Two draft laws to protect buyers in off-plan market

Two new laws in the pipeline will bring further protection to investors and end-users in Dubai's off-plan property market.
The first law says developers must own the land and have completed at least 20 per cent of construction before they can request consent from the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) and are allowed to sell off-plan.

The second law says the payment plan must be linked to construction milestones and a maximum of 20 per cent of the property price can be taken up front.
Both are in draft form at the moment but expected to be implemented soon, according to Lisa Dale, partner in law firm Al Tamimi and Company. A law already in place says that developers will be cancelled from the Real Estate Register if they do not start construction of the project within six months of the date when approval was granted to sell off-plan.
Al Tamimi joined forces with Dubai Land Department (DLD) on Tuesday in order to shed some light on property laws in Dubai. Buying off-plan has always been slightly risky as some developers took money from investors without having started construction. This led to many complaints being taken to Rera and the Property Court by people wanting their contracts cancelled and being given refunds.
While the exact number of cases currently in the property court is unavailable, Dale said they were "very busy".


Source: Gulf News