Q: Hi, A Dubai Sports City apartment was rented out. The tenant was served a 12 months' notice (reason to sell). The tenant terminated the contract with 2 months' notice and 1-month penalty, 6 months early. The apartment cannot be sold now due to the market conditions, and thinking of renting the apartment out again for a lower rent than before. The apartment is mortgaged so need to rent out. Dubai rental law says that the apartment cannot be rented for 2 years if the tenant is evicted. But as the tenant terminated the contract 4 months early, does it nullify my eviction notice to him? 1. In this case, am I prohibited from renting out the apartment for 2 years? 2. Can my previous tenant take me to the Rental Dispute Center (RDC) though he ended the contract early? 3. If he is successful at the RDC what can the judge award him? He owns several apartments himself in Dubai and moved into one of them. What could the RDC award him in this case? 4. Any other implications for me renting the apartment out again bearing in mind all the above? Any advice appreciated. Thank you

Q: Hello, I have a disagreement with my landlord. We rented a villa in Dubai for one year and before only one month of the end of our tenancy contract, the landlord asked us to vacate and informed us that he is not willing to renew because he is selling the villa. We have a clause in the contract that: The tenant and the Land Lord have to submit in advance 60 days' written notice before the expiry of the tenancy contract for vacating or renewal of the tenancy contract. We did not express our intention to renew before 60 days from the expiry of the contract but we did after he asked us to vacate. I tried a lot of times to convince my landlord to renew because he needs to send 12 months evicting notice for selling and also he did not send the non-renewal rental before 60 days. I would like to know my rights please and if I go to the rent committee, would I win the dispute? Thank you very much!

Q: I am a landlord who sent a notarized legal notice to my tenant for a 10% rent increase in accordance with RERA calculations. The notice was sent to the tenant residence address via ARAMEX 4 months before the contract expiry date. I have a receipt for the delivery. Is my action legally sound and do I need to do anything else?

Q: Hello, Our landlord is trying to evict us from an apartment in Dubai because of a clause in our tenancy contract stating literally: "This contract is non-renewable and valid only for one year." This contract was signed on the 17th of February 2021 and our rent started on the 7th of February. Actually, the landlord refused to renew the contract on the first renewal because he is selling. He never sent any notice and just sent us an email one month and a few days before the end of our first year and asked us to leave. We refused to evict and tried to get him to sign an extension for a few months or one more year which he refused and ignored. We filed an offer and deposit case and asked him if he accepts it or not. Only then, he accepted to sign the contract but added many clauses. We signed because we needed the Ejari to unblock our access cards and we had visa renewals. We are going to have an eviction case and I would like to know if we can challenge that clause and how you can help.

Q: I’ve been served a notice on a property in a place where all landlords are evicting tenants due to the rental increase. It’s easy for a landlord to serve notice and then not actually move in (which is the reason he has given). I’ve spent a lot of money on landscaping the garden as it was empty when I moved in. How can I contest the eviction notice? My landlord owns more than one property in Dubai and he lives in India. He keeps saying he is moving in, yet the notice he served also says he is evicting me due to his need to move or sell it.

Q: Hello, I have the impression that my owner will send me an eviction notice of 12 months if I do not accept to pay the rent increase he is asking for. The rent increase is not allowed as the rental index is less than what I am currently paying. In that case, it means I will need to move from the flat in 12 months. Is it right? In this case, he cannot re-rent his flat within 2 years, right? Many thanks!

س: السلام عليكم، أملك فيلا في دبي لاند. أرسلت للمستأجر الحالي عن طريق كاتب العدل طلب إخلاء الفيلا بعد مرور 12 شهرًا لغرض بيعها خالية من المستأجر. في حالة عدم استجابة المستأجر للإنذار بعد 12 شهرًا من تاريخ التبليغ، ما العمل؟ شكرًا!

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, I have rented an industrial property and moved in 2017. All these years, I have been paying rent to the landlord's office, and they have never sent me a rent agreement in advance. Last year, 2022-2023, they increased the rent by 40%, and I agreed. However, this year, they want to increase the rent by 15% to 20%. They never sent me any notice; just a day before the contract expired, they sent an email. I had sent them an email two weeks before the expiry date, requesting them to prepare a renewal contract, but they never sent it. Today, when I spoke to their representative, he informed me that if I go through RERA, the landlord will send an eviction notice and not renew the contract next time. He asked me to negotiate and accept the increase in rent. Whereas I have occupied the property for the last 6 years. Kindly advise my rights!

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.

This Decree establishes a specialised judicial system to hear rent disputes and develops the procedure for determination of such disputes through an expeditious and simple process for the purpose of realising social and economic stability for all persons involved with the real property rental and other related sectors.

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.