In August the Government introduced Law No 13, which regulates initial property registration in Dubai. It aims is to create further consumer ease and protection within the Dubai real estate market by introducing a mandatory system of pre-registration at the Land Department for off-plan sales contracts for property units. Under the new law, any off-plan sales that are not registered will be invalid.
Following the issuance of Law No 13 of 2008, developers have to register all their units prior to launch with the Land Department and only then can they proceed with their sales. The deadline for this lenghtly process (considering the size of property development locally) was set at 1st of November.
Recently Senior Government official commented that the timing has been extended from the first week of November to 31st of December.
Many developers already initiated the registration process, but anyone not following the law will have to face strict action and will be individually penalized.
Off-plan sale refers to the selling of real estate units based on an architectural plan of the property before the structure is built. The onus of registration under the law lies on the developer and not on the first purchaser. But during a secondary sale the seller has to inform the department and register the deed by paying the necessary charges. In case of home mortgages, banks will have to register the deals and not the mortgagee.
