Legal services
From a rental dispute to an off-plan tower: property law for owners, tenants, investors and developers.
We advise on every part of property law in the UAE: sales and purchases, off-plan contracts, leases and rental disputes, developer obligations, jointly owned property and mortgages. Our clients range from individual tenants to overseas developers.
Property is the most common reason individuals and companies in the UAE need a lawyer. Dubai's market is regulated by the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) and the Dubai Land Department, with the Rental Disputes Centre handling landlord and tenant cases; Abu Dhabi has its own registration system and rental committee. Off-plan sales, escrow accounts, jointly owned property, mortgages and the rights of foreign buyers in designated areas are each governed by specific laws and decrees, and the rules differ between emirates and free zones.
Khalifa Al Sada Advocates & Legal Consultants covers all parts of property law, from commercial real estate and construction to residential matters. Our client base varies from individuals who need help with a rental dispute to overseas developers and companies who need legal and strategic assistance with their UAE property projects.
We act for:
Whether the matter is a single apartment or an entire development, the same care goes into the title check, the contract and the strategy.
For transactions we conduct title and encumbrance checks with the Land Department, draft and review sale and purchase agreements, memoranda of understanding and off-plan contracts, handle powers of attorney and the transfer at the registration trustee, and advise on mortgage documentation and release. We draft commercial and residential leases that comply with the rental laws of the emirate concerned, and we advise on service charges, jointly owned property declarations and owners' association matters.
For disputes we represent landlords and tenants before the Rental Disputes Centre in Dubai and the rental committees elsewhere, including eviction, rent increase, non-payment and deposit cases. We pursue claims against developers for delayed handover, defects and cancelled projects before RERA, the special judicial committees and the courts, and we act in specific performance, deposit forfeiture and commission disputes. We also handle property aspects of inheritance and family matters, including transfers on death and the registration of property gifts.
Our advocates appear before the Rental Disputes Centre, the property courts and the Court of Cassation regularly, and our consultants know the registration and RERA procedures in detail. That lets us tell a client at the first meeting what the law requires, what the tribunal is likely to decide and what it will cost to get there.
We work in Arabic and English, and our Russia, India and Turkey desks assist the many overseas buyers who invest in UAE property without speaking either language fluently.
We check the title, the encumbrances and the contract or lease, and identify the risks before you commit.
We advise on the right structure and draft or amend the agreement so that it protects you and satisfies the registration authority.
We complete the transfer or lease registration, or file the claim with the Rental Disputes Centre, RERA or the court.
We pursue the judgment or decision to eviction, payment, transfer or refund.
Yes, freehold in designated areas of Dubai and in investment zones of Abu Dhabi and other emirates, and leasehold or usufruct elsewhere. We confirm the position for the specific property.
Only within the RERA rent index and with 90 days' written notice before renewal. Increases outside the index can be challenged at the Rental Disputes Centre.
The contract, the RERA regulations and the escrow law give buyers remedies ranging from compensation to termination and refund. We assess the contract and advise on the best route.
In Dubai, only on twelve months' notice through the notary public or registered post, and only on the grounds set out in the law. Any other eviction can be resisted.
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