UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Duncan Pickering, Nicola de Sylva, Sean Cope and Marta Almeida, DLA Piper Middle East LLP
The interim registration does not, however, cre - ate 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 In the UAE, the due diligence process can often be difficult due to the lack of information made publicly available as land registers are not pub - licly searchable. Information relating to ownership of a property can only be obtained from the relevant govern - mental departments upon application from (or with authorisation of) the owner of the property. In Dubai, certain information relating to a prop - erty is publicly available with the DLD ‘Inquiry About a Property’ service. Some information relating to utility arrangements, community 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. 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 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 lia - ble for latent defects for one year from the issu - ance date of the completion certificate. 2.6 Important Areas of Law for Investors An investor should pay 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 consider whether the property 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 primar - ily aim to control all forms of major pollution and will apply to the principal polluter (developer, industrial organisation, etc). There is a possibil - ity that environmental liabilities 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 responsible for the zoning of land in their respec - tive Emirates. The DMT and the DM each issue “affection plans” (see 4.1 Legislative and Gov- ernmental Controls Applicable to Strategic Planning and Zoning ) 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.
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