Tamweel may repossess properties in default

Tamweel, the country’s largest home lender by volume, may become the first to sell repossessed properties once the legal process is complete.

Legal uncertainties have made mortgage lenders reluctant to hold forced sales or auctions in the past, as the system has never been tested.

Instead, lenders have negotiated with distressed mortgage customers to try to recover some capital and avoid costly legal proceedings.
No repossessions have been completed by UAE banks, according to Mohammed Sultan Thani, the assistant director general at the Dubai Land Department, which would oversee the sale of any repossessed properties under the 2008 Mortgage Law.