After 52 years, new law on Qatari real estate under way

A new law regulating real estate registration and ownership in Qatar is in the making. Once enforced, it will replace the existing 52-year-old law.

A draft law is being prepared, which proposes imprisonment for up to three years and fines of up to QR500,000 for obtaining real estate documents in an illegal way, Al Sharq reports.

Anyone found guilty of forging a real estate ownership document could be punished with a fine of QR10,000.

The draft law has specified the real estate ownership limit for Qataris as well as terms and conditions for registration, fines and jail for violators.

It said real estate ownership is limited to Qataris without violating provisions of the law regulating ownership of GCC citizens and foreigners, said the daily.

There must be legal evidence for registration and must fulfil legal requirements. When the existing law was issued, it was the best in the region, making real estate registration mandatory in the country.

It also stipulates that the owner must have ownership document, said Prominent lawyer Yusuf Al Zaman.

“Upon the issuance of this law, all real estate owners were invited to register properties. Earlier, people were not doing that. They were depending on a customary law and prevailing traditions in their areas,” Al Zaman told this daily.

The law remained without changes despite substantial changes in the real estate sector because it fulfilled requirements and met the needs as real estate ownership then was limited to residential and commercial properties. Thanks to this law, disputes over real estate were the lowest compared to neighbouring countries, Al Zaman said.

He said current developments and rapid expansion of buildings and diversity of their usage and ownership have necessitated amendment to some articles of the law, but the major provisions would remain unchanged.

“There’s a need to keep pace with current developments as enormous changes and developments have taken place in the real estate sector and ownership system is no longer limited to residency and commercial properties but includes different types of investments, industrial and business activities and foreigners’ ownership,” said Al Zaman.

The existing law states in general that real estate ownership is limited to Qataris with some exceptions mentioned in other laws which allow foreigners to own properties and land in some areas like Lusail, and The Pearl-Qatar.

The “right to benefit” has been granted in some other areas and all these types of ownership are not part of the old law, he explained.

Meanwhile, the law has stipulated establishment of a real estate registration committee at the Ministry of Justice through a ministerial decision which will specify its mandate, duties and responsibilities, Al Sharq said.

The committee will consider applications of registration of real estate properties located within the border of the towns and villages that are still not registered and look into complaints related to real estate evaluation and fees.

Courtesy: thepeninsulaqatar.com