“Municipalities and Transport” issues regulatory decisions that enhance the efficiency of the real estate sector in Abu Dhabi

The Department of Municipalities and Transport issued a package of regulatory administrative decisions to implement the provisions of the Real Estate Sector Regulatory Law in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi No. (3) of 2015, as amended by Law No. (2) of 2025, in a step aimed at enhancing the efficiency of implementing relevant legislation, and consolidating the principles of transparency and governance in the real estate market, within a more flexible and clear legislative framework that keeps pace with international best practices in this field.

The package includes four administrative decisions, including the mechanism and controls for disbursement from the real estate project’s escrow account before 20% of the project is completed, regulating the ownership and controls of use and management of real estate, parts and shared facilities, and approving the bylaws of the owners’ committees, in addition to specifying the rates, procedures and periods for returning amounts to buyers in the written-off and resold units, in accordance with the provisions of Article (3/17) of Law No. “3” of 2015 amended by Law No. “2” of 2025 regarding regulating the real estate sector in the Emirate. Abu Dhabi.

These decisions come within the framework of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi’s efforts to strengthen its position as a leading global investment center in the real estate sector, by developing a flexible and sustainable legislative environment that supports developers, protects investors’ rights, and keeps pace with future growth requirements, ensuring market governance and enhancing its growth.

It also contributes to raising the efficiency of applying the law and simplifying its understanding and implementation, in line with the rapid growth of the real estate sector in the emirate, and enhancing its competitiveness at the regional and international levels.

The new package of decisions enhances the clarity of legal and contractual relations between the various parties in the real estate market, through an integrated regulatory framework that achieves a balance between the interests of developers, investors, and owners, and defines the roles and responsibilities of developers, management companies, and owners’ committees, in a way that consolidates the integration of roles and supports the sustainability of projects, especially in managing common parts and enhancing the role of owners’ committees.

The decisions also establish provisions that enable developers to implement projects efficiently, while ensuring the protection of buyers’ rights and money, in addition to implementing a flexible and quick mechanism to reduce disputes between developers and unit buyers, thus enhancing the efficiency and diversity of the real estate market.

In detail, Resolution No. 24 of 2025 regarding the mechanism and controls for disbursement from the real estate project’s escrow account before 20% of it is completed, focuses on regulating disbursement before reaching the specified completion rate, through clear controls that include providing bank guarantees and approved cost estimates, in a way that protects buyers’ funds and prevents any unregulated use of escrow account funds.

Resolution No. 25 of 2025 also deals with regulating joint ownership, through a comprehensive framework for managing real estate, parts, and shared facilities, specifying roles and responsibilities between owners, developers, and management companies, within a regulatory and supervisory system that enhances the role of the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Center, unifies concepts and controls, raises operating efficiency and sustainability, and ensures the preservation of the quality of real estate assets in the long term.

Resolution No. 26 of 2025 regarding the adoption of the bylaws of owners’ committees aims to organize the work of the committees through a unified and clear system at the emirate level, specifying the mechanisms for forming owners’ associations, their competencies, work procedures, and their relationship with regulatory authorities and management companies, which contributes to improving the management of residential communities and enhancing the owners’ participation in the sustainability of projects in accordance with international best practices.

Resolution No. “165” of 2025 also regulates the compensation rates due to the developer when the buyer breaches his obligations in the off-plan sales contract, in addition to specifying the periods and procedures for returning amounts to buyers after the units are written off and resold, according to rates that take into account justice between the two parties, the status of the project, and completion rates, with transparent procedures that guarantee the rights of all parties and provide a faster and fairer mechanism for resolving these cases.

Rashid Al Amira, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre, said that the issuance of this package of executive and regulatory decisions represents an important step in developing the mechanisms for implementing the Real Estate Sector Regulatory Law No. 3 of 2015 and its amendments, by adopting flexible executive tools that can be adapted to market variables, in a way that enhances the efficiency of regulating the sector and establishes the principles of transparency and governance, supports investor confidence and enhances the position of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi as a leading real estate destination.

He explained that the decisions establish a clear executive framework for a number of key provisions in the law, in a way that achieves balance in contractual relations, enhances the protection of the rights of all parties, in addition to supporting the speed and efficiency of procedures followed in the market.

The package contributes to enhancing the integration of the real estate sector system, by introducing supervisory and regulatory controls that support the role of the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Center in supervising the market and providing integrated real estate services in line with international best practices. It also represents a qualitative shift in the mechanism of organizing and implementing some provisions of the law, by adopting a model based on regulatory and executive decisions characterized by integration, comprehensiveness and transparency, and capable of keeping pace with the rapid developments in the sector, in a way that enhances the efficiency of the market, its credibility, diversity and the transparency of its procedures.