DUBAI // Owners of off-plan and newly built homes are being urged to register their properties to secure the ownership title and protect their rights.
While many owners were unaware of a deadline set by the Land Department for registering property in Dubai, extended to the end of October from the original date of June 30, experts said it was an essential part of the purchase process.
“You don’t have title to your property in Dubai unless you have it registered; if you want a mortgage and if you want to sell it you have to register it in the land register,” said Andrew Thomson, senior associate at law firm Clyde & Co.
“If you don’t have a registered title then, theoretically, a developer can go and sell it to somebody else. If you have done your homework, your due diligence as an investor, you know you should be registering your purchase and there is not much justification for not having registered in a timely fashion.”
The real-estate registration fees are set at 4 per cent of the property price in Dubai and paid equally by the seller and buyer.
A Dubai Land Department statement issued last week said real estate developers and investors must register property at the Dubai land registry by the end of October.
The deadline extension enables owners to “complete the registration requirements, which document their contracts and protects their rights”, said Sultan Butti bin Mejren, director general of Dubai Land Department. He also quelled rumours about a fee increase, from 4 per cent to 8 per cent.
“This is a baseless rumour and only serves to encourage the return of speculation. It confuses buyers and needlessly compels them to speed up their purchasing decisions,” he said.
The authority had earlier warned that “failure to comply would attract action and penalties”. The amount of any fine has not been specified.
But many owners said they were unaware of the deadline.
“I know a lot of people who have not registered, most won’t know about the deadline unless it is better publicised,” said Farah Agha, the head of Dubai Property Investors Group. “But mostly people have not registered because they don’t want to pay the registration fee until they have to. Some are investors who have lost money so are avoiding additional expenses. They didn’t see the value of this registration and thought they would register only when they want to sell.”
In some cases, buyers said the registration was delayed by more than a year because developers failed to submit required documents. “I had to file a case against the developer to finally get my apartment registration done,” said U K, an owner who did not want to give his full name. “A deadline is good because it will force developers to complete their paperwork and properly compete the handover.”
Registering also protects investors, said Mr Thomson.
“If you haven’t registered then you have got to ask yourself what title do you have to the property?
“There is, in my mind, only one reason you wouldn’t want to register and that is to avoid payment of fees, other than that there is no benefit from an investors’ perspective.”
rtalwar@thenational.ae