Eco-friendly buildings: UAE set to go up global ranking

#Emirates could trump up other leading countries in global rankings for having the most "green" building spaces.

Dubai: The UAE could trump up other top countries in the global rankings for "green" building spaces, an expert said following the release of a US Green Building Council (GBC) report.

The council, an industry body that promotes cost-efficient and energy-saving buildings, released its ranking for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) based on cumulative gross square meters (GSM) of space certified to LEED in each nation as of April 2014.

Canada topped the list, followed by China, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Germany, Brazil and Singapore. The UAE ranked ninth, ahead of Finland.

Chand Guria, a Dubai-based LEED Green Associate (the first level of certification as LEED-certified engineer, said: “Considering the sheer amount of construction restarts, the UAE ranking could very well go up this year.”

Guria explained that in general, a LEED-certified building is more energy-efficient and eco-friendly – requiring less energy, lighting and cooling and with smaller carbon footprint than conventional buildings.

“Many of the stalled projects in the UAE are now being restarted, while fresh ones are coming up, too,” he said.

“The UAE is big on adopting international standards. There are many on-going building projects here that are yet to be certified,” said Guria, civil and environmental engineer currently involved in the UAE property market.

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Dubai tightens up with unified realty contracts

A level playing field is what has been achieved with Dubai Land Department’s requirement that all freehold property transactions in the emirate from May 1 should come with an unified set of contracts involving the buyer, seller and the agent. These will now form the basis for any property deal to be validated by the Dubai Land Department.

There are three models of contract: one which is between the seller and buyer, the second between seller and broker and the third which is between the buyer and broker. These are available on the Land Department’s EMART portal. 


Removes ambiguities

In one stroke, this removes some of the ambiguities or interpretations that used to be there earlier in the way contracts were being drawn up and signed. “Any move from the authorities that helps remove ambiguity in the marketplace is welcome,” said Ranjeet Chavan, partner at SPF Realty. “Earlier it was quite likely individually drawn contracts could lead to different interpretations — deposits could be held or might end up being cashed. That’s now gone — there is a defined role for each party involved in the transaction.”

So, what does the new set of unified contracts entail? “One such contract requires the details of the buyer, seller, sales price and completion date,” said Shahram Safai, partner for the real estate practice at the law firm Afridi & Angell. “The ‘unified real estate contracts’ may be used as a cover page for a [individual property] contract but must be augmented by the special legal provisions that each transaction requires.

“Developers should also combine the ‘unified real estate contracts’ with their sales terms and conditions to be compliant.”

The contracts, however, do not contain other legal terms and conditions such as representations, warranty, termination or dispute resolution provisions to effect a sale.

“The new rule will have more of a direct bearing in secondary market transactions; while unified contracts had been there for the better part of two or more years, it’s only now that they have been upgraded to a mandatory requirement,” said Niraj Masand, partner at the property services firm Banke M. E. “Earlier, different versions of a MoU (memorandum of understanding) were being drawn up and there was no consistency to these. That’s been rectified now. The agent’s role in transactions have also got clarified in the new regime.”

Industry sources believe it could also form the basis for adding further provisos, if need be, at a later date. “If there are grey areas, there’s nothing stopping the authorities from removing them,” said Chavan.

Dubai tenants face rent committee decisions as landlords ignore law

After four years in my apartment, I now find myself in a situation where my landlord is trying to evict me when the existing contract expires. No eviction notice has been issued up until now, but they are refusing to renew the existing contract saying that the contract states it is ‘non-renewable’ and they would now like to sell the property. I have informed them of the law regarding eviction, that they must formally give 12 months’ notice, but even in light of this they have said they will not renew the contract. Can you direct me to a suitable Lawyer who can advise me on how to proceed if we reach an unfortunate stage where the case goes to court? I really hope this will not be necessary as I am following the law, but I feel I should be prepared. NS, Dubai

Your landlord cannot go against the law. You are obviously aware of your rights and if the landlord wants to sell the property, he has to give you either a notarised 12 months’ notice or a registered mail 12 months’ notice. The law is on your side, if he fails to renew your contract and you obviously wish to extend the contract, the law states that the contract automatically renews anyway at the original terms and conditions.

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