Q: Dear Sir/Madam, I am a seller. I have signed Form F, but now I want to back out. What options do I have to avoid paying the 10% penalty?

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, I am a buyer. I signed the property sales contract manually. Then the agent sent the document to the seller, who signed it and sent a snapshot of all the pages. There is no digital contract signed form F. The seller had a bank loan, which he cleared, and was waiting for a relieving letter. The contract's last day has passed. Now he is reluctant to sell. Can I ask for 10% of the amount, as he is not able to provide the documents required for the sales deal?

س: سيدي العزيز / سيدتي العزيزة، لقد وقعت مذكرة تفاهم لشراء عقار. تم توقيع مذكرة التفاهم من قبل وكيل البائع خطيًا على الورق. لقد تابعنا مع وكيل البائع وكان يبقينا على اطلاع منذ ما يقرب من شهر بأن شهادة عدم الممانعة قيد الإجراء. في الأسبوع الماضي، عندما انتهت فترة مذكرة التفاهم، أبلغنا الوكيل أن الموكل قرر عدم البيع لأن لديه عرضًا آخر. سألت الوكيل عن مذكرة التفاهم، فقال الوكيل إن مذكرة التفاهم ليس لها أي قيمة لأنها مكتوبة على الورق وليست مدرجة في طلب مؤسسة التنظيم العقاري. أسئلة: هل يمكنني تنفيذ مذكرة تفاهم ورقية (النموذج F)؟ أم بسبب القواعد الجديدة لم تعد صالحة وقد أخطأنا؟ كانت مذكرة التفاهم لمدة شهر واحد، وقد مضى حوالي ستة أسابيع منذ توقيع مذكرة التفاهم. نقدر أي نصيحة.

Q: Dear Lawyers, I signed a Form F with a buyer for the sale of my house as we were planning to leave the country. The contract was signed about a month ago, but the handover is not until August. Due to personal circumstances changing, we are no longer leaving Dubai and would like to cancel Form F. The Form F contract stipulates that we have to pay the buyer 10% of the purchase value. The real estate agent is now claiming that we also have to pay the buyer's real estate commission and the conveyancing fee. Our understanding is that the 10% penalty is the only penalty. Which is correct, and what are the next steps to dispute this? Also, is there any way to dispute the 10% itself under the law due to personal circumstances changing?

Q: Dear Lawyers, I am selling an apartment in Dubai to a US-based buyer. The Form F was signed at the end of May and has been extended twice to allow the buyer to secure financing. They have received pre-approval and are now waiting for the final offer letter. To obtain the final offer letter, the buyers (husband and wife) need to travel to the UAE to open a bank account. Due to personal circumstances, they cannot travel together, which means the bank account will not be opened for at least another two weeks. The Form F is expiring in three days. What are my recourses as a seller to: a) force the buyer to expedite their travel plans to open the bank account, and b) claim their security deposit held by the agent if they do not expedite their travel? Additionally, if I file a claim for their security deposit, will I be blocked from selling my property to someone else until the claim is resolved?

Q: Dear Lawyers, I am a Dubai resident. I found a property in Dubai to buy through a real estate agent, and the seller agreed on the price I offered. At the time of signing the Sale Contract (Form F) on the DLD website, the system was down, so we signed it manually and gave the deposit check to the agent. The contract stated that the RERA system was down and that when it is back in operation, we should refile Form F digitally within 24 hours. The next day, the agent prepared it, and I signed it, but the seller refused to. He proceeded with the sale of the property to a different buyer and refused to pay the penalty stated in the contract. My questions are: 1. Is this legal? 2. Can he sell it to someone else even though he signed a contract with me? 3. RERA couldn't block the sale because the contract was done manually and not registered in their system. Do I have legal rights to demand the penalty be paid or for the sale to go through? I have a copy of the sale contract with his signature.

The provisions of this law, promulgating UAE Civil Code, govern the civil transactions in the United Arab Emirates. The commercial transactions remain subject to the laws and regulations applicable in their regard.