Ministry prepares executive regulation and decisions for real estate registration law
ASSISTANT Undersecretary for Real Estate Registration and Documentation Affairs at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) HE Saeed Abdullah Al Suwaidi has affirmed that the ministry has embarked on setting the executive regulation and decisions for the Law No 5 of 2024 regulating the real estate registration to finalise the measures of activating the provisions of the new law.
This comes as part of the ministry’s efforts dedicated to upgrading the legal and service system, in implementation of the directives of the wise leadership to expedite transactions and services rendered to citizens and residents, in addition to promoting the level of services in the government authorities, including the activation of the digital transformation initiatives, Suwaidi said.
He said the law has created an array of new provisions in their entirety in real estate registration which primarily ensure the citizens’ rights and ownership of their real estate and property, as well as private investments conducted by citizens and noncitizens, who currently enjoy unprecedented legal guarantees thanks to the advanced legislation approved by Qatar during the past period.
Suwaidi pointed out that by virtue of the provisions of the new law, customers will be able to sell and purchase the property online via SAK application soon and enforce the real estate registration measures as stipulated in the law electronically, in accordance with the regulations and measures issued by a decision from the minister of justice.
This is in addition to providing the feature of notating judicial rulings on the real estate page as soon as they are issued to avoid fraud, giving more transparency to transactions, and informing the parties of all real estate data, which will contribute to reducing real estate disputes.
“The law has dedicated a special ruling for the registration measures, authentication of signatures, so that a register is created in the Real Estate Registration Department at the MoJ in which registration applications are recorded with serial numbers according to the order in which they are submitted, and in which requests for obtaining documents and certificates are recorded,” he added.
Suwaidi stated that the law also stipulates that the procedures for registration or authentication of signatures are conducted upon request of the concerned parties or their surrogates, according to the forms of documents prepared by the Real Estate Registration Department for this purpose, as per procedures and conditions stipulated in the law and its later executive regulations.
“The new law has been formulated in 55 articles to supersede the law that has been enforced for 60 years, with overarching and crucial adjustments that will make a paradigm shift in the field of real estate registration, in addition to saving records, documents and indexes related to real estate registration,” Suwaidi outlined.
He added that the new law also decides the applications submitted by those concerned entities to register unregistered properties, along with the raised objections, as well as deciding on the ownership rights to unregistered properties expropriated for public benefit, organising the powers of the Real Estate Registration Committee, procedures for updating real estate registry data, and other amendments whose introduction took into account flexibility and accommodating all aspects of development witnessed by the state and society.
The law helps register properties and the objections submitted regarding them and decide on the ownership rights to unregistered properties expropriated for public benefit, in addition to organising the powers of the Real Estate Registration Committee, procedures for updating real estate registry data, and other amendments whose introduction considered flexibility and accommodating as aspects of development witnessed by the state and society.
The law has been keen to register all transactions that would create, transfer, alter or eliminate an ownership right or another original real estate right, as well as the final provisions that confirm these rights, Suwaidi added, pointing out that the new law also took into account the service of the public and the real estate sector in general, in terms of facilitating transactions and reducing procedures, both for the benefit of individuals or legal entities such as companies, et al.
Suwaidi highlighted that these adjustments come within the framework of updating the legislations to keep up with the objectives of the Qatar National Vision 2030 and the third Qatar National Development Strategy 2024-2030, pointing out that the Qatari project has been committed to ensuring the rights of citizens and all customers in the local real estate sector.
He said the law regulates the procedures for separating and unifying real estate and the specific penalties for anyone who achieves a registration for a real estate or transfers illegally, alters or cancels any real right on it, in addition to permitting conciliation in the crimes stipulated before filing the case or during its consideration and prior to deciding on it with a final ruling.
The law also stipulates that the Real Estate Registration Department shall determine the prescribed fees and estimate the value of the property once the its actual value in the contract is in contrary with its market value.