Law No. 8 in Dubai a Welcome Development

As the Dubai property market evolves there are a number of actions being taken to bring a level of credibility and maturity to the market. This is something that won't happen overnight, but it is good to see that the Emirate is making an effort to guide things in the right direction in any case. 

Dubai's government formed Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) has issued a list of agents and developers who have been officially licensed, paving the way for greater transparency and security for property investors in Dubai. 

You'll find the full 'official' list of developers here. If you're looking for an agent (broker) in Dubai there's an official listing of them as well, you'll find it here. 

Law No. 8 has also been introduced which is described by RERA as 'A Law to Regulate Developers and to Protect Purchasers’ Payments in Off-Plan Transactions'. Published on June 28th 2007 it means that a developer wishing to sell units off the plan must apply to the Department to open a 'Guarantee Account', basically an escrow account. This account is opened in the name of the project and the proceeds can only be used exclusively for the purposes of constructing that particular project. The developer’s creditors are not allowed to attach any liens to the money deposited in this account.

This is all being done in an effort to promote greater transparency in the market, which can only be a good thing. One worrying factor, however, is the statement that; "Big companies that enjoy good reputation and have strong guarantees have been exempted." This would, for any red blooded citizen of a mature democracy send red lights flashing. In other words, if you're a buddy of the guys in RERA, you don't necessarily need to have any escrow account, your clients can go to hell if you fold and their money is lost in a big black hole. 

Not good guys. OK, so it's Dubai and its owners can do what they like with it, but to gain some credibility outside of their own domain it is necessary to get everybody operating under the same rules. Otherwise no-one will take any of this seriously, and rightly so. 

RERA, it said, will work in 2008 to make the real estate market free of unlicensed property developers to guarantee the rights of all parties, whether investors or developers. Of course all of its buddies are no doubt licensed already at this stage. 

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For a selection of property in Dubai click here.

For a list of agents selling property in Dubai click here.

For independent articles on the Dubai property market click here.

For advice on purchasing in Dubai click here.

For news on the Dubai property market click here.

For new releases and product updates from Dubai agents click here.

For a selection of property exhibitions featuring Dubai property click here.

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Palm Springs Dubai - Damac Cancel Project

If you're one of the Irish investors involved in the Palm Springs development which was promoted by Damac in Dubai some years ago you may be interested in some of the following links. These go through the actual decision by Damac to cancel the project, Nakheel's distancing themselves from the Damac decision and investors reaction to the cancellation. There is also a fair amount on what investor's consider a derisory offer from Damac, considering the huge values they consider they should have made on their properties.

http://damaconcovered.wordpress.com/
http://www.gulfnews.com/business/Real_Estate_Property/10202845.html
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d1c7fc18-0117-11dd-a0c5-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1
http://www.kippreport.com/article.php?articleid=1105&day=5 http://www.arabianbusiness.com/515293-reason-for-axing-palm-springs-questioned
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/515467
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/515742-damac-hints-at-backtrack-on-palm-springs-axe?ln=en

UPDATE:

No sooner was this posted than the problem seems to have been resolved, or at least there is some hope that it will be. The following has been received from the Investor's group:

"This statement has come from RERA today,they are the Real Estate Regulatory Authority in the Emirates. Mounting media pressure and evidence against Damac have them under pressure to find a solution on their decision and we await good news!

Should this good news not develop The Palm Springs Investors group will proceed with legal action.

Senior Management from Damac have declared now that they will be in contact with a proposal no later than the 21st of April.

FURTHER UPDATE:

On mature reflection the Investors group have decided that this latest piece of news, which they've not received in writing, is merely a ruse by Damac to stop them protesting until after the launch of a new development by the company on April 13th. Hence, they state that their campaign of awareness raising will continue until they receive in writing confirmation that Damac are actually re-assessing their position on this matter.

SUCCESS:

It appears that the pressure put on Damac to change their minds about the cancellation of this project has reaped dividends as the company announced today (Thursday April 10th, 2008) that it would build the project as promised, but with some minor changes to the initial plan. You can read a report on the development here.

It would appear, therefore, that consumer pressure can exert change, even in the mighty Emirate of Dubai.
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For a selection of property in Dubai click here.

For a list of agents selling property in Dubai click here.

For independent articles on the Dubai property market click here.

For advice on purchasing in Dubai click here.

For news on the Dubai property market click here.

For new releases and product updates from Dubai agents click here.

For a selection of property exhibitions featuring Dubai property click here.

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