Realty broker licensing planned

source Gulf News

Dubai: No more freelancers will operate in Dubai's property sector as all real estate licensing procedures are now set to be operated under one, uniform system, according to an agreement signed by the Department of Economic Development (DED) and Dubai's Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera).

As real estate plays such a big role in Dubai's economy, the introduction of a new system will make licensing more transparent and easier for all those involved in the process.

One example of the changes in the current licensing agreement is that where previously any UAE national or GCC nationals could open a brokerage, now there are strict criteria that need to be met and certified.

"They need to be over 18, they need a good conduct certificate by CID, they must pass the Rera training course and the manager must be certified and trained by Rera. It will all be embedded within the system. There will be no more freelancers in the market," Marwan Bin Galita, chief executive of Rera, told Gulf News.

Real estate activities include those of developers, agents, consultancies, land appraisers and other related activities.

The DED will use its own licence and business registration system for issuing licences related to real estate activities, according to procedures applied by Rera.

Unified

Rera is now set to train a number of DED staff on how to use these licensing procedures.

It is thought that by creating a unified system, the real estate investors and customers in Dubai will feel safer investing in the emirate's property sector.

The agreement follows news last week that all tenancy agreements in Dubai must be registered, starting in January, so that the final rental index may be prepared by Rera. The rental index will mean that zones are created in Dubai and each zone will have an average rental rate to act as a guideline for landlords and for newcomers to Dubai.

The online contract registration, when complete, will also make it easier for Rera to monitor the rental market and track any landlords or tenants who do not abide by their tenancy contract.

Along with the recent amendment of law 26 relating to tenancy contracts, it looks like Rera is pinning down and following up on its regulations, making Dubai's property sector a much safer and transparent investing climate, heading in to 2009.

"It makes it safer that you are dealing with professionals. This, with the ejari [rental registration website] and a new system where people will go and register their properties. It all gives people more confidence and they can monitor the market more," Bin Galita added.

The new system where people register their properties is yet to be named.

The agreement comes in line with DED's aim to support the development and progress of the real estate sector in Dubai.

"The cooperation agreement comes in line with DED's strategic objective to support the development and progress of the real estate sector in Dubai, which plays a vital role in the economic growth of the emirate. DED and Rera will join hands to set a mechanism for issuing permits related to promoting real estate activities and thus enhance the quality of support services offered to real estate investors and customers," Sami Al Qamzi, director general of the DED, said in a statement.