Dubai court orders real estate firm, broker to return Dhs3.2m to investor

The Civil Court in Dubai has ordered a real estate broker and a property development company to refund Dhs3,299,000 to an Arab investor and his partner, who had paid the amount for the purchase of a residential unit, but the broker and the company did not hand over the purchase contract.

According to the details of the lawsuit, the Arab investor and his partner filed an electronic lawsuit in September 2024, against the broker and the property development company demanding that they be jointly obliged to return the amount, in addition to legal interest of 5% from the date of the ruling until full payment, as well as legal expenses and lawyer’s fees.

The case documents indicated that an agreement was established between the first plaintiff (the buyer), who is the manager and partner of a commercial company, and the first appellee (the broker), who offered the buyer a residential unit owned by a well-known real estate development company and requested him to issue a cheque of Dhs3,990,000 to secure the reservation of the unit and complete the purchase process.

However, the deal was not finalised as the buyer did not receive the apartment contract, and the broker did not return the paid amount despite repeated demands.

After examining the facts of the case and the legal evidence, the court ruled that the appellees be jointly obliged to pay Dhs3,299,555, with legal interest of 5% annually from the date of maturity until full payment. The court also ordered them to pay court and attorney's fees.

Dr Alaa Nasr, the legal representative of the buyer, stated that during the court hearings, the court reviewed the submitted documents, which included payment receipts and correspondence between the parties.

The court listened to the appellees' arguments, who denied their responsibility to refund the full amount, claiming that the deal was not completed due to circumstances beyond their control.