Q: I have the following legal situation with which I would like to seek an advice and potential representation. The facts are as following: myself, my sister and our mother own 75% of shares in an apartment in Dubai. The remaining 25% owns our father, ex-­husband of our mother. They recently got divorced in Russia. We are all citizens of Russian Federation. Now we want to sell the apartment, but our father refuses to sell his share of ownership so that to make it impossible for us to receive any income from this apartment. Russian court decided that after divorce each party (mother and father) keeps his/her 25% of ownership. What possible legal options we have in order to be able to sell this apartment? Or what can we do in order to sell our 75% ownership in this apartment?

Q: Dear Sir/Madam I issued a General Power of Attorney to someone for renting our property. (He and I own a property together in Dubai). Since he took the POA, He hasn't paid my share of rental and doesn't even answer my calls anymore! I don’t even know what has happened to our property or even to my share. (I think that he has stolen my share). I have sent several emails to agents that do business with him and asked them to give me all copies of tenancy contracts and all other documents about my property, but they haven't replied to my requests yet. I like to mention that He has taken all the copies of the POA and Deed of Property and I don’t have any copy of the Deed or POA. What shall I do? Thanks

Q: I am an Indian woman who was under my husband's sponsorship in Dubai. We had purchased an apartment in 2017 which is still under construction - in our joint names (50-50). The builder was supposed to give it by end of 2018, but it is still not ready. 60% of the payment needs to be done at the time of handover. We have the Oqood certificate. Now, we have decided to get divorced in India. I had given money towards the property's initial installments.

Q: Hi, I have a concern. We have signed a contract with a seller, but it's not an F contract. We signed an MOU, which is an A contract, and the seller has signed the same, which is a B (this comes from the real estate agency). The seller has specified the date of transfer and confirmed his availability to the agent, but the agent didn't inform us as a buyer. The seller raised a complaint in RERA mentioning that the buyer didn't show up to sign the NOC, knowing we, as a buyer, had sent many emails to the agent as follow-ups. However, it was ending up with the same answer from the agent that the seller was not answering his calls and he did not confirm the date to sign the NOC. We went to RERA, and they asked us to solve the issue between us. Now we are waiting for the seller to see if he would like to proceed with the sale. My question is, as a buyer, how to protect ourselves as we have given a deposit cheque to the agent and paid for the conveyance fees and valuation? What is the next step from our side?

Q: I have signed a sale & purchase agreement for a ready-to-move-in property in Dubai, the full payment has already been made, but the developer did not submit for DLD registration as yet. Meanwhile, the same developer's leasing dept. has prepared a rent contract with a potential tenant, whereby, they have written the developer's name as owner/landlord, instead of mine. I need to ask, is such a rent agreement valid, and where do I stand in all this?

Q: I have a two-pronged question. I was looking to rent a house and I've paid the first three months, deposit, and agent fees together. I've also signed a contract. The agent has refused to give us the keys until we give him the SEWA deposit as well. Now at this point, I'm having misgivings about the agent. The agency is not listed on the Sharjah government's RERA website. The agent showed us a free zone license which is valid till September 30th. The agent also keeps insisting on cash and is not sending us a copy of the contract we signed. At this point, should I give him any more money or can I insist on receiving the house keys first? The tenancy is supposed to start on the 1st of October, but previously he had told us that we would get the keys as soon as we pay the first installment. Also secondly, if the agency is listed as a free zone business, is it not required to be registered on the Sharjah government website?

Q: Dear Lawyers, I received a rental apartment eviction notice from Dubai courts, which was sent and signed by a power of attorney. However, the property has two owners. Do both owners need to authorize the POA, and is there a way to check if the POA is actually authorized to send the notice? Is it possible that the POA has authorization from only one owner and was still able to send the notice?

Q: Good afternoon, My husband and I recently purchased a property with a tenant. We would like to renew the tenant’s contract under the same terms, and the tenant agrees. My question is: Should the landlord and lessor stated in the contract include both my husband and me, or is it sufficient to list only his name? We are co-owners, with a 50/50 split. Thank you for your assistance!

With the introduction of the new procedures for obtaining a power of attorney (POA) remotely in the UAE, after it was mandatory to appear in person in front of the notary public as a global rule to ensure the identity and intention of the person requesting a POA, we put between your hands this brief guide for how you get it done.

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.

This Law sets the rules and regulations concerning ownership and management of jointly owned real property in the Emirate of Dubai.