Dubai developers are facing a January 13 deadline to begin disclosing a wide variety of information to buyers under the nine-month old Strata Law.
The law requires developers to begin telling clients about details of their projects, including how their buildings will be used, the facilities available for tenants, estimated dates of completion, materials used in construction and any commercial elements planned.
"It brings into play the full consumer protection side of the law," said Peter Crogan, the chief executive of BCS Strata Management Services in Dubai. "The onus is now on developers."
The Strata Law, which went into effect in April, imposes a framework for the maintenance and shared ownership of common spaces such as pools and meeting areas in developments, similar to condominium laws in other countries. The law is considered one of the key elements in establishing legal guidelines for projects involving foreign buyers.
Under the elements due to go into effect next month, a sales agreement could be voided if the developer does not offer a disclosure statement, although "it remains to be seen how the courts will apply this in practice", Hadef & Partners, a law firm, said in a recent notice to clients.
"But we don't know what 'void' means exactly because the law doesn't clarify it," said Brent Baldwin, an associate at Hadef & Partners.
The required disclosures will give property buyers information that may have been withheld in the past, Mr Baldwin said.
But a number of developers have been slow to comply with details of the Strata Law.
"It's reasonable to say compliance is variable at the moment," Mr Baldwin said. "From our observations, a lot of developers have their heads in the sand at the moment."
Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi developers and homeowners are still waiting for details of the capital's version of the Strata Law, which has been anticipated for many months.
The law is considered crucial to establishing legal guidelines for investors in nearly completed projects on Reem Island and in other areas with freehold property. Developers and the legal community hoped the law would be issued by the end of this year, but that now appears unlikely, analysts say.
It would be "beneficial" for the new law to be issued before developments are ready for handover, "both to legitimise and empower the co-owners' associations and to bring clarity to the ongoing obligations and involvement of developers", said Tara Marlow, the head of property and hospitality for the Abu Dhabi office of Al Tamimi & Company, a law firm.
This month the Abu Dhabi Government issued Resolution 64, providing broad guidelines for the registration of property.
However, there are still no details available on how the rules will be implemented or what the parameters of Abu Dhabi's law will be. "The real issue here is it's still a bit uncertain how jointly-owned property law, as implemented in Dubai or understood in the rest of the world, will work in Abu Dhabi," said Scott Aitken, a partner at Clyde & Company in Abu Dhabi.
In Abu Dhabi, it is still unclear whether homeowners would be able to own the land their buildings stand on, "which brings into question who owns the common property", Mr Aitken said.
Some lawyers expect the Abu Dhabi Department of Municipal Affairs to issue strata law guidelines within a month.
kbrass@thenational.ae
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
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Creator: Jenna Lamia
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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