Q: I am staying in the apartment since 2 years. My tenancy contract expires on 15th of June. I informed the landlord via email 1 month in advance, that I don't wish to continue the contract and will leave the flat. The landlord is now saying that we should have informed him 60 days in advance and is demanding for an extra 30 days rent. Is this a valid claim? Do I need to pay extra post my tenancy contract getting over? Kindly advise.

Q: Please, can you advise. Our landlord is demanding a months rent penalty for not notifying him 2 months in advance of our intention to vacate the premises. However, our contract does not request us to give notification. It has one clause which states: "IF the tenant wants to leave the apartment BEFORE the expiration date of the contract, he/she shall give 2 months written notice and pay 1 months penalty." We are leaving on the expiration date, so how can we be in breach of the contract? There are no other clauses or statements in the contract which refer to leaving notice required, and the contract itself has a clause which deems it null and void after the 1-year expiry date.

Q: Dear lawyer, I have a tenancy contract for one year in Dubai, ending on 25 November 2018. On the 8th of October, the landlord sent me a lease renewal, with some parts of the contract modified and contains different terms from the previous one. I decided I don't want to renew the contract; neither with the new nor old conditions. On the 1st of November, I notified the landlord that I will vacate on the current contract end date 25 Nov. He replied that I needed to notify him 90 days prior to the expiry date and I didn't, and now he is entitled to reimbursement and asks for 2 months' rent as a compensation. Our contract says only "Tenant agrees to notify the Landlord in writing 3 months (90 days) prior to the expiry of this Agreement of his intention to renew or not renew the Agreement". However, no financial penalties for breaking the clause of 90 days' notice of non-renewal are mentioned there. Please tell, can he claim from me this 2 months' amount? I will highly appreciate your opinion. Best regards

Q: We notified our landlord that we do not wish to renew our lease contract 75 days before its expiry date. He told us we had to notify them 90 days prior therefore he will automatically renew the lease for one year. After some back and forth, he said we must extend for four months and he will increase the rent for these extra four months. We offered to pay for the days we missed in notifying and we requested to stay for 2 months extra with the same rate but he is refusing. Our contract does not have a penalty clause if we fail to notify 90 days. What do we do?

س: السلام عليكم، أختنا الفاضلة لدي مستأجر قمت بإخطاره بطلب إخلاء العقار (لبيعه) وبعدها بحوالي 3 أشهر تواصلت معه، ولكنه أخبرني أنه لم يستلم شيء من المحكمة على الرغم من أن تقرير شركة أرامكس يفيد بأنهم قد لصقوا طلب الإخلاء على باب الفيلا. أرجو مساعدتكم الكريمة بالرد القانوني المناسب ولكم منا كل الشكر!

Q: I just found out I have a rental case in Sharjah. In the flat where I stayed, I had canceled the water and electricity and got a clearance certificate but did not complete the closing process with the landlord. They automatically renewed the contract as per the old agreement and went legal. There is a judgment also from Sharjah court to pay 1-year rent of 28k and evacuate. 1. There are no pending cheques. Is this a criminal case or a civil case? 2. Will I have any issue when I land in Dubai on a visit visa?

The relationship between tenants and landlords is regulated in Dubai by Law No. 33 of 2008 Concerning the Relationship Between Landlords and Tenants in the Emirate of Dubai. The arising rental disputes are referred to Rental Disputes Settlement Centre (“RDSC”) created by Decree No. 26 of 2013 to reconcile between the parties and reach an amicable settlement or seek a final judgment issued and enforced by the RDSC.

The provisions of this Law apply to real property leased out in the Emirate of Dubai, including vacant and agricultural lands, but excluding hotel establishments and real property provided by natural or legal persons as accommodation to their employees at no charge.

Provisions of this Law supersede articles (2), (3), (4), (9), (13), (14), (15), (25), (26), (29), and (36) of Law No. (26) of 2007 Regulating the Relationship between Landlords and Tenants in the Emirate of Dubai.