Power for refund: Dubai to release property investor protection law in 2013

The Real Estate Investor Protection Law, which was highly expected to be issued this year, will now be released during the first quarter of 2013, a senior Dubai Land Department (DLD) official has said.

“We got a number of comments and suggestions from the public and subsequently we have made necessary changes in the law,” Majida Ali Rashid, Senior Consultant and Senior Director of Planning & Organizational Development, DLD, told Emirates 24|7.

“It is almost ready and will be released in the next three months,” she added.

In June, the draft law was released to get suggestions from industry participants.

The draft law allows investors to get full refund if the developer fails to complete or handover a property within a certain timeframe or deliberately defrauds an investor or alters the specifications of the unit without obtaining requisite permission.

Investors can also claim compensation for breach of any warranty or undertaking contained in the contract for sale by the seller and the broker, misrepresentation by the developer or investor or broker, and specifications in violation of the contract for sale after obtaining an expert’s report to that effect.

Hadef & Partners in its 2012 report on the legal state of the Dubai real estate market report, released last week, said only 28 per cent of 8,500 respondents were aware of the proposed law, with 56 per cent of those aware saying they were “not familiar at all” with its contents.

“Given the significance and intention behind this law and the impact that it may have on the Dubai real estate market, it appears the message is not getting through and further publicity is needed,” the UAE-based law firm said.

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