Q: My landlord is selling his villa and wants us to leave. I thought he should give 1-year notice. Our lease is up on 14 March, 85 days from now. My rent is 220k per year, he has now advised today an increase to 260k per year. Is this aligned with the law? Thank you

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, I purchased a property in December 2022 and served the eviction notice on January 9, 2023. The current tenancy agreement is set to expire on June 30, 2023. I want to modify the payment terms for the new contract, effective from July 1, 2023, to January 8, 2024 (the end of the eviction notice), changing from 12 checks to 1 for the six-month period. Additionally, I intend to increase the rent by 20% as I believe the existing tenant is paying 60% less than the current market rate. The tenant refuses to accept these changes and wishes to renew the lease with no alterations. Where do I stand in this situation? RERA provides varying information each time I seek clarity.

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, The landlord sent me a 90-day notice for a rent increase in his personal email. The email address he used was not the one listed on the tenancy contract. Is this notice legally binding? His rent increase exceeds the RERA index by a lot. If I refuse the increase, can he evict me?

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, I sent a renewal notice to my Dubai tenant with more than 3 months advance. In the renewal, I adjusted the rental increase as per RERA of 5% and requested a change in payment conditions from 4 to 2 cheques. The tenant agreed to the new amount but did not agree to the new payment conditions because, according to him, the provisions to change the terms in the contract allowed by RERA were only suggestions and not enforceable. Therefore, the contract renewal has not yet gone forward because we do not agree with his interpretation. While consulting our options, RERA updated the rental increase for the area from 5% to 15% since the tenant is paying well below market price. We sent the tenant a new proposal with the updated RERA-allowed increase of 15%, offering back payments of 4 cheques. The tenant refused again, arguing that the new proposal is not applicable since we are now out of the 90-day previous notification window required. Please advise our options!

Q: Hi, I am an agent and I recently sold one rented property. There are still 8-9 months left for the tenancy contract, since now we have a new owner. So we prepared a new tenancy contract and asked the tenant for his signature on the new tenancy contract and to replace the cheques under the name of the new owner. However, the tenant keeps delaying the process and not responding. How can we replace the cheques under the new owner's name? If not, how can we legally ask the tenant for the replacement of cheques? We do have old cheques.

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, My tenancy contract is due for renewal on 30 November 2023. On 4 November 2023, my landlord inquired if we would agree to an increase in rent. We declined as it is our first year contract and he was exceeding the RERA index. He has now agreed to maintain the current rent. My question is that the terms of the tenancy contract specify three cheques, but he is now requesting only one cheque. Where do we stand as I cannot issue a single cheque for the full amount? We do not want the terms of the contract to be altered, and he has again failed to inform us in writing, only sending a WhatsApp message stating "Provide me with a cheque, and I will create a new contract." Please advise me! Thank you!

Q: Hello, I'm a new landlord and the apartment has tenants. Their contract expires at the end of June. Can I increase the rent more than the RERA calculator shows? Because the market price for the rent now is more than 40%. Please help me with some advice. Thank you!

Q: Good afternoon, I have a Real Estate property management license in Dubai. I recently entered into a management agreement with a landlord of a fully occupied building. Now, I am dealing with a situation where I can't send rent increase notices 90 days prior because my company was not managing the building 90 days ago. If the previous real estate company did send these formal notices, can we consider those valid for us as well? In the worst case, where we cannot reach an agreement with the tenant and open a lawsuit in RDC, can we present the notices that were not made by us but were still made in compliance with the laws? As per RERA and UAE laws, can these formal notices for rental increases be sent via email to the tenant's registered email address? Or must it be a notarized rental increase notice from a notary public for the judge to approve the rental increase?

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.

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.

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.