The Dubai Development Board (DDB), a government agency tasked to oversee the development of residential units, has announced procedural changes to improve its efficiency.

Board director-general Ahmed Thani Al Matroushi unveiled the new plans during a ceremony attended by building consultants, contractors, suppliers, subcontractors and financial institutions. The board builds housing units for low to medium-income nationals in the emirate.

Among the changes is the introduction of a unified form to be submitted by building consultants and contractors for evaluation by the board.

"At any one time, we have almost 40 buildings under construction. Every building consultant or contractor prepares his own documents, resulting in contracts or proposals written in a dizzying number of formats," a board official said. "This delays the evaluation process because we have to check each document and ensure that it conforms to our standards," said the board's project and maintenance department head Rashid Al Mutawa.

Another change introduced by the board is the amendment that requires property owners to compensate contractors financially - in addition to extending of contract time - if the project is delayed for reasons beyond the contractors' control.

To further improve response time, the board also unveiled changes to its procedures aimed to expedite repairs needed in new buildings within the one-year warranty period after the contractor hands over the property.