Government Clarification On Real Estate Regulation Law No 13 Urged

DUBAI while the Dubai government has been making inroads to regulate the real-estate sector, there are still key issues it needs to clarify with regard to Law No 13 of 2008, which is expected to come into effect this week. It is not clear, for instance, whether the bulk-sale contracts for off-plan properties have to be registered with Dubai Land Department, according to two officials at the legal firm Clyde & Co. A bulk-sales contract refers to the purchase-contract for an entire building that is then sold on a unit basis to third parties, said an associate at Clyde & Co, Chloe English, and Alexis Waller, a partner at the firm’s property and real estate department. Law No 13 requires the pre-registration of sales contracts for off-plan properties, or those being sold before they are built, with the land department.

English and Waller said this pre-registration system - would apparently work alongside the ongoing project registration system at the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA), Dubai’s premier real-estate watchdog, because of the escrow law. It also provides the basis for the implementation of some of the provisions of Dubai’s new mortgage law (Law No 14 of 2008) and the ability to register a mortgage against an off-plan unit.