Dubai has become the first government to officially support international property measurement standards (IPMS).

Ken Creighton, Director of Professional Standards at RICS, represented the IPMS Coalition at a meeting with the Dubai Land Department on 16 September. The officials were keenly supportive of IPMS and very articulate about the problems created by multiple measurement standards, which IPMS aims to resolve.
The Director General stressed how impressive it was to see the 22 organisations of the coalition working together on this initiative. A few of the people around the table commented about how the organisations truly did represent the international profession. As well as directly addressing inconsistency in measurement, there was discussion about how a shared international standard will bring both transparency and confidence to the market.
The news has already generated interest with AME Info who point out that with this announcement the Dubai Land Department will be the first government agency in the world to adopt IPMS.
The meeting has hosted by HE Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, Director General of the Department and attended by Rob Jackson, RICS’ Director of the Middle East; Khalid Al Malik, CEO of Dubai Properties Group; and Majda Rashid, Chairwoman of the Real Estate Investment and Promotion Centre. In representing the IMPS Coalition, Ken Creighton gave a presentation about the purpose and progress of IPMS.

We are proud of this achievement, which we see as being a quantum leap for the Dubai Land Department. Our involvement in this initiative supports our position in raising the benchmark for unifying surveying standards in Dubai.

The efforts to unify surveying standards should benefit property owners and investors, as it will negate some of the issues and problems that can arise from differing standards used by real estate operators. It will support transparency and trust and will contribute to the convergence of global markets. It should also have a positive role in supporting Dubai’s bid to host Expo 2020, in line with the Expo slogan; ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’.

HE Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, Director General of the Dubai Land Department

It was agreed that the department would form a committee to organise and coordinate their feedback and contribution to the standard setting process. The insight from this important region will benefit IPMS greatly.