Q: I signed an MOU for purchasing a property from the seller. It has now been close to two months, with no progress. The tenant at the seller's property is not allowing time for valuation purposes. And now the seller is saying it's not his problem and is not willing to pay the 10% agreed as per the MOU. There's a specific clause in the MOU as below: "In the event that the 'seller' fails to complete the transfer on the agreed date due to his own act or omissions, then the full deposit will be refunded to the buyer, and also the 'seller' agrees to pay the same deposit amount to the buyer as a compensation for the loss of the said property unless they agreed amicably to different terms or dates."

Q: I am planning to buy an apartment, not sure what all things I need to check or get checked in legal aspects. How much will a lawyer's advice cost and how compulsory is it to have a piece of legal advice?

Q: Hi, I am planning to buy a ready apartment in a 2-year-old building. How can I check for any dues on that apartment, would NOC suffice that the mortgage or any dues are cleared? How can I check that the seller does not have court cases against him in relation to property? How do the Service Charges get decided every year, as I understand that it is decided by Dubai Land Department who has defined the Service Index? Should I hire a lawyer to look out all legal aspects and help me till I get the property transferred to me? If yes, then what is the average cost for this service? Regards, Gufran

Q: Dear sir, I received deposit cheques for the amount of AED 324,000/- and AED 34000/- as deposits for the sale of my villa in Dubai. The buyer could not conclude the deal in the stipulated time. We, therefore, presented the cheques. The bank gave a letter certifying that the cheques were issued from a closed bank account. We have registered a police complaint on the Dubai Police app last week. I have read on various websites that issuing cheques and closing that account is a criminal offense. Is that accurate? Hence, is filing a police complaint sufficient? Or is there anything else that we need to do in parallel? What will happen now? It has been a week since we lodged the complaint and haven’t heard back.

Q: This is to report that I paid a 10% security cheque of the property value as agreed upon & accepted by the owner to sign the MOU/FORM F. But the real estate agent told us that there is some technical issue while generating the MOU document with land and need to update the title deed. As I have a pre-approved bank loan, the real estate agent informed me to proceed with property valuation and confirmed meanwhile the documents will also get updated with DLD. After waiting for almost 2 weeks when we asked to generate MOU, the agent told the seller to back out & wants to sell at a higher price. It was delayed by the broker & seller for not signing the MOU/Form F & backing out after almost a month should be considered unlawful. As agents, they should secure the rights of both parties, in this case, where I was not at fault as the buyer, and the agent took their own time to find a new buyer at a higher price. How can we take action against them?

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, I am interested in buying a property that is currently tenanted. The agent has insisted that the tenant will vacate the property in two months; however, the current owner has not served any notice to the tenant. Is there an agreement we can ask the tenant to sign before we agree to buy the property, such as an undertaking in front of a magistrate? Can we include this in the MoU so that if the property is not vacated by a certain date, the MoU stands nullified?

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.

This Resolution sets the fees for registration of real property dispositions in the real property register, including those related to completed, under-construction, or offplan real property, as well as the fees for services provided by Dubai Land Department.

This Law sets the rules and procedures for registration of real property in Dubai. The right to own real property in Dubai is restricted to UAE and GCC nationals, to companies fully owned by these and to public joint stock companies. Freehold ownership by non-UAE nationals may be approved by the Ruler in certain areas.