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: The landlord wants to provide us with a 12 months' notice to evict but has not provided a reason. We have advised him of the 4 reasons as per RERA in which he can do this and that he cannot rent the property to another tenant for 2 years if he proceeds with this. He has ignored this and now asked to inspect the property next week. Obviously, as he has given notice we have to allow this. Where do we stand in protecting ourselves? It is quite clear he wants us to leave as the rent in our area has increased significantly but the RERA calculator is not allowing any rental increase.

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: Hi I own an apartment in Dubai. I want to give 12 months' notice to my tenant. The reason is my brother "might" move to Dubai in the next 6 months. In case my brother decides not to move to Dubai, can I cancel the 12 months notice to my tenant? If I am allowed to cancel the notice, is there any deadline to cancel the notice or I can cancel the notice 11 months after I have given the 12 months notice?

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, I issued an eviction notice to the tenant to sell the house. At the same time, I obtained a rent valuation certificate from the Dubai Land Department (DLD). The tenant is now willing to sign a one-year contract at the increased rent. Should I sign the contract, and what will happen to the eviction notice, which requires the tenant to vacate the property by August 2, 2024?

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.