Investing in an off-plan project can offer you great returns, but what if it gets cancelled? Will your investment be refunded? Investors are always concerned about their investment refund in case of off-plan project cancellation. Learning laws, procedures and policies surrounding such cancellations becomes a necessity.
Here is all you need to know about off-plan project cancellation:
- What Is Off-Plan Project Cancellation?
- What Are the Laws Governing Off-Plan Project Cancellation?
- What Are the Payment Policies Related to Off-Plan Project Cancellation?
- What Is the Procedure for Off-Plan Project Cancellation?
- Real Estate Violation System
- FAQs
What Is Off-Plan Project Cancellation?
In the situation of off-plan project cancellation, a real estate development project is halted midway through construction. Such cancellations occur due to construction delays or financial and legal restraints. In these cases, the developers or the relevant authorities like RERA can officially stop the project from proceeding.
What Are the Laws Governing Off-Plan Project Cancellation?
The Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) is responsible for declaring and dealing with off-plan project cancellations. They protect the buyers and keep the market transparency intact so developers comply with laws. You can track your payments and project status with Oqood Dubai for further clarification.
Let’s take a look at a few laws related to it:
- Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007 states that developers must have an escrow account that should hold the buyer’s payment. This payment should be refunded as per RERA’s final decisions.
- Dubai Law No. 13 of 2008 specifies the procedures that a developer must go through to refund payments to the buyer when RERA cancels a project.
- Decree No. 33 of 2020 presented the restructured committee that handles unfinished and cancelled real estate projects, renaming it the “Special Tribunal for Liquidation of Cancelled Real Property Projects in Dubai and Settlement of Related Rights”.
What Are the Payment Policies Related to Off-Plan Project Cancellation?
When you are investing in off-plan project in Dubai, one of the major risks is project cancellation. The major payment policy related to this is that the developers must reimburse the buyers after auditor verification within 14 days of cancellation. If the developer has insufficient funds, the reimbursement can take place within 60 days.
Buyers can also make a reimbursement claim over off-plan project cancellation. In addition, they can be subjected to penalties for their cancellation of the contract. The penalties vary In many cases, some amount from the buyer’s payment is taken as a penalty.
What Is the Procedure for Off-Plan Project Cancellation?
The process includes several steps. Let’s take a look at it:
- Notification of Cancellation: The developer notifies all buyers about the project cancellation with a clear reason for cancellation.
- RERA Registration: The developer reports the cancellation to RERA to change the project’s status.
- Passing a Resolution: RERA passes a resolution and initiates the cancellation process.
- Report Submission: RERA presents a detailed report with explanations and evidence of project cancellation.
- Audit Process: An auditor verifies the escrow account and other financials.
- Refunding and Reimbursement: The developer refunds the buyers’ payments via the escrow account or reimburses in case of insufficient funds.
- Final Settlement: If the developers breach the contractual obligations, RERA imposes penalties on the developer to ensure buyer protection.
Real Estate Violation System
The Real Estate Violation System (RVS) keeps a check and balance on the developer activity so that buyer rights remain intact. Developers are subjected to legal action like penalties or even a ban on conducting further business if they are caught violating the contract terms. The buyers can also file complaints to RERA for further investigation and measures to protect their rights.
The main purpose of this system is to ensure regulatory compliance, protect investor rights and maintain a stable and trustworthy real estate market in Dubai.
FAQs
Absolutely! You can either file a complaint with RERA or take the matter to court if the developer fails to refund your money as per the terms of the agreement.
You can monitor the status by visiting the Dubai Land Department (DLD) website or their office. Through Oqood, you can also check the payments and project status.
You can report to RERA or take legal action against the developer for facing issues in a project that the developer has not cancelled.
Yes! Getting an off-plan mortgage in Dubai is an ideal choice as the off-plan property is low in price and has a high ROI.
Here is all you need to know about off-plan project cancellations and refund policies. If you have other properties you want to let go of, check out how to sell off-plan property in Dubai.
