Property investors in Dubai will be eligible for refunds or replacement property if they fall victim to unscrupulous or failing developers, under laws planned for this year.

And developers will face new financial penalties if the buildings they promise are not delivered on time, or to agreed specifications.

Details of the proposed laws were revealed in a newsletter from the law firm Al Tamimi and Company, which ran a dialogue between Lisa Dale, the head of the firm’s property practice, and Emad Eldin Farouq, a senior legal adviser at the Dubai Land Department.

The National