Out of the box
Real Estate Estate Estate Estate (2-2)
Ismail Al Hammadi
06 June 2023
Decree No. 23 of 2020 regulating the sale of residential properties by heirs in the Emirate of Dubai aims to regulate the disposal of residential property between heirs through sale by agreement and mutual consent, so that each of them can benefit from his legitimate share. The decree specified the requirements, procedures and mechanism necessary for the sale of inherited residential property, and the conditions that must be met before starting these procedures, as well as protecting the heirs affected by the sale, providing them with appropriate housing alternatives, in addition to clarifying the method of dealing with cases of refusal of heirs or one of them, to sell the residential property, with clarification and explanation of the mechanism for forming a special judicial committee that considers disputes between heirs due to sale, and appeals against the decisions of the competent authorities if necessary.
It should be noted here that this decree excludes ready-made housing granted by the Mohammed bin Rashid Housing Establishment, as the provisions of Law No. 4 of 2011 regarding the Mohammed bin Rashid Housing Establishment apply to the latter, and this decree also requires that the buyer of the inherited property be a citizen, if the property is located outside the areas of ownership of non-citizens.
The decree clarifies the conditions and procedures for the sale of inherited residential property, foremost of which is applying for approval from the Land Department to sell the residential property according to approved procedures.
The decree focuses on three basic points that are one of the main factors and the source of disputes between the heirs, as the first point revolves around the financial claims due on the property, as the decree refers to the payment of all these claims before the sale, and if the matter is not possible, their fulfillment is postponed until after the sale, and they are deducted from the sale amount before distributing it to the heirs, while the second point obliges the buyer to deposit the amount in the department's account, to distribute it to the heirs, so that the distribution process is fair and transparent, and according to what Required by law and Sharia.
The third point focuses on the damage of one of the heirs from the decision to sell, if one of the heirs does not own a housing other than the inherited property to be sold, or the elderly, minors, unmarried, divorced, widows and people of determination are affected by the sale, alternative housing solutions must be provided to these heirs, with the application to sell the property frozen until an alternative housing solution is provided to those affected.
In the event that a housing alternative cannot be found, the request to sell the residential property will be suspended and reconsidered when alternative solutions are available. If the heirs refuse to agree to the request for sale, there are efforts for amicable settlement, as a first step. If this is not possible, the procedures shall take another course according to the competent departments.
The summary is that the law guarantees everyone his right, so you must review the laws, seek advice, and make a preliminary assessment of the inherited property before making the decision to sell.
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Ismail.alhammadi@alruwad.ae
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