Question: A year ago, I purchased a property from an off-plan developer and paid approximately 30 per cent of its value. However, I am now in a financial crisis as I lost my job and cannot pay the property purchase instalments.
The developer is not allowing me to sell the property to a new buyer. Does the developer have the legal right to refuse the property transfer to a new buyer? What action can I take and how can I recover the amounts that I have paid to the developer?
Answer: The off-plan purchase agreement will determine whether the developer has the legal right to refuse to transfer the property or not. In case it was agreed between you and the developer in the agreement that you do not have the right to transfer the property to a new buyer before the payment of a specific amount agreed between both of you, then you will be responsible to pay that amount in order to get the NOC from the developer for the transfer.
In all cases, you have the legal right to file a complaint against the developer in the Land Department to make the developer settle the matter amicably or take recourse to the court or go in for arbitration, according to Article 11 of Law No. (19) Of 2020 Amending Law No. (13) Of 2008 regulating the Interim Real Property Register in Dubai. This states that the rules and procedures stipulated in the Article will not preclude the purchaser from having recourse to the court or arbitration.
As for the recovery of the money, you are not entitled to recover these amounts from the developer himself unless you have filed a case to cancel the purchase agreement for a reason related to the developer’s mistake or his inability to fulfil his contractual or legal obligations, which is not the case here. You are the one unable to continue payment. Usually, these amounts are recovered from the new buyer in the event of a transfer, not from the developer.
