Property Registration in Abu Dhabi

Article 27 Obligation of Registering the Dispositions

  • A Register shall be established in the Department under the name of “Initial Real Estate Register” where all the dispositions pertaining to the real estate units sold off-plan shall be recorded. These dispositions shall not be binding upon any of the parties thereto or towards others, unless they are registered in the Initial Real Estate Register according to the provisions of this Law.
  • All dispositions related to the real estate units sold off-plan and which occurred before the effective date of this Law shall be recorded in the Initial Real Estate Register within (6) months from its effective date. The Department may extend this period by virtue of a resolution issued thereby.

Article 28 Registration Responsibility

  • The assignor of the off-plan real estate unit shall be responsible for registering the assignment, otherwise, the assignee may do whatever it takes to register such assignment in the Initial Real Estate Register at the expense of the assignor. unless the Chairman decides otherwise.
  • The Department may impose a delay penalty on the registration of any assignment existing at the time of entry into force of the provisions of this Law, which is completed after the lapse of the period specified in this Law. The Executive Regulation shall determine the amount of the penalty as well as the procedures of its implementation.

Article 29 Disposition of the Registered Real Estate Units

The real estate units recorded in the Initial Real Estate Register may be offered for sale or placed under mortgage or disposed of in any other way, according to the rules specified in the Executive Regulation.

Article 30 Moving the Registration to the Real Estate Register

  • The developer shall, upon completion of the real estate development project and after obtainment of the completion certificate from the Municipality, register the final recurring floor and compound plans as well as the compound or levels management regulation in the Real Estate Register and transfer the property of the real estate units sold off-plan to the buyers registered in the Initial Real Estate Register to the Real Estate Register, provided that they have settled the full price of their real estate units to the developer or in accordance with the agreement and the procedures issued by the Department.
  • The Department shall, based upon the request of the buyer or by itself, transfer the real estate units that were sold off-plan as well as any rights and obligations pertaining thereto from the Initial Real Estate Register to the Real Estate Register in the name of the buyer, provided that the latter has fulfilled his contractual obligations and that the developer has registered the final recurring floor and compound plans in the Real Estate Register.

Article 31 Area of the Real Estate Unit

  • The area of the real estate unit sold off-plan shall be registered in the Initial Real Estate Register upon the deposit of the plans of the real estate development project at the Department, and the area of the real estate unit shall be calculated according to the procedures and standards specified by the Department.
  • The area of the real estate unit recorded in the Initial real estate register shall be considered the contracted area, and in case of any increase in the area of the real estate unit, the following provisions shall be observed:
    • The developer may not claim any compensation for any increase in the area of the real estate unit after the delivery of the real estate unit to the buyer.
    • Should there be any increase found in the area of the real estate unit by (5%} or less, no compensation or increase in the purchase price shall be calculated.
    • Should there be any increase found in the area of the real estate unit by more than (596} and up to (10%}, the purchase price shall be increased based on the agreed purchase price and equal to the area increase percentage.
    • Should there be any increase found in the area of the real estate unit by more than (10%}, the buyer may have the choice to either pay the increase of the purchase price based on the agreed purchase price and equal to the increase percentage, or rescind the contract.
  • Should there be any decrease found in the area of the real estate unit before or upon delivery of such unit to the buyer, the following provisions shall be observed:
    • Should the decrease in the area of the real estate unit be less than(5%}, the purchase price shall not be reduced.
    • Should the decrease in the area of the real estate unit ranges between (5%) and (10%), the purchase price shall be reduced equal to the area decrease percentage based on the agreed purchase price.
    • Should the decrease in the area of the real estate unit be more than (10%), the buyer may have the choice to either reduce the purchase price equal to the area decrease percentage, or rescind the contract.

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