Dubai Court Cancels Property Seizure, Upholds Developer’s Ownership Rights

The Dubai Real Estate Court has annulled the enforcement proceedings against a property unit in a Business Bay tower, confirming the real estate developer’s ownership of the disputed unit.

The court found that the property had been wrongfully seized even though it was no longer owned by the buyer, as a prior ruling had already terminated the sales contract and re-registered the property under the developer’s name.

The dispute began in March 2024, when a real estate company signed a sale and purchase agreement with a customer for a residential unit priced at Dh1.78 million, to be paid in installments. However, after the buyer defaulted on payments, the developer filed a lawsuit, resulting in a final judgement in April 2025 that dissolved the contract, ordered Dh50,000 in compensation, and restored ownership to the company.

During enforcement of that ruling, it was discovered that the unit had been seized in favour of a creditor under a notary public enforcement file from 2024, relating to an unpaid debt owed by the original buyer. An auction had already been initiated when the developer requested that the seizure be lifted, but the request was denied.

The court later ruled that such a seizure is invalid when the property no longer belongs to the debtor at the time of execution, as ownership had already reverted to the developer under a final judgement. The ruling reaffirmed that enforcement measures must be based on existing ownership, and loss of ownership renders any subsequent seizure legally void.

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