6 days more for Dubai home registration

While most property owners and developers are rushing to register their properties with Dubai Land Department (DLD) before the October 31 deadline set by DLD for all sold units to be registered, Laura Choueri, CEO, Choueri Real Estate reveals that about 15 per cent of her clients are delaying registration.

There are no delays from the developers’ end, she says, adding that they notified buyers as soon as they received information from the DLD. "However, most of our overseas clients did not take this law into consideration, as earlier it was not in place and this is creating a delay.

"We ensure that our clients are aware of the new registration laws and if from overseas, we make sure they have someone representing them locally," she adds. "However, we strongly recommend all buyers remain updated with developers on property registration by checking the DLD website."

Confusion

Kalpesh Sampat, Director at SPF Realty also believes there may be many owners who are still left to register, merely because not all buyers had planned for the 4 per cent fee to be paid upfront for off-plan units. "Many buyers had previously assumed this is payable during the handover of the unit, as there was no specific mandate about registering a unit upfront.

"Therefore, the market norm was that this fee was due upon completion of the property/project and payable by the owner/buyer after handover," says Sampat. "There were exceptions where developers like Emaar and Deyaar would take it upfront, but the majority of developers would not." However, it is now mandatory for all owners to pay the Oqood [property registration fee], and additional time was also granted for the same, which expires on October 31, he adds.

Sallie Bowtell, Partner at international law firm Trowers and Hamlins, also finds many people who have not registered their property yet. "Many entered into sale agreements before the requirement to register was introduced. This regulation applies to residential units, as well as to plots of land purchased by sub-developers, who have not developed, which in some cases is due to the master developer not having achieved separation of title yet."

In some other cases, the delay is due to issues of inheritance, as the original buyer, as per the sale agreement, has passed away before Oqood register was introduced, she adds. "Before the they can register the property with the DLD, they have to go through the courts to have the relevant certifications issued to allow registration in the name of heirs."

It may be recalled that DLD had doubled the Oqood to 4 per cent from 2 per cent of the unit value in October 2013, and in March this year registration was made mandatory. The first date set by DLD to register all sold units in the emirate was June 30, later extended to October 31. As the deadline gets closer, developers are attempting to remind property owners about paying their Oqood fee.

Developer steps

Most Damac Properties clients have registered their units, says the developer. "Since the DLD announced the deadline for the registration of all sold property in Dubai, we have been proactively contacting our clients to inform them of their obligation to make the payment to DLD," adds Niall McLoughlin, Senior Vice-President, Damac Properties. "We continue to follow up to remind owners of their responsibility and make them aware of the potential penalties."

Similarly, other developers in Dubai are also reaching out to their clients, reminding them about the property registration cutoff time coming to close.

Danube Properties has achieved over 99 per cent registration for their first three projects and are completing registration of their latest project, says the developer. Atif Rahman, Head of Property Development at Danube Group, says, "We have an in-house department to help clients successfully register their property purchase with DLD. We ensure there is no delay from our side and any pending registration is due to the lacking paperwork or payment from the property buyers, and
 we continue to follow up with them.

"We understand that the government’s initiative and deadline to register property purchase is to safeguard both buyer’s and developer’s interest, especially, in case of under construction projects," he adds. "Moreover, it’s your hard-earned savings that you invest in property, hence we strongly recommend all property buyers to initiate registration of their property purchase at the time of buying the real estate, to secure their interest."

He anticipates that there may be a huge rush in the days to come, as some people normally tend to wait until the close to the deadline.

Talking about what happens if the unit is not registered before October 31, Rahman adds, "There has been unqualified information that there shall be a penalty for people who miss the deadline for registration."