With the UAE’s recent rapid urban development and increase in real estate distribution, the phenomenon of real estate fraud has spread to a large extent. As a result, the state government of the Emirates enacted the real estate fraud protection law in order to safeguard citizens’ interests and protect them from any form of theft or fraud. This article provides answers to numerous questions that people may have regarding the UAE’s real estate fraud protection law and the penalties imposed by this law.
What is the Real Estate Fraud Protection Law?
The Real Estate Fraud Protection law is one of the laws that protect citizens’ rights and keeps them from being robbed or defrauded when dealing with real estate brokers to receive or rent a specific property. It emphasizes the recovery of all property lost by people as a result of real estate fraud and demonstrates how they must be bound and enforced when they are robbed by real estate brokers who do not have a special permit to engage in professional real estate activity while imposing full penalties on them.
Penalties for real estate fraud
The Fraud Protection Law imposes numerous severe real estate fraud penalties that prevent the perpetrator from committing the crime again. In the following lines, we will outline the penalties authorized by the UAE Real Estate Fraud Protection Law:
- A fine of at least 50 thousand dirhams and at most 200 thousand dirhams for each person involved in fraud.
- Imprisonment for a maximum of six months, which may be extended if the same person commits fraud again.
- Every person who does not have a written permit to practice the profession or who submits incorrect documents and information to the authorities in order to obtain a permit to practice the real estate activity will face a fine of not less than 100,000 dirhams and not more than 2 million real estate dirhams.
How can I protect myself from real estate fraud?
The real estate fraud law contains numerous provisions that every person who wishes to sell or rent a specific property in the UAE must follow and apply in order to ensure the full implementation of the UAE’s real estate fraud protection law. All of the provisions that protect you from falling victim to fraud are listed below:
- It must be ensured that the individuals and intermediaries you’re dealing with have a name in the records of the municipality to which the UAE real estate belongs.
- Request to see the real estate license number or real estate profession practice card of the person you are dealing with, as this ensures the validity of the sale or rental process for the real estate you want.
- Check the validity of the contract you signed with the owner of the real estate units you are dealing with, whether it is a real estate purchase contract or a real estate rental contract.
- It must be confirmed that the real estate units offered to you do not have any legal violations, whether related to construction or otherwise, and that the selected property is negotiable.
What should I do if I’m exposed to fraud?
The UAE’s real estate fraud protection law specifies the steps that everyone must take if they are victims of real estate fraud, the legal procedures that must be followed when a person is exposed to fraud, the department’s entire work are explained below:
- It requires the application of all special laws and procedures in the detection of violations stipulated in the UAE Real Estate Fraud Protection Law.
- The department refers the previous violation to the Public Prosecution and makes the necessary decisions.
- If the Public Prosecution decides to convict the person who committed the fraud with a final judgment, the department will impose all penalties required for the case in accordance with the law.
- The department continuously publishes extensive media campaigns to educate citizens on how to act when they fall victim to real estate fraud, in collaboration with municipalities across the Emirates. It also demonstrates the importance of dealing with partners who have a permit to practice the profession.
- The department warned of the dangers of real estate fraud, particularly through social media accounts, and emphasized that no account should be trusted if it does not provide the license number of the chosen property.
Here is the conclusion of our article, which was titled The Law of Protection from Real Estate Fraud in the UAE, along with the appropriate penalty.
