UAE developer forced to sell land to pay compensation to home owners

An Abu Dhabi based developer has been ordered by a court to sell three plots of land in Dubai to pay home owners for delays and cancelled projects.

The emirate’s Court of First Instance said that  Hydra Properties must sell the plots worth AED164 million next week. These are two plots in the Burj Khalifa area and one in Al Barsha.

It comes after eight property owners won their legal case to claim AED11 million in compensation from the Abu Dhabi developer.
 
Other similar legal cases are pending as some 100 buyers have filed cases for refunds over stalled projects that include Hydra Village, Hydra Avenue and Hydra Golf Walk.

Dubai based The Legal Group has won eight cases against the developer to date that have included owners of property in Hydra Avenue, Hydra Executive and Marina Spirits.

In addition to those eight cases, The Legal Group said it is also representing other buyers that have not yet won their cases but in the event they do, will also benefit from the forced auction.

‘If the court grants us the interlocutory attachment order then while these purchasers’ cases are ongoing, they will not face the risk of exhaustion of Hydra’s assets because their share in those assets will be secured via this attachment,’ said a spokesman for the legal firm.

Hydra Properties used to be one of the biggest developers in Abu Dhabi. But it incurred the wrath of buyers when it cancelled a number of projects following the global economic downturn, raised prices on others and put more on hold.

Buyers were also angry over payment schedules and wanted them linked to construction milestones. They also complained about changes to master plans.