UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Duncan Pickering, Nicola de Sylva and Sean Cope, DLA Piper Middle East LLP
As a result, any due diligence carried out will typically be reliant upon materials provided by the seller’s lawyer (which includes title certifi - cates and searches) and the seller’s response to follow-up enquiries made by the buyer. 2.5 Typical Representations and Warranties Representations and warranties in a sale and purchase agreement are subject to agreement by the parties, and vary from contract to con - tract. Abu Dhabi and Dubai laws 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 particular attention to the planning, zoning, 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 carefully consider whether the property is in an area in which the buyer is legally permitted to hold the interest that they plan to buy. 2.7 Soil Pollution or Environmental Contamination Environmental laws in the UAE are comprised 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 liabilities can pass with land, particularly if the breach of envi - ronmental 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 responsible for the zoning of land in their respec - tive 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 regard - ing 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, restrict the right of a public authority to expropriate land, unless such expro - priation is for a public benefit and compensation will be paid to the party being disadvantaged by such expropriation. There is no formal statutory process, although typically for large-scale expropriations a com - mittee will be formed to co-ordinate dealings with affected parties and to determine compen - sation. 2.10 Taxes Applicable to a Transaction Asset Deals In Abu Dhabi, the seller and buyer are required to pay registration fees of between 1% and 4% of the purchase price. It is common for the buyer to pay the transfer fee. In Dubai, the seller and buyer are required to pay registration fees of 4% of the purchase price, which is split equally between the parties unless
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