Q: Dear Sirs I will appreciate your kind advice regarding my case. I am renting from the landlord since 3 years now, all payments are done on time and even I am doing maintenance for things in my house which I am not supposed to do but to maintain the property in good shape out of goodwill. I received an email from my landlord asking for renewal as per the agreement, 3 months prior to the termination of my current contract. I visited them and handed over the new cheques for the new rental year in advance and signed the new tenancy contract. Now I discovered that he may be selling the property and may not renew my contract despite receiving my cheques and delaying EJARI renewal. I still have 2 months to go in the current contract. my question to you is, are they allowed to renew or to compensate if they already took my cheques for the new year rental and exchange of emails with the same is available? What are my legal rights here? Thanks and have a great day.

Q: Hello everyone, I have been given a 12 months eviction notice through notary public by my landlord in March 2022, in Dubai, stating selling the property as a reason. If the new landlord has no intention to move in or refurbish the property and wants to continue renting the property, am I as an existing tenant given the first right to continue residing in the property? Is the new landlord allowed to hike up the rent as per market conditions? Or does the RERA rental index calculator still applies in this case? Thanks in advance!

Q: The landlord changes the reason for eviction. My landlord tried to evict us last year because he is selling his property. We did not vacate as he did not send us the legal notice. This year he is trying to evict us because he is willing to use the property for his personal use. He refuses to renew but he never sent any 12-month notice. What should I do with him? Thank you.

Q: Hi, I purchased an apartment and at that time, it was already occupied by a tenant. Since I bought it for me for personal use, as per the law, I gave 12 months-eviction notice by the notary public. His eviction date is the 30th of Jan 2023. He informed me a day back that he has finalized another apartment but can only move on 20th March 2023 as that apartment will be vacated on 20th March, and is asking for 1 month and 20 days extension. Now my questions are: 1. What is the legal way to extend the current contract for just 1 month and 20 days? 2. Should I sign a new contract for 1 month and 20 days? 3. Now the most important question is if I sign a short-term contract just for 1 month and 20 days, does it nullify the Dubai court's eviction notice?

Q: Dear Lawyers, I have been a tenant for the past three years and my landlord has been arguing about the rent. I have always stated that I will pay whatever is required according to RERA. Last year, in January 2022, he gave me a court-attested notice to sell the property. Throughout the year, he has been threatening to evict me and not renew my contract if I do not agree to his demands of an 80% rent increase. He has only had one viewing in the last 12 months (and has not listed the property on any websites) just to show that he is attempting to sell it. He has openly stated that he is willing to allow me to stay if I accept the 80% increase in rent, but if not, he will ask me to leave (and refuses to put this offer in writing). He claims that he has enough evidence to show that he tried to sell the property, and after I leave, he will leave it empty for two months before renting it out again, and there is nothing I can do about it. Can I dispute this in RDC and get my contract renewed? If I leave and he rents the property out after three months, can I claim damages from him?

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, I have been renting a 1-bedroom apartment for the past 3 years. The owner appointed an agency last year to manage the property, as I had previously dealt directly with the owner. I told the agent that I would be sending an email which is to be forwarded to the owner, stating my intent to renew the contract. The agent then informed me that he had sent me an email informing me that the owner does not wish to renew the contract, as he is considering selling the apartment. When I asked the agent for the email, he said he had sent it to me a couple of weeks ago. I was surprised to find that the email was from the agent's personal email address, and it read as follows: Dear Madam, We would like to inform you that as per the landlord, he doesn't want to renew your lease contract. He decided to sell the property. This is formal notice to the tenant as a non-renewable contract. Regards, I would like to stay on for another year, so please can you inform me of my rights as a tenant?

Q: Hello, Our landlord has provided us with a renewed contract. We issued cheques and signed the contract, but now he suddenly refuses to sign because he wants to sell. What can we do?

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 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.

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. 

This Decree determines the maximum percentage of rent increase for real property in the Emirate of Dubai when renewing lease contracts.