A demonstration of the willingness of a party to enter into a bargain, made in such a way that another individual is justified in understanding that his or her assent to the bargain is invited and that such assent will conclude the bargain. The general rule is that it must be reasonable in the circumstances for the recipient to believe that the communication is an offer. The more definite the communication, the more likely it will constitute an offer.

A public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters. A notary’s main function is to attest and certify, by his/her hand and official seal, certain classes of documents, in order to give them authenticity in government authorities, foreign jurisdictions, etc.

DLD stands for Dubai Land Department, a government entity established on January 24, 1960, to handle all matters related to the legalization of real estate transactions in the Emirate of Dubai. On September 18, 2013, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, issued the Law No. (7) of 2013 Concerning the Land Department which defines objectives of DLD as the government entity responsible for regulation and registration of real estate property and promotion of real estate investment. The department also actively develops the necessary legislation to propel the real estate sector in Dubai and distributes knowledge in real estate. Today, DLD provides more than 160 services going beyond just registration and titling. Organisational structure of Dubai Land Department includes: Real Estate Registration which documents and retains real estate rights in the land registry system (the registration arm); Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) which regulates the real estate sector in the emirate (the regulatory arm); Real Estate Investment Management & Promotion Center  supports national and international real estate investors, develops the real estate investment environment and promotes direct and long-term investments (the investment arm); Rental Disputes Settlement Center (also known as Rental Committee) which deals with rent disputes arising between those involved in the real property rental sector and other related sectors (the judicial arm); Dubai Real Estate Institute (DREI) which aims to create, spread and sustain real estate knowledge in the market (the educational arm).

A common clause in contracts that essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties such as war, strike, riot, crime, or an event known as an act of God (such as a hurricane, flooding, earthquake, volcanic eruption etc.), prevents one or both parties from fulfilling their obligations under the contract. In practice, most force majeure clauses do not exclude a party’s non-performance entirely, but only suspends it for the duration of the force majeure event.

The process whereby a party is made aware of the commencement of legal proceedings affecting their rights, obligations or duties. Although the format may vary, there are strict requirements regarding service of a legal notice which must be adhered to if the legal notice to be effective.

Sometimes known as a repudiatory breach, is a breach of an essential part of a contract that it permits the distressed party to terminate performance of the contract, in addition to entitling that party to sue for damages.

A legal document, usually in writing, giving details of a formal legally binding agreement, between two or more different people or groups. To be legally binding it must contain certain elements: it must contain an offer made by one party and accepted in its entirety by the other, it must include some form of consideration whether it be money, goods or services, and it must be properly signed by all parties to it, and dated.