Dubai Land Department (DLD) signed an agreement to license and regulate ‘Real Estate Lawyer’ initiative services with Hadef & Partners. The agreement was signed by HE Sultan Butti bin Mejren, Director General of DLD, and Sadiq Jafar, Managing Partner of Hadef & Partners in Dubai, and in the presence of His Excellency Dr. Hadef Al Dhaheri, Founding Partner of Hadef & Partners.

This agreement comes after DLD had approved the Real Estate Lawyer initiative. Hadef & Partners was selected after having fulfilled the required conditions and for being one of the specialised law firms with international experience, constituting a group of legal experts and licensed in accordance with the regulations enforced in Dubai.

HE Sultan Butti bin Mejren said: “The Real Estate Lawyer initiative aims to facilitate the mechanisms of the real estate sector and works to enhance and expand regional and global real estate investment channels in Dubai. Through agreements with a number of partners operating in this field, we seek to provide opportunities and facilitate the ability of foreign companies to own properties in Dubai’s real estate market. We are keen to select the most qualified and reputable law firms in the market, such as Hadef & Partners, that commit to the high standards we established in the real estate market to ensure the satisfaction and happiness of our customers and achieve their comfort in easily obtaining services by completing the regulatory and investment measures.”

According to the agreement, DLD will grant a licence to initiate the provided services, taking into account the procedures, laws, and quality to maintain Dubai’s competitiveness level. Hadef & Partners will provide many services, namely querying and researching investor records and issuing certificates regarding the companies that DLD would subsequently approve. A real estate lawyer may rely on the papers and documents submitted by the companies without the need to translate them to Arabic or certify them and must adhere to legal standards as well as exercise due diligence in issuing these certificates.

The real estate lawyer may also seek the assistance of law firms outside the UAE to ascertain certain procedures in the company’s country of origin, with a commitment to exert the utmost efforts in confirming the accuracy of the documents submitted by customers. The lawyer will also provide real estate sales escrow account services and legal advisory services on real estate matters in accordance with DLD’s regulations as well as to other services that can be agreed upon between the two parties. The duration of the agreement is valid for one year, and could be renewed for a similar period based on the agreement of the two parties

Dr Hadef Al Dhaheri said: “We express our pride in our cooperation with DLD for this initiative, and we look forward to working and collaborating with DLD on enhancing investment in Dubai’s real estate market, providing the necessary legal support to investors in Dubai and around the world, and contributing to promoting the emirate’s position as one of the best investment destinations in the world.”

Through the Real Estate Lawyer initiative, DLD aims to provide many investment solutions to help position Dubai as a global destination for real estate investors, allowing for the strengthening of real estate investments in the emirate and facilitating the buying and selling of properties by companies with full foreign ownership, thus opening the market to more corporate investors to attract more foreign real estate investment.