New Laws

[Hussein Awadh]

Two draft laws to protect buyers in off-plan market
By Suzanne Fenton, Staff Reporter
Published: January 27, 2009, 23:25


Dubai: Two new laws in the pipeline will bring further protection to investors and end-users in Dubai's off-plan property market.

The first law says developers must own the land and have completed at least 20 per cent of construction before they can request consent from the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) and are allowed to sell off-plan.

The second law says the payment plan must be linked to construction milestones and a maximum of 20 per cent of the property price can be taken up front.

Both are in draft form at the moment but expected to be implemented soon, according to Lisa Dale, partner in law firm Al Tamimi and Company. A law already in place says that developers will be cancelled from the Real Estate Register if they do not start construction of the project within six months of the date when approval was granted to sell off-plan.

Al Tamimi joined forces with Dubai Land Department (DLD) on Tuesday in order to shed some light on property laws in Dubai. Buying off-plan has always been slightly risky as some developers took money from investors without having started construction. This led to many complaints being taken to Rera and the Property Court by people wanting their contracts cancelled and being given refunds.

While the exact number of cases currently in the property court is unavailable, Dale said they were "very busy".

Link to Article

 

[TommyC]

That's really good news!

What sounds a bit contradicting though is that they can't start selling before they own land and 20% completed, and only 20% can be taken up front!? If they can't sell until 20% is completed, do they really charge up front then? But they can still charge according to construction? Just a detail....

Going in the right direction anyway! This should have been in place already!

 

[Wannaberich]

What a load of crap ! talk about too little too late !
How many launches are going on at the moment ? NONE !
How many are likely in the next year ? NONE !
How many people have brought into projects ages ago and are still waiting for construction to start ? THOUSANDS !

As with the rental index its too little too late !

 

[shazy]

Does any one know what happens to your money if yo default on your payments. do they keep all the money or do you get percentage back?

be grateful if someone could let me know? project is with damac and paid 2 installments 40% so far.

 

[memo123]

OH YES ! We should be very happy now!
AFTER WHAT ! They already took all the money from the escrow account , and some local , and i mean local and foreign developers have fled the country and left their projects and the investors hanging .
Will this new law apply to new and old projects?
if it is applied to old projects then all our reservation forms are void , and they should return all our money .
so what is it ? will we go through the dilemma of before and after and two courts for the same law ?
a move that is tooooooooooooooo late for 100% of the investors.

 

[shazy]

OH YES ! We should be very happy now!
AFTER WHAT ! They already took all the money from the escrow account , and some local , and i mean local and foreign developers have fled the country and left their projects and the investors hanging .
Will this new law apply to new and old projects?
if it is applied to old projects then all our reservation forms are void , and they should return all our money .
so what is it ? will we go through the dilemma of before and after and two courts for the same law ?
a move that is tooooooooooooooo late for 100% of the investors.

you can say that again. i'm sure theres lots of people out there that wish they never heard of dubai and blew there savings on something stupid like a car , jewelery etc either way money wasted!!! but at least some enjoyment with the latter !!!!!

 

[sasherwani2]

Shazy and Memo, I thank God I didnt invest a lot of money in this place. I dont feel the pain you guys do but I do have an idea on how angry you must be at this lawless place. You invest your savings in this place hoping your investment is safe and protected by laws (law 11) and when the storm arrives, the laws are changed and developers are given safe passage out of the country. Its shameless and needs to be exposed worldwide. You guys should share your stories with the western media.