Dubai Land Department simplifies real estate registration transactions

Procedures reduced to one step through one channel, DLD says

Dubai Land Department is looking to simplify registration proceedings at a time when demand for property has been weakened by an oversupply and the coronavirus pandemic. Reem Mohammed/The National

The Dubai Land Department (DLD) said on Saturday it has simplified procedures to complete real estate registration transactions, including buying and selling, to attract more investment into the emirate.

The department deployed a team comprised of a manager and auditor to work directly from real estate registration trustee centres with the aim of providing simplified procedures that will cut down on customers' time and effort, the government entity said in a statement. The service became available at the beginning of March.

The organisation has been "developing an easy-to-use system that is available for all customers to obtain real estate registration services and through which they can choose and locate registration trustee offices," Majid Saqr Al Marri, chief executive of the registration and real estate services sector at DLD, said.

Dubai's real estate market has slowed in the wake of a drop in oil prices that began in 2014, and due to an oversupply in the property market. More than 12,000 units were handed over in the first quarter, according to JLL, with average sale prices falling by 7 per cent year-on-year.

The coronavirus pandemic has further pressured the sector as live viewings dwindled but some in the sector, such as Damac Properties chairman Hussain Sajwani, are forecasting a revival next year as economic activity ramps up ahead of Dubai's Expo 2020 event.

The DLD is pledging that its new system will enable customers to complete their transactions "in one step through one channel".

The deployed DLD teams are required to provide support operations to the registration trustee centres through  mechanisms to verify, review, and certify all the required information. They also have the necessary powers to conclude all procedures and services provided at the centres, including issuing title deeds.

The process begins with the sellers and buyers at the real estate registration trustee centres. The required and valid legal documents must be submitted for review and the required approvals.

DLD’s fees must be paid via a certified bank cheque, along with the fees of the real estate registration trustee via the payment portal, the government body said. After completing some of the required procedures, the registration trustee will issue the title deed for the new owner.

If customers face any issues with the centre, they can lodge their complaints through a new electronic mechanism with Smart Dubai, the DLD said.