RERA And DED Launch New Electronic Services Starting July 1st, Leasing Contract Registration Enables Faster Commercial Licensing

1222 companies registered in Ejari including 693 property management companies, 61 owner companies, 257 owner individuals and 164 owner representatives

The Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA), the regulatory arm of the Dubai Land Department (LD), the Dubai Economic Development Department (DED) and Emirates Real Estate Solutions (ERES), the technical arm of LD, announced that lease contracts registered in Ejari program would be a mandatory prerequisite for receiving new commercial licenses issued by DED. This condition would also apply to commercial licenses subject to renewal or amendment as of July 2012. 

In a press conference held today at the LD headquarter, Marwan bin Ghelaita, CEO of the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA), said that linking the approval of commercial licenses with the registration and documentation of lease contracts in RERA is for the benefit of the country’s business sector and an advantage that helps it rank higher in the global competitiveness index issued by the World Bank. The move aims at facilitating the registration of companies in any international market and creating an environment that promotes investments and enables businessmen to close deals and partnerships easily and effectively in Dubai. 

“Obtaining a license for any trade or commercial activity is subject to various conditions and requirements in any city of the world, but our aim is to make the UAE the leading country in terms of facilitating such conditions in a way that guarantees the achievement of several medium- and long-term objectives,” he explained.

He further explained to local and international media the objectives of linking lease contracts with commercial licensing procedures in Dubai, since this link would protect rental rights for all parties in order to avoid potential lease disputes since contracts would be authorized by a government department. This also has many other benefits that would have a positive impact on updating the rental index and fair lease value in the market. 

Bin Ghelaita asserted the fact that reaching a business competitiveness level is based on various requirements, mainly reflecting the regulatory aspect of the commercial activity. Since the majority of trade and commercial activities are based in existing offices and headquarters, the lease contract would act as a guarantee of the company’s existence, as it includes the licensee’s addresses and data and the property usage. He pointed out that RERA, in light of its market regulation role, established the electronic Ejari system to facilitate lease contract registration for all properties in Dubai, as per law no. 26/2007 and its amendments in law no. 33/2008. 

He lauded DED’s efforts and its high flexibility in registration and licensing processes that aim at coping with the economic growth in Dubai, as well as its initiatives to grow in line with the economic boom the city witnessed over the past two decades, by adopting modern strategies that would make registration and commercial licensing process faster and easier within an integrated strategic partnership with LD and RERA, with the aim of accomplishing the transfer to electronic transactions as per the wise directives of the local government. 

“My team in DED and RERA has successfully managed to overcome hurdles to reach these achievements, and we will generalize this procedure to become a prerequisite for all licenses issued by the department. The pilot 6-month phase focused only in new commercial licenses as a trial period to ensure that the commercial registration system at the department and RERA’s electronic system, are compatible with the process,” Mohammed Shael, CEO, Business Registration & Licensing Division at DED.

“documentation and registration of lease contracts in one integrated database is very helpful when extracting statistical data for commercial, industrial and residential complexes and hubs, where the master urban planning process, supervised by the Dubai Municipality, would become easier and more efficient and decision makers would have a new mechanism for future planning, based on strong foundations and solid infrastructure for new areas or those that would be planned in the future,” Shael added.

Shael emphasized the advantages of integrating the database, including time and effort saving for investors. RERA cooperated with developers and owners to ensure that all lease contracts issued by those companies would be registered and documented by RERA, reducing the required paperwork to issue or renew commercial licenses and enable quicker transformation into electronic services.

On the same note, Emirates Real Estate Solutions, CEO, Khalifa Al Suwaidi expressed his confidence over the response of trading companies and businessmen to abide by the new requirements for issuing, renewing or amending their commercial licenses starting next month, adding that DED will not accept any transaction without having the lease contract registered in RERA’s Ejari system.

“Ejari provides an environment of absolute transparency among leasing contract parties as well as real estate regulatory agencies. It differs from other systems in the fact that it follows the best practices and highest standards in regulating the rental segment and information technology,” Al Suwaidi added.

He further explained that attesting lease contracts for businessmen and companies through Ejari system is a very simple procedure that can be accomplished by accessing the website in accordance with the access authorizations granted by RERA, to have their lease contract attested and registered. They can alternatively assign real estate management companies or owners or their representatives and some typing service offices authorized by RERA to finalize the process to save their time and effort. 

Al Suwaidi concluded that RERA benefits from registering lease contracts in updating the real estate market database and developing the rental index and learning the actual demand and supply volume in the market. It also saves all lease contracts and leasers’ data in one database while protecting the rights of owners, renters and brokers by registering contracts. The system guarantees easier reporting of rental market statistics and figures and enables linking to other real estate management systems while reinforcing applicable real estate regulations.

What is Ejari System?

Ejari is electronic software created by RERA for the registration of all property lease contracts in Dubai as per the Law No. 26 of 2007 and its amendments in law No. 33 of 2008. 

Ejari is a vital step to create a framework for the regulation of property lease and management in order to enhance the performance in the real estate sector and to offer excellent property services in registration and regulation. Ejari helps in safeguarding the rights of the parties involved and regulate the relations between concerned parties during property lease and management processes. Such application provides a safe and attractive environment for both landlords and tenants.

Emirate:  Dubai

Date: Jun 20, 2012

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