Q: Dear Sir/Madam, I am in the process of renewing my tenancy contract and the agent is claiming AED 1000 administration fee for the renewal. This was not stipulated in the contractual agreement that was signed for the current rental term. Am I responsible to pay this admin fee? From my understanding, the landlord is responsible for paying the admin fee for renewal. Is this correct? Please note that this is for the combined tenancy agreement only and not for the EJARI. I have the responsibility to renew the EJARI.

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, My landlord’s appointed management company reached out to me regarding the renewal of the tenancy contract. The building’s management informed me (verbally) that the apartment is blocked in DLD as the owner has pending service charges. I confirmed and saw the apartment blocked in DLD. Should I give my cheques for the new contract before this issue is settled? Will I be able to register the renewed Ejari? What happens if I don’t give the cheques until the case is resolved? Is there any legal issue for me? I don’t want to risk paying money when the contract is not officially registered in DLD.

Q: I moved to an apartment in July 2018 and the landlord was outside of Dubai. Being a foreigner, he promised to complete all documentation soon and he cashed out my cheques. Then he stated that the apartment was registered on his son (a minor) and doesn't have the necessary documents and he will complete when he comes to Dubai. He came 9 months after I moved in and that costed me to pay AED 12,100 proven fine for late renewal of my maid’s visa (Ejari is the landlord's responsibility). As per the contract, the Building Management deactivated access cards including the parking during my stay, saying the landlord failed to pay the service fee. This was the case for 100 days. All failures were acknowledged by the landlord via emails. When moving out (July 2019) his agent inspected the apartment. They promised to provide a list of deductions in few days which happened with 53 days delay and failed to present invoices and return deposit balance so far (80 days delay). The deduction is a round figure (suspicious). Please let me know if you can assist and tell me about the cost.

Q: I'm currently in the process of leasing the property and as part of the standard procedure, we attempted to register the tenancy on the Ejari system. However, we encountered a persistent error message indicating that the property is currently managed by an independent brokerage agency. In an effort to resolve this matter promptly, we reached out to the broker company and were informed that a payment of AED 300 is required to process the Ejari registration. In good faith, we transferred the requested amount to facilitate the registration process. To our surprise, the broker company has since communicated that they have applied for the cancellation of the management contract for the said property and are now requesting to return the AED 300. Despite their assurance of canceling the contract, we are still unable to register the property on the Ejari system. Given the urgency of the situation and the fact that the tenant's move-in date was January 15, 2024, we are seeking legal advice.

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.