Q: I have signed a contract with a contractor to carry out AC works where the owner of the company has paid me cash with a payment voucher and he asked to provide a security deposit cheque. My scope of work was supposed to be finished in 45 days but delayed due to civil works for more than 4 months, in the interim we have continued to work and finished the works and started the equipment. Our final bill is linked with authority approvals which cannot be accomplished without civil works. I have asked the contractor to pay the VAT and amount for variation which he failed to do so. After 4 months the contractor called to resume the works where I have rejected as he failed to fulfil the contractual obligations. I've written a letter to the owner that I will take legal action if he misuses the cheque. The owner deposited my security cheque and filed a case. If I file a civil case against the owner, am I entitled to get losses incurred due to damaging my relation with the bank and other legal expenses?

Q: A Sub-Contractor (SC) holds/stops the work highlighting Article 246 & 247 [UAE Civil Code] due to payment delayed (Advance & Interim Payments) by the Main Contractor (MC). But the Main Contractor's concern is the document required to process Advance Payment [i.e. Advance Bank Guarantee - ABG] was not submitted on time & LC draft issued to SC was not agreed on time due to several arguments on some of its content. The MC paid the SC Advance Payment in 90 days from receipt of ABG highlighting the delay in reallocating the fund due to delay in ABG submission & LC draft agreement. Whose argument will withstand moving forward if MC intends to impose delay penalty on SC? Please advise. Thank you

Q: I am a contractor and my client has pending payments with him. I have received 5 out of 13 payments I sent him. All the 13 payments are late. All the payments have been signed and approved and he gave me a payment certificate to confirm due date of payment but until this date, it is not paid. Each certificate is delayed out of the 8 balance. They range in delay from 2 weeks to 6 months. What are my rights and the damages I can claim as per the UAE law? Please note that I had to close down my business because I can't afford to run it due to the late payments.

Q: Hello, My husband and I awarded one of Dubai's contractors to do renovation in our apartment. We paid him 50% in advance according to the contract signed between us. We paid another 20% after some time in response to his request to have an additional amount to buy the materials. The renovation was supposed to be completed in one month, yet, 2 months and a half already passed and the contractor has not even bought the material he promised (tiles, sanitary-ware... etc.). He promises but not delivering, postponing payments in all possible ways. Suppliers of the materials confirmed that payments had not been made by the contractor. We have a clause of damage liquidating (contractor needs to pay 1000 AED/day), but he doesn't seem to take it seriously. What is the best way to deal with this problem? If we take him to court, how much do we need to pay for the file opening? What damages he will experience - license termination? How quick can we have the money back? BR, J.

Q: Dear sir/madam, We are Dubai based company. We have committed with a main contractor for a project. We have completed the work but he paid only 25% of the full contact value. The balance amount is not paid. So what do we have to do to get our payment?

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, How can we file a complaint against a contractor? Our swimming pool was completed in October and has been leaking ever since. They have attempted to repair it twice, but it is still leaking. We have sent them a letter stating that we are terminating the contract because they are unable to complete the work to an acceptable standard. What should be our next step?

The provisions of this law, promulgating UAE Civil Code, govern the civil transactions in the United Arab Emirates. The commercial transactions remain subject to the laws and regulations applicable in their regard.

This Law applies to merchants, as well as to all acts of commerce carried out in the UAE by any person even though he be not a trader. Commercial matters regarding which specific Federal laws are issued shall be subject to the provisions of such laws, and to the provisions hereof which do not contradict with said laws.

The law promulgates UAE Civil Procedures Code (Civil Procedure Law) which governs civil procedures in the United Arab Emirates, including the prosecution before the courts, litigation and execution.