I bought an off-plan villa in Umm Al Quwain in 2007, moved into it in 2011 and paid Dh72,300 in 2014 for a title deed, which I have still not received. The property is under mortgage with Amlak (Emaar’s lender) and the UAQ Land Department says it cannot issue the title deed until either Emaar or Amlak divulge additional information about the Ijara loan the mortgage is based on. Emaar blames the delay on Amlak, while Amlak blames the delay on Emaar, and the Land Department is doing nothing. Without the title deed, I cannot sell the property nor can I refinance with another bank at less than half the interest rate being forced upon me by Amlak. What can I do?
When a developer and mortgage lender team up, there is a contract between them that ensures that the unit a person buys is not moved to ownership of that person until they have paid off the mortgage. Unfortunately, only when the home is paid for in full are you legally entitled to obtaining the title deed. According to the law, the developer is not allowed to hand you the title deed until that point. If you wish to sell the villa, you will first need to seek approval from Amlak but, until the villa is fully paid for or until you are allowed to sell it, you are tied to their interest rates.
I’ve been contacted by a Dubai company about a job but I can’t travel to the UAE owing to problems with the company I worked for there previously. When I left my previous job to return to my home country, I requested the cancellation of my visa. But it was not cancelled and the company then closed down. What can I do? I can’t travel to the UAE because my visa was not cancelled, even though I have been out of the country for six months now. Where does responsibility lie with regards to cancelling a visa? Me or the company?
According to regulations at the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs and the Ministry of Labour, the visa of an employee who leaves the UAE of their own volition cannot be terminated or cancelled until that person has been out of the country for six months. Also, a company cannot be liquidated without all the visas under its sponsorship being cancelling. So, if you have been outside the UAE for more than six months, your visa should have been cancelled already. But if the company has not yet been liquidated, then you should file a complaint with the Ministry of Labour requesting the cancellation of the visa and they can then take the necessary steps to complete the procedure.
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