Q: Hi, my tenant is a company and has not paid the rent for past two months. I have filed a police complaint and eviction notice from the court. He keeps on saying he will pay every week but does not honour his deadlines. I do not wish to keep him as a tenant as this will always be a problem with him given his attitude and do not wish to waste my time. I want him to vacate even if he pays now. Please help.

Q: Hi, I have a flat in JLT Dubai, my tenant is not paying the rent for many months nor will he move out of the house. Also, he is sub-leasing the unit to someone else without our allowance or confirmation. We want to kick him out for both reasons: not paying + sub-leasing unit. What do we need to do and how long will the process take to get him out? We hope you can help.

Q: Hi Someone has given me a cheque and account is closed since long back. What can I do in this case to get my money back? Please help

س: السلام عليكم، لدي عقار بمنطقة الخليج التجاري بدبي مؤجَّر وعقد الإيجار ينتهي بعد 56 يومًا من اليوم. ليس لدي رغبة في تجديد العقد نظرًا لارتفاع الأسعار بحوالي 15 ألف درهم عن سعر الإيجار بالعام الماضي والزيادة القانونية للتجديد ستكون 10% فقط وهذا قليل جدًا نظرًا إلى أن العقد ينص على إرسال الإشعار قبلها بـ60 يومًا. كيف يمكنني إخطار المستأجر بعدم الرغبة في التجديد؟ وما الطريقة القانونية لذلك؟ وما المترتب على هذا؟ ولكم جزيل الشكر!

Q: Dear sir/madam, My new tenant is pretending not to have received an eviction notice sent from the notary. The notice was stuck to the tenants by Aramex and recorded as such. The RDC says that this is sufficient and won't be an issue. This notice was sent by the previous owner on March 22 with the reason of selling the property. The tenant's 2nd-year contract runs Nov 21 - Nov 22. I contacted the tenant immediately after the transfer to arrange cheques in my name. So far he has ignored all communication. Would this be a breach of the tenancy contract? Would I have to send a new 12-month notice being the new landlord? And regarding the current contract ending in November, what is the correct way to have a contract from November 2022 until March 2023, which is the original eviction date set by the previous owner? Just to add I will be using the property for my own personal use and not to rent out. This is for a Dubai property. Thank you!

Q: I have a villa in Dubai and rented it over for a year. The payment is done in 2 cheques and apparently the second cheque bounced. What are the legal measures to be taken and how much it will cost me if I move legally?

س: السلام عليكم، أنا مستأجر في دبي. المالك القديم باع الوحدة لمالك جديد وكان هناك شيك مستحق قبل إتمام عملية البيع بخمسة عشر يومًا ولم يصرفه المالك القديم. تلقيت رسالة علي الواتساب من رقم غريب يقول أنا المالك الجديد للعقار ويُرجَى تبديل الشيكات. لم أجب حتى أتأكد من جدية الرسالة. بعد يومين وجدت إنذارًا عدليًا للإخلاء لعدم سداد الإيجار. تواصلت مع نفس الرقم ولكن لا توجد إجابة، وأرسلت رسائل لإعلامه باستعدادي لدفع المبلغ الأول نقدًا وإعطاء الشيك الآخر باسمه، ولكن لا يوجد رد. انتهت مدة الإنذار. ما موقفي القانوني الآن؟

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, Rental dispute with my tenant. Timeline of events: 1. Cheque due date: June 8, 2023. 2. Gave him 25 days as requested. 3. Raised a formal police complaint for a bounced cheque (as the account was closed/fraud) on July 3, 2023. 4. Again asked him to pay up or vacate; he asked for more time and I gave him more time. 5. Sent him a formal 30-day legal notice to pay and vacate the property on August 2, 2023. 6. On August 24, he called me to offer a partial payment; I said he had to pay in full by the due date. 7. On August 25, I received the RDC notice of offer and deposit, in which he stated the following: "The applicant requests your kind approval to accept an offer and deposit a cash amount of AED XXX in exchange for the rental value." If I accept the notice, how much time will he be given by the court to pay the amount? If I reject the offer, what will be the implications? Can I still open a case against him to vacate the unit when the 30-day legal notice expires on September 1?

Q: I signed the tenancy renewal contract with vacation homes company and now that company cheques are getting bounced. This company doesn’t have a proper address and they subleased my apartment to a Russian family for 07 months. Can you please advise if I need to send a legal notice which address shall I send the notice to the partner of the company address or shall I ask Tableegh or Aramex to drop and paste the letter on my lease property? Please advise what is the legal procedure to send the legal notice. Shall I ask Aramex or Tableegh to send the legal notice via email but this Dubai court will accept? Also, can you advise if subleasing is allowed by vacation homes?

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.

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 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 Decree by Law amend the Federal Law No. (18) of 1993 by replacing Clause (4) of Article (379) as well as Articles (600), (617), (641), (642), (643), (644), and adding new articles numbered (635) Bis, (641) Bis (1), (641) Bis (2), (641) Bis (3), (641) Bis (4), (643) Bis (1), (643) Bis (2), (644) Bis (1) and (644) Bis (2). The Decree-Law also repeals Articles (401), (402) and (403) of the Federal Law No. (3) of 1987.