On 11 January, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, issued Law No. (2) of 2022 on the expropriation of property for public use in the Emirate of Dubai.
The new law regulates the procedures upon which buildings and facilities may be expropriated - including those that are completed or under construction - if deemed for the advancement and development of public use. 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, reports WAM, the official Emirates News Agency.
As per the law, if only part of a property is expropriated by the government and the remaining portion becomes unviable for use according to construction regulations, full compensation will be provided even if the owner does not wish to retain the remaining portion.
The law also covers special development zones and free zones including the Dubai International Financial Centre.
The law creates a permanent committee named ‘The Expropriation Committee’ to oversee all matters related to expropriation of property in Dubai. 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 Dubai Ruler to expropriate property in the emirate supersede the authority of the Committee. The Chairman of the Court of His Highness Ruler of Dubai will issue separate decisions for any expropriation of property.
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 newly issued law is effective from 12 January 2022.
The Chairman of the Court of His Highness Ruler of Dubai will issue the decisions necessary to implement this law, which annuls clauses of the Resolution issued on 1 January 1964 regulating expropriation of private property for public use. The law also annuls any other legislation that may contradict it.
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