Q: I had signed for an office space in order to start registering my business. I had to halt my plans. I am still liable to pay the entire amount of the rent. How to handle this situation… A: I advise you to file a complaint with the Dubai Rent Committee requesting to cancel the rental agreement…

Dubai, UAE

2481

Early termination of lease agreement to a commercial property

Back in April, I had signed for an office space in order to start registering my business. However, due to my investor backing out immediately afterwards, I had to halt my plans and cancel the office space.

However, the office space management refused to cancel the lease as the contract has a clause stating that in the event of cancellation of the contract, I am still liable to pay the entire amount of the rent, regardless of not having used the office space at all.

They continued to make invoices and are threatening with legal action if I do not pay.

I would like some advice on how to handle this situation as I do not have the funds necessary to pay off an office space for one year.

I feel it is unfair that they should force me to pay for an office I have not used nor planned on using, having informed them of this within a month of the contract being signed.

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Ahmed Elnaggar

Dar Al Balagh Advocates and Legal Consultancy

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14 Sep 2017, 14:13

Dear Sir,

Assuming your case is in Dubai as you did not mention in your question, I advise you to file a complaint with the Dubai Rent Committee requesting to cancel the rental agreement.

You have the ability to represent yourself as the tenant without hiring a lawyer. You will need to explain your situation to the committee and they may grant you the cancellation by their own verdict.

Usually, early termination imposes a couple of months rent as a penalty to the tenant who wants to break the contract before its lapse.

On the other hand, I think it is my obligation to highlight where is the problem and what went wrong in your case after giving you the advice.

Please note that you have made very bad decisions taking such liabilities into a non-confirmed investment, not consulting a legal advocate for such steps, and accepting a rental agreement that has such a grave term to be liable to the full payment of a year rent.

It would have been much cheaper to consult a legal professional than to pay such huge penalties. Wish you all the luck and success in the future.

Please let me know if you would require any assistance in the future.

Best regards,

Ahmed Elnaggar

aelnaggar@lkmbgroup.com

15 Sep 2017, 08:37

Dear Ahmed,

Thank you very much for your advice. I sincerely appreciate it and I definitely understand my mistakes.

My main issue was that I was misled at the time into believing the investment was confirmed and the rental agreements were absolutely necessary.

I do wish I had taken it upon myself to find legal representation at the time and I feel I would definitely require it right now to solve this issue in a timely manner.

Would you be willing to look please into my case and provide me further assistance in the matter so as to quickly resolve it?

I'm unsure as to whether my situation warrants escalating the matter to the Dubai Rent Committee. There was no official tenancy contract that was approved by the government as it was handled through their (Regus Business Center's) private online system.

I had not applied for an Ejari or any other facility before trying to cancel the agreement. They currently hold a cheque for the rent amount that they are using to extract payment from me.

18 Sep 2017, 11:01

Dear

Your situation requires immediate legal action to apply to the rental committee to cancel the contract and try to minimize the penalty to the lowest possible level.

Our litigation team can meet with you and advise you on the necessary very first steps to take in order to handle the subject case.

If you wish to proceed, please contact me at aelnaggar@LKMBgroup.com to set up the first meeting.

Best regards,

Ahmed Elnaggar

18 Sep 2017, 12:37

Dear Ahmed,

I really appreciate your support on the matter and I would ideally like to seek your assistance in settling the matter with minimal losses.

However, I just wanted to inquire about the costs for your services before I take up your time as I have very limited funds at the moment. I would not like to waste your time if I am not able to afford your guidance.

Regards,

Sultan

18 Sep 2017, 15:45

Dear Sultan

I really can't estimate the fees without seeing the documents and analyze the work.

The first meeting can be arranged for free. Afterwards, you can decide whether to proceed or not.

Regards,

Ahmed Elnaggar

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