Dubai property owners face hefty fine, registration deadline over

The Dubai Land Department (DLD) has ruled out any extension for property investors who have missed registering their units before the October 31, 2015, deadline.
 
Investors who missed the deadline can now face penalties, which in some cases could be eight per cent of the registration fee, Emirates 24|7 can reveal.
 
“As for missing the deadline of registering the properties, if it was clear for DLD that the customer is trying to evade paying fees, according to the terms mentioned in article (5) of resolution No (30) of 2013; fines are to be determined according to article (6) of the same resolution,” Sultan Al Akraf, Head of Real Estate Registration Department, DLD, told this website.
 
“The fine varies from one case to another, and will be determined after reviewing the case,” he revealed, ruling out any extension of the deadline.
 
Regulation
 
The laws and regulations of Executive Council Resolution No. 30 of year 2013 in the case of violators are as below:
 
Article (5) states: “Following actions shall be deemed as fees evasion: providing false data about the value of the real estate transaction; using any trick or way of whatever kind or nature to evade the payment of fees and doing any other act that would evade the payment of fees.”
 
Article (6) of the resolution states: “Without prejudice to any severer penalty provided for by any other law, anyone who commits any of the acts stipulated in Article (5) of this resolution shall be fined with double the prescribed fees.”
 
The DLD, however, clarified that the property registration fee remains at four per cent of the property value.
 
“It does not plan to raise the charges, which are collected from customers to complete their real estate transactions, in the near future,” Al Akraf stressed.
 
Reminders
 
Emirates 24|7 reported in October 2015 that property owners had to complete their unit registration with the DLD by October 30, 2015, following which they could face penalties.
 
In notices sent to their clients, developers had said: “As mandated by the DLD, all sold units require to be registered before October 30 and failure to comply will attract action and penalties from the department.

“To facilitate your unit registrations, visit our office to take this forward with the least delay.”
 
The developers further stated that in the event of non-compliance they will not be responsible for any action or penalties that are likely to be implemented by the DLD.
 
In April 2015, Emirates 24|7 reported that developers were informing buyers/owners that DLD had implemented a new regulation that ensured all registration charges of four per cent were payable upfront by the end user against their respective units instead of the earlier provision of payment on completion and all had to meet the deadline of June 30, 2015, or face heavy penalties. The deadline was, however, extended by six months.
 
Extend for off plan
 
A senior official with a top brokerage agency was hoping for an extension of the deadline for off-plan units until December 31, 2015.
 
“They were not supposed to originally have Oqood, until handover till the announcement was made in June. Consequently, many unit owners have not been able to plan for the same from a financial view.”
 
On ready units, DLD should levy a fine effective today, but should make an exception for projects/properties for which Oqood is not ready from the department’s side, the official said.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.