Ajman Real Estate Watchdog Sets Deadline for Banking Safeguards

The real estate watchdog for Ajman has given developers one month to register for new banking safeguards, or else face penalties. In a bid to improve transparency in the property market, the Ajman Real Estate Regulatory Agency (ARRA) has signed a deal to introduce trust accounts for all developments. It has given real estate developers until May 1 to sign up to the scheme.“One of our major objectives is to bring transparency and security to the property industry in Ajman, and to improve investors’ confidence in 
Ajman real estate market,” said Omar 
Al Barguthi, Director General of ARRA in a statement. The programme was introduced after a deal struck with Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank on Sunday.

Trust or escrow accounts, as they are also known, are secure bank accounts into which investors’ money is paid. It prevents fraud by limiting the access to the funds by the developer until after the project has reached a certain level of completion. The measure in Ajman follows a similar rule introduced in Dubai last year. However lawyers who deal closely with property disputes said that there has been little compliance with the rule. ARRA was formed last December to oversee Ajman’s burgeoning real 
estate sector.