Dubai: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, issued Condominium Law (Law No. 27 of 2007) on ownership of joint properties in Dubai.
The law was based on federal Law No. 5 for 1985 on civil transactions and its amendments, Law No 7 of 2006 regarding property registration and order No 3 of 2006 which gives expatriates the right to own properties in designated areas in the emirate.
Click here to see the full text of the Condominium law (pdf)
In its article 3, the 33-article law stipulates that the blueprint (plan) of the property's site, the terms and rules of developing and operating the joint property and the statute of the Landlords' Association constitute part of the joint property ownership's document, and must always be attached with it.
It also states that the tenant who occupies the leased property should comply with the same rules and terms as well.
Salient features
Article No. 15: Landlords are allowed to rent out their units, provided they and their tenants abide by the association's statute and terms and regulations.
Article No. 17: The landlords association must be established when the first unit of a joint property is sold.
Article No. 18: The landlords association is a non-profit entity with an independent incorporate body. It has the right to sue and be sued and the right of owning transferable funds.
Article No. 21: The association holds the responsibility of management, operation and maintenance of common use areas, and must acquire a licence from the department for this purpose.
Article No. 22: Each landlord shall pay to the association his share of the annual service fees to cover the management, operation, maintenance and repair of common use areas. The developer must pay its share of fees for unsold units.
Article No. 24: Landlords, tenants and their guests must use the common use areas and in a way that does not affect the rights of others to use these areas or disturb them or jeopardises their safety or the safety of the common use areas.
Article No. 25: The association has concession rights over every unit regarding to unpaid service fees and other obligations imposed by the association in line with this law or the association's statute.
Article No. 26: Developer's responsibility of any structural defects in the joint property continues for 10 years, starting from the date of issuance of the project's accomplishment certificate.
Article No. 28: The landlords association is obliged to provide insurance coverage for the joint property that covers the cost of repairing or rebuilding it in case of damage or destruction for any reason. The association will be the beneficiary of this insurance.
Article No. 29: The landlords association is committed to provide insurance coverage for any damages to the joint property or physical injuries to its occupants.
