I am living in a villa that was sold early this year. Before being sold, the former owner gave me an eviction notice. Since that time, the villa has been transferred to the new owner and a new 12-month lease has been signed. My question is, does the eviction notice from the former owner still hold up or does the new owner have to give his own eviction notice? DG, Dubai
The date of any eviction notice must run from the end of one tenancy year. For example, if a notice was issued in April 2013, but the contract runs from August, then the date of eviction would be August 2014. That’s presuming it was given to you in a valid manner – such as by a notary public or registered mail. You can really only be asked to leave if the landlord intends for his family to live in the property. I fail to see how an eviction notice provided by a previous owner can be valid as that person could not request eviction on behalf of the current owner. Article 24 (2) of Law 26 of 2007 (Law regulating Relationship between Landlords and Tenants in the Emirate of Dubai No 26 of 2007) states that a valid reason for a landlord to give a tenant notice to leave is “If the owner of the property wishes to recover the property for use by him personally or by his next of kin of first degree provided that he proves that he does not own a suitable alternative property for that purpose”. That can be done only by the current owner.
Keren Bobker is an independent financial adviser with Holborn Assets in Dubai. Contact her at keren@holbornassets.com
