Q: I am a landlord and gave notice (Notary Public) to the tenant to vacate the villa for personal use or to sell 14 months back. Now the tenant has vacated the villa two months before after completing one year of the notice period. There are three real estate agents working to sell the villa for the last two months but the price offered is less compared to my purchase price. Please let me know if I can rent the villa again since I am not able to get a buyer for the villa and keeping the villa vacant for more than two months is a loss for me. I have to pay monthly house loan EMI and it is becoming difficult to manage.

Q: Hello, I am a landlord in Dubai and I wish to send a 12-month legal eviction notice to my tenant for my intention to sell my property after the 12-month eviction notice. My question is: If after putting my property on the market for sale I don't manage to sell it and I decide to rent it out again, can my tenant take any legal action against me or ask for any compensation? Will they be entitled to that?

Q: Hello, I am a tenant in Dubai. Last year in June, I signed my first rental contract in Dubai. One bedroom 864 sqft for AED 65,000. Later this year in October, I got an eviction notice saying that I need to leave the apartment when the contract ends because the owner has the intent of selling the apartment. A few days back in March, I got a call from his agent saying that no one is interested in the apartment because the landlord wants a big price so if I want, I can renew the contract. The new price for me will be AED 76,000. I took some time to think and then called him back saying that as per RERA they cannot increase more than 5% which will be 68,250 but I am willing to pay 70,000 not to move out. A few hours after the call I got an email that they re-inform me that I have to leave in June because they want to sell the apartment. Is it legal to kick me out like that because they want a bigger price? What actions can I take if they rent it out again after I move out?

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, I am a landlord and gave notice (through a Notary Public) to the tenant to vacate the villa for personal use or to sell it one year ago. The tenant vacated the villa after one year as per the notice. I failed to sell the villa after trying to sell it through multiple agents for the past two months. I re-offered my previous tenant the villa for rent for one more year as I failed to sell it, through email (7 days ago). However, I have not received any response to this email. Please advise whether I can proceed with renting the villa to another tenant as I am incurring losses by paying EMI, maintenance, etc. Please also advise if the previous tenant can still ask for compensation. Thank you in advance!

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.

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