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: My contract ends on 20th Feb 2020 and I have informed the landlord on the 24th of December to amend the rent or allow us to vacate on the mentioned date. They have replied that the contract will be automatically renewed as we have not given 60 days notice (technically it is 59 days given) and that if we wish to vacate he is asking us to pay two months rent as a penalty. Kindly advise.

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?

Q: Hello, The landlord sent me an e-mail less than 90 days before our rent period ends (around 83 days) that he is not interested in renewal as he wants to move in himself. Our contract states that he has to give me 90-day notice if he is not interested in renewal. What are my options and what would be the worst-case scenario? I believe I have the right to stay on the property and wait for him to give me 12 months' notice now instead as the renewal should still be in force as he did not give me notice 90 days prior. Or would it be the case that "he only missed it by a few days" and I still would not be able to get it renewed? He has told me that he expects keys 90 days from the date he gave me notice and would not be willing to renew the contract.

Q: Hello, I will certainly need to leave my flat one month before the end of the lease contract. The lease contract that I will have is already paid entirely. In that case, if I inform my landlord in advance that I will vacate the flat one month earlier, he cannot ask me to pay a penalty, right? Will he reimburse the last month in that case? How long should I inform him in advance of this? Thank you.

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.

An interview-format article covering the topic of residential retail properties pertaining to the liability for property maintenance and the repercussions of defaulting on rent payments in the UAE. This is from the legal podcast of lawyer Ludmila Yamalova, the founder of Lawgical with LYLAW.

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.