Dubai: Dubai's Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) will plot the progress of every single project underway in Dubai on their website starting next week.
"There will be a monthly report for every project in Dubai. We cannot compromise on transparency and trust of Dubai," Marwan Bin Galita, chief executive of Rera told local media yesterday.
The total number of projects registered with Rera now stands at 875.
It is hoped that this initiative will give investors the comfort and knowledge they need from their investments and also prevent an increasing number of disputes breaking out between developers and investors.
"I hope every developer in Dubai, every developer in the UAE will put the indicator for investors to show them what's going on," Bin Galita said.
The progress report for each project will include up to date photographs of the project construction, the plot number, the developer's approval number at Rera, the name of the bank holding the trust account and a summary of progress.
The progress indicator will consist of arrows green, amber and red to indicate whether the project is progressing well, slowly or whether there has been no progress at all.
New investors to Dubai will be able to choose which project is safe to invest in by reading the reports and looking at the progress.
Rera have made impressive leaps so far this year to make sure the real estate scene is adequately regulated with transparency starring as the main focus.
Since January 2008, Rera have received a total of 1,030 complaints, 525 written complaints and 505 complaints posted on their website.
Around 27 developers have been deleted from Rera records.
Developers are now realising that they have to communicate with their investors. With some developers registering 80 per cent cancellation in their projects, communication is key so that the issue doesn't escalate to court-levels.
Officials at the land department and Rera urge all investors to register their properties and their rights at the land department under Law No. 13.
When the market was up, everyone was busy buying and selling and making money on their properties and didn't consider registering their legal rights.
"In a booming market, everybody makes mistakes. Everyone now is running to Daddy which is Rera and the land department. Before everyone was busy selling their properties and noone came to us. Now they are all coming," Bin Galita said.
Another way to strike a balance between developers and investors is to create a 15-day cool-off period before a contract is signed.
This is intended as thinking time for the investor to make sure he wants to sign and has time to consult the banks and a lawyer.
This will be introduced "very soon", Bin Galita.
"We need a cool-of period of 15 days. That's two weeks to speak to your wife, consult the bank, get approved finance, before committing to a contract because a contract is binding," Bin Galita added.
