Real Estate licenses in Abu Dhabi
Article 5
Chapter 1 – Licensing and its Categories and Conditions
- No person may carry out any activity as a Developer, Broker, Brokers employee, Auctioneer, Director of owners’ union, Evaluator or Surveyor, nor may they introduce themselves in such capacity without a licence issued by the Department.
- No person that violates the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article, may be entitled to any remuneration, profits or fees for any work conducted thereby. In the event of receiving such amounts, they shall be returned to the customer and who shall be compensated for the value of the remuneration or profit should it be non-refundable in nature.
- Obtaining a licence according to the provisions of this Article shall not release any person from the obligation to obtain any other licences, permits or approvals required by any other governmental entity to be able to conduct their work.
- Obtaining a licence according to the provisions of this Article shall not release any person from the obligation to obtain any other licences, permits or approvals required by any other governmental entity to be able to conduct their work.
- The Executive Regulation shall determine the conditions to be fulfilled by the licence applicants as well as the categories, form and substance of any licence issued according to the provisions of this Law.
- The licence issued by the Department shall be renewed annually according to the rules, conditions and provisions specified in the Executive Regulation, and the Department may request that the licensees undergo training programs to be specified by the Executive Regulation as a condition to renew the licence.
Article 6 The Code of Conduct
Chapter 2 – Obligations of the Licenses
All licensees shall abide by the provisions of the guideline on the code of conduct and professional ethics issued by the Department pursuant to the provisions of this Law.
Article 7 Rights and Obligations of the Broker
- The broker shall commit to conclude a written brokerage contract on the form approved by the Department before carrying out any work for the party with whom the contract is concluded, and shall submit such contract to the Department in order to register it in the real estate development register before receiving any amounts from the client, and within a maximum of 15 fifteen days from the date of signing said contract.
- If the developer agrees with the broker that the latter will be in charge of marketing the real estate development project, in part or in whole, the broker shall deposit the price of the real estate unit of which the sale was mediated thereby in the project escrow account, and may not deposit the amount in his personal account nor may he deduct his commission from the price before depositing the amount in the escrow account. Any agreement to the contrary shall be considered null and void.
- The broker may not achieve any personal benefit from the amounts deposited in the project escrow account nor may he withdraw any amount from such account unless in the cases approved by the Department.
- The funds deposited by the broker in the project’s escrow account shall not be subject to the procedures of mortgage, attachment, liquidation or bankruptcy or any other procedures to which the broker may be subject as a result of the legal obligations incurred by him.
- The maximum remuneration or commission to be paid to the broker by the customer shall be determined by a resolution issued by the Chairman from time to time.
- The broker shall not be entitled to any remuneration or commission for his brokerage service unless such service led to the conclusion of a contract between the parties. The contract shall be considered as having been concluded when both parties agree on all the substantive issues in the contract. The broker shall be entitled to his remuneration once the contract is concluded, even if it was not executed, unless otherwise agreed.
- If the contracting party appoints more than one broker for the same work, a main brokerage contract shall be concluded with any of these brokers who shall. in their turn, draw a written sub-contract between them according to the form approved by the Department in order to distribute the commission or remuneration consistently with the manner specified in the sub-contract.
- The broker may not represent more than one party for the same transaction. By way of exception. two brokers or two employees of a broker at the same office or company may represent more than one party separately for the same transaction provided that:
- The contracting parties know that the broker or the employee of the broker represents more than one party for the same transaction, and agree on this matter.
- Each of the contracting parties separately sign with the broker a written brokerage contract.
- The broker or the employee of the broker shall represent the contracting party in all honesty and independence.
- The broker may not achieve any personal benefit in any transaction concluded in favour of the contracting party. other than the remuneration or commission due thereto in consideration of the work carried out for the customers pursuant to the brokerage contract. The broker shall keep the contracting party informed concerning all the details of negotiations conducted thereby on the latter1s behalf.
- The broker shall note down the number of his registration in the Real Estate Register outside his workplace and it shall also appear on all correspondences. advertisements and documents issued thereby as well as business cards and any printouts or material used.
- The broker shall keep the registers specified pursuant to the provisions of the Executive Regulation and register all the transactions concluded through him in the real estate development register in the manner specified by the Department.
- The broker shall serve as a secretary concerning any financial instruments. securities or title deeds received from the contracting party and he shall deliver them according to the terms laid down by said party.
Article 8 Functions of the Evaluator
The Evaluator shall perform his work according to an agreement concluded between him and the contracting party who shall specify the obligations and liabilities of the Evaluator as well as the remuneration due to him for his work. In all cases, his functions shall include the expression of opinion on the value of the real estate or any property rights related thereto, and appraise it according to the adopted basis and standards.
Article 9 Obligations of the Evaluator
- The Evaluator shall be committed to conclude a written agreement with the contracting party upon conducting any work in the latter1s favour.
- The Evaluator shall keep a register where all the appraisals conducted thereby are recorded, and should include the following:
- A description of the real estate being appraised.
- The value or overall value of the real estate.
- Statement on the appraisal type adopted.
- Statement on the method used for the appraisal.
- Any assumptions related to the appraisal.
- Any other matters that may be requested by the Department.
- The Evaluator shall conduct his appraisal with total independence from the contracting party and without any influence from the latter on how to conduct the appraisal or the manner to determine the value of the real estate being appraised.
Article 10 Functions of the Surveyor
The surveyor shall perform his work according to an agreement concluded between him and the contracting party who shall specify the obligations and liabilities of the surveyor as well as the remuneration due to him for his work. In all cases, his functions shall include the determination of the borders and dimensions of any real estate and carry out any surveying work according to the basis and standards specified by the competent authorities, without exceeding the achievement of the objectives of this Law.
Article 11 Obligations of the Surveyor
- The surveyor shall be committed to conclude a written agreement with the contracting party upon conducting any surveying work in the latter’s favour.
- The surveyor shall submit all the plans and statements to the competent entities according to the form approved by such entities.
- The Department may use the plans and statements submitted thereto by the surveyor.
