Dh30,000 in savings: New Dubai committee to settle property dispute for free

Property investors will be able to save Dh30,000 plus in court fees as the Dubai Land Department (DLD) will set up a new settlement committee from next week to resolve disputes.

“The committee will aim to resolves disputes and issue refunds to investors by auctioning the project,” said Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, Director General, DLD.

“People who generally pay over Dh30,000 in court fees will not have to pay anything. The committee will work free of charge,” he added.

No details were shared how investors could file their claims and the time taken to resolve the disputes.

Emirates 24l7 reported that developers had started putting notices of project cancellations, a move that has gained pace after the government set up a committee to liquidate and settle claims on cancelled projects.

The notices being published are as per the regulation set by Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera).

The notices generally give claimants two weeks' time from the first date of publishing of the notice to submit their claims with Rera’s liquidation department. Claimants are asked to provide property reservation form, original property agreement, passport copy and original payment receipts.

In July, the Dubai government issued Decree No. (21) of 2013 setting up a special legal committee for the liquidation of cancelled property projects and the settlement of rights disputes related to such projects.

Rera said earlier it would not release in public the list of cancelled projects, but stated investors in cancelled projects are notified through email.
As per Dubai government’s bond prospectus issued in 2012, 217 projects have been cancelled as of May 31, 2011.

Rera data reveals that 187 projects have been completed since the beginning of 2009; 253 projects are on hold; 232 projects are likely to be completed in due course.

Each of these 253 registered projects is likely to qualify for either the Tayseer or the Tanmia initiative, the bond prospectus said.

In its August newsletter, UAE-based Hadef & Partners law firm said: “It appears Decree 21 will create greater certainty, and a faster and more inexpensive process for aggrieved purchasers to make claims.

"However, given that the decree applies only to projects that have been cancelled by Rera, it is too soon to assess with any accuracy how dramatic the impact of Decree 21 will be in the property market.”
 

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