Sheikh Mohammed has issued a law on expropriating property for public use in Dubai market
Law outlines procedures for expropriation, calculating compensation, and appeal
The law also creates an ‘Expropriation Committee’ to oversee all matters related to expropriation of property. The chairman of the Dubai Ruler’s Court will issue a decision on the formation of the committee, its members, decision-making processes and expropriation procedures.
Dubai: A new law regulating procedures for expropriating property for public use in Dubai has been issued.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, in his capacity as the Ruler of Dubai, issued Law No. 2 of 2022 on the expropriation of property for public use in the emirate.
The law aims to ensure that the rights of owners of expropriated property are protected and that they are afforded full and fair compensation as per a clear set of rules outlined by it.
According to Ashu Sood, director of Brisk Avenue Dubai, the provisions of the law will apply to the expropriation of property across Dubai. The law, which covers special development zones and free zones including the Dubai International Financial Centre, regulates the terms and conditions under which buildings and facilities can be expropriated, including those that are completed and under construction. It also sets out the terms for providing compensation to the owners whose properties are expropriated, as per a decision issued by the chairman of the Dubai Ruler’s Court.
According to the law, if only a portion of a property is expropriated and the remaining part becomes unfit for use as per Dubai’s construction rules and regulations, full compensation will be provided if the owner does not want to retain it to add it to an adjacent property.
The committee is tasked with reviewing requests for expropriation including requests to assess the viability of expropriating a property to meet the objectives of a project. The committee may propose alternatives to expropriating a property for a project, including land grants. It will also assess whether a proposed project requires full or partial expropriation and evaluate the compensation for expropriated property.
Orders issued by Sheikh Mohammed to expropriate property in Dubai supersede the authority of the committee.
In case the expropriation affects a property that belongs to a local or federal government entity, compensation will be provided as per legislations and procedures approved by the committee.
Expropriations of property conducted before the issuance of the new law should follow all procedures and provide compensation as per previously existing terms and conditions within a year of the effective date of the new legislation. The chairman of the Dubai Ruler’s Court is authorised to extend the deadline by six months. If the deadline is not met, compensation will have to be provided under the terms of the new law.
The law outlines comprehensive procedures for expropriation of property, calculating the value of compensation, and appealing against the expropriation.
The new law annuls clauses of the resolution issued on January 1, 1964 regulating expropriation of private property for public use. The law also annuls any other legislation that may contradict it.
