Our building in Discovery Gardens, Dubai, is owned by a company and they force all tenants to sign an undertaking to vacate the apartment after completion of the one-year contract period. Upon renewal they then ask for the rent of their choice (ie the market rent) and they don't follow the Rera index for rental increases. The landlord also does not serve the 90-day rent increase notice and he does all communication verbally. They also get a similar undertaking signed to vacate the apartment upon every renewal. So, is this legal? If we file a case, can we deduct the Rera fee from annual rent? They also forced one of the tenants to send an email that he will leave the apartment after one year and got it signed by tenant as well. The tenant does not want to relocate, so what rights does the tenant have? BH, Dubai
This is definitely not legal. The landlord is breaking the law on several counts. Firstly the landlord cannot charge market rent on a unit that is already occupied (rented). He can only increase the rent if the Rera rental calculator allows this. Secondly, the landlord has to give 90 days’ notice of any future changes to the contract and this obviously would include any rental increases etc. I suggest you do file a case but the cost of doing so (3.5 per cent of the rental amount) is a sum that is paid by you. If however you do win the case, the judge more often than not allows you to have costs as part of your compensation. You cannot deduct this amount from the rent.
It has been proven that vacating letters do not hold weight especially if it can be proved that the manner the landlord obtained the letter was at best dubious so I would not worry too much about this.
Put a case together, get it translated into Arabic, then go down to Dubai Municipality to take further action.
I am going to be the owner of a property but there is a tenancy contract that expires by April 2015. The tenant has already signed a paper stating that he will vacate the property and it has been agreed between me, the seller and the tenant that the tenancy contract will not be renewed. Is the above enough? Shall a 12 months’ notice of eviction be sent through notary public or by registered mail? MB, Dubai
When there is an agreement between parties, as there seems to be here in your case, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this situation and I am sure that things will conclude the way all parties have agreed to. The difficulty arises if the tenant, for whatever reason, decides to contest the fact that he has to vacate in April 2015. The only legitimate way to request a tenant to vacate for the reason that you wish to move in, is to give a 12 months notification sent via notary public or registered mail. I suppose at this stage if the tenant has agreed to vacate and you have written documentation of his decision to do so, then you have to assume that he will actually leave in April 2015.
I rented an apartment in Business Bay in October 2012 for Dh75,000 with a one-year contract. Before expiry, my landlord gave me one year’s notice as he intended to sell the property, and we renewed the contract for one more year with the same terms and conditions. This contract expires on October 2014. The apartment was sold about a month ago, and the new owner is demanding Dh135,000 for one year, or vacate the apartment. I am aware of the maximum 20 per cent increase a landlord can ask for, but does this apply in my case, ie with a new owner? Or does the owner have the right to evict me and rent it out to someone else with his new price? Please advise if I can pursue a case or if there is no hope, give up? XY, Dubai
The new owner has to abide by your existing contract and no increase is allowed at this point. When the time comes to renew again, both of you will have to advise the other party of any changes to the contract 90 days before the expiry of the lease.
Assuming you were served the 12 months’ notice to vacate due to the property being sold in the proper prescribed manner (either via notary public or registered mail) then the new owner does have the right to vacant possession after the 12 months’ notice has elapsed. If you choose to stay in the property you will have to negotiate with him but the rent is then likely to be the market rate which will be higher than the average rate you were paying with the previous landlord.
Mario Volpi is the managing director of Prestige Real Estate in Dubai (prestigedubai.com). He has 30 years of property industry experience in the emirate and London. Send any questions to mario@prestigedubai.com
The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only. Readers are encouraged to seek appropriate independent legal advice
Please note that Mario Volpi is now on holiday and cannot answer any questions until his return on August 20 2014
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