Dubai - MENA Herald: As part of its efforts to promote awareness of the legal aspects of property ownership in Dubai, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry in association with Afridi & Angell Legal Consultants, organised, “Dubai Real Estate Legal Landscape” workshop at the Chamber premises on Tuesday. The workshop, which was attended by Dubai Chamber members, lawyers and legal consultants, investors, real estate developers, brokers and contract administrators, provided tips and discussed the proper procedure as well as common pitfalls to ensure a successful property sale and purchase transaction. Jehad Kazim, Director, Legal Services, Dubai Chamber, presided over the workshop which had presentations on Pre Property Ownership - Stay informed as a buyer and do your due diligence and Post Property Ownership - Understanding your rights, by Shahram Safai, Partner, and Geoff Smith, Senior Associate, Afridi & Angell Legal Consultants. Kazim informed that in today’s regulated real estate market where changes occur at a high pace and new laws are continuously being introduced, it is the duty of property buyers and sellers to know their rights and be informed and seek the right advice. “It is also important for all parties to have enough knowledge about property sale and purchase transactions and agreements to avoid pitfalls and also to know about the duties and obligations of owners, occupiers and developers as well as the availability of alternative dispute resolutions and mediation in case either of the parties fail to fulfil their commitments,” she said. Kazim further added that the objective of the workshop was to offer proper professional guidance to all buyers involved on the aspects of fruitful sale and purchase deals including the liability of home loan seekers while also providing them tips on taking the right course for a successful property transaction. Shahram Safai, Partner, Afridi & Angell, said: “There are a number of legal measures which have been introduced to safeguard property buyers in Dubai. Among these measures are the unified real estate contracts, implemented in 2014, which have been made mandatory for all property transactions and are aimed at introducing basic protections to the main parties involved in a real estate transaction. “Another legal measure is the escrow law introduced to protect off-plan purchasers from developers using funds from the escrow account for any other purposes other than for the project for which the payments were made,” he said. Added Geoff Smith, Senior Associate at Afridi & Angell, “One area that requires improvement in real estate ownership in Dubai is the collection of service charges under the Jointly Owned Property Law and despite powers granted to owners’ associations to assist in the recovery of service charges, we are increasingly seeing high levels of service charges remaining unpaid.” Dubai Chamber regularly organises trainings, seminars and workshops to apprise the business community with the various trade legislations, laws and rights as part of its efforts to serve the business community which ultimately go on to boost their trade and contribute to the economic growth of Dubai.
