UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Duncan Pickering, Nicola de Sylva, Sean Cope and Marta Almeida, DLA Piper LLP
2.5 Typical Representations and Warranties Representations and warranties in a sale and pur - chase agreement are subject to agreement by the parties and vary from contract to contract. The laws in Abu Dhabi and Dubai remain largely silent on the representations and warranties that are implied in the sale of property, except for the sale of off-plan units. A developer selling a unit off-plan is required to repair any structural defects in a unit for ten years from the date of issuance of the completion certificate and is liable for latent defects for one year from the issuance date of the completion certificate. 2.6 Important Areas of Law for Investors An investor should pay attention to the planning, zon - ing, construction, environmental, and health and safety laws that may apply to the property and should obtain assurances that all requisite approvals were obtained prior to the building having been constructed. Non-UAE nationals should consider whether the prop - erty is in an area designated for foreign ownership. 2.7 Soil Pollution or Environmental Contamination Environmental laws in the UAE consist of federal and Emirate-level laws. The federal laws primarily aim to control all forms of major pollution and will apply to the principal polluter (developer, industrial organisation, etc). There is a possibility that environmental liabili - ties can pass with the purchase of land, particularly if the breach of environmental laws continues after the purchase by the buyer. 2.8 Permitted Uses of Real Estate Under Zoning or Planning Law The DMT and the Dubai Municipality (DM) are respon - sible for the zoning of land in their respective Emirates. The DMT and the DM each issue “affection plans” in respect of plots of land, which state the zoning for such land and details regarding the size of the building permitted to be built on such land. 2.9 Condemnation, Expropriation or Compulsory Purchase Expropriation of land is possible in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The UAE Constitution and Civil Code, however,
estate interests, but this does not negate the require - ment to register land transactions at the onshore land register. Off-Plan Sales Contracts In Abu Dhabi and Dubai, contracts for the sale of real estate that is being developed (ie, off-plan) must be registered on an interim register. The interim registra - tion does not, however, create any legal ownership. Upon completion of the unit, the interim registration is cancelled and full registration occurs. Title Insurance It is not common for title insurance to be obtained. 2.4 Real Estate Due Diligence information made publicly available as land registers are not publicly searchable. Information relating to ownership of a property can only be obtained from the relevant governmental departments upon application from (or with authori - sation of) the owner of the property. In Dubai, certain information relating to a property is publicly available with the DLD ‘Inquiry About a Property’ service. Some information relating to utility arrangements, commu - nity charges, leases or other contracts affecting the land can only be obtained from the owner of the land. As a result, any due diligence carried out will typically be reliant upon materials provided by the seller (which includes title certificates and searches) and the seller’s response to follow-up enquiries made by the buyer. The new Civil Code imposes pre‑contractual duties of good faith and disclosure on parties negotiating a transaction. In particular: • Parties must negotiate in good faith, which includes co-operating honestly during the informa - tion‑gathering phase. • Sellers now have an express duty to disclose essential information, including facts that would materially affect a buyer’s decision to enter into or value a transaction.
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