Dubai developers told to charge Dh500 for NoC

A senior Dubai Land Department (DLD) official has said they will not be able to negotiate or lower charges of no-objection certificate (NOC) if the developer and the seller have mentioned a specific amount in their sales and purchase agreement, but generally they are asking developers not to charge more than Dh500 for a NoC required to register sale of a completed property.

In the case of “off plan” properties, the law allows them to charge Dh5,000, the official told Emirates 24/7 said on conditions of anonymity.

“Under the law, there is no mention of how much a developer can charge for a NOC for a completed property and so we have advised developers not to charge more than Dh500 for it.”

The official said that Emaar Properties and Nakheel have already agreed to charge Dh500 for a NOC.

Asked if investors can file a complaint against a developer who is charging excessive fee for issuing a NOC, the official said: “They can complain to the department and we will look into the matter. However, if there sales contract mentions a certain fee then they will have to stick to it.”

In a report last week, Dubai-based Hadef and Partners said

Dubai developers were charging homeowners thousands of dirhams in illegal registration fees.

Although DLD is the only body legally allowed to collect fees for registering properties, yet some developers continue to flout the law by demanding additional sums, the report of 350 industry professionals found.

“Some developers are a charging an illegal, blanket fee of Dh5,000 for registration and Dh1,000 in handling fees,” said Michael Lunjevich, a partner in the firm, and author of the report.

Currently, the DLD does not have, or has not published, a uniform rule for costs, charges and procedures that developers can impose on purchasers. This is leaving “too much room for developers to change fees at their discretion,” the law firm said.

However, the law states clearly that master developers or sub-developers may not impose upon purchasers any sums of money for any reason due to any legal disposals other than those sums approved by the department.

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