, area identifier, coordinates, area, building year, and unit
count where available.
4. Select compliance modules for investor eligibility, transfer restrictions,
lockups, jurisdiction rules, and maximum ownership controls.
5. Configure identity and KYC providers for the required investor verification
status.
6. Deploy the real-estate token and verify that the capped supply is preminted
to the intended recipient. If you use a configurable template instead, verify
its minting and cap controls separately.
7. Review the asset workspace to confirm that the property claims and pricing
inputs display correctly.
8. Connect external workflows for property documents, appraisals, rent rolls,
expense records, investor reporting, governance, or distributions when the
offering requires them.
## Compliance considerations [#compliance-considerations]
Real-estate fractionalization can involve securities, property, tax, and
cross-border transfer rules. DALP provides identity and compliance controls, but
it does not replace legal review of the offering structure.
| Consideration | DALP control surface | Sponsor responsibility |
| ----------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Investor eligibility | Identity claims and compliance modules | Define who may participate under the offering rules |
| Transfer restrictions | Token compliance checks before transfer | Configure lockups, thresholds, jurisdictions, and exemptions |
| Ownership concentration | Compliance module rules | Set the maximum holding policy and monitor exceptions |
| Property disclosures | Asset metadata and external document workflows | Maintain offering documents, appraisals, inspections, and updates |
| Tax and withholding | Custom modules or external integrations when required | Confirm tax handling for each investor and jurisdiction |
For the broader control architecture, see
[Compliance & Security](/docs/business/executive-overview/compliance-security).
## Limitations and integration points [#limitations-and-integration-points]
* **Property operations:** Rent collection, expenses, reserves, appraisals, and
property-management records come from external systems unless integrated into a
custom workflow.
* **Governance workflows:** DALP can support token-based governance patterns, but
property-specific proposal templates, capital-improvement votes, and repair
approvals require a configured governance experience.
* **Document management:** Sponsors should connect the source of truth for
appraisals, insurance, operating agreements, inspections, and offering
documents. DALP real-estate claims do not replace a data room.
* **Regulatory complexity:** Multi-jurisdiction securities, real-estate, and tax
rules require legal review before launch.
## Next steps [#next-steps]
* Review
[SMART Protocol integration (ERC-3643)](/docs/architects/architecture/components/asset-contracts/smart-protocol-integration)
to understand embedded transfer compliance.
* Review
[Create a precious metal asset](/docs/operators/user-guides/asset-creation/create-precious-metal-asset)
to compare real-estate preminting with a real-assets flow where supply is
minted after deployment.
* Explore [Developer documentation](/docs/developers/developer-guides) for integration
patterns and API customization.