Questions & Answers
Early termination of tenancy contract and bounced cheque
Hello.
I have left the UAE and had handed over all keys and all cancelled DEWA connections documents to my villa owner.
I had to leave the UAE and walk out of the tenancy contract in the middle and the owner was fine with it. He was supposed to send my deposit through a bank transfer.
Suddenly, I get a message from my bank saying that a cheque had bounced. It was one of the cheques I had given to the house owner which he was supposed to return.
Now he says the contract says I have to pay him 2 months' penalty for leaving the house before the end of the contract so he deposited my cheque and it bounced.
Then he filed a police case for the bounced cheque. Is he allowed to do so?
I handed him the house keys myself and he mentioned nothing about this, but now he says I need to pay him. What are my options?
Dear Sir/ Madam,
Thank you for getting in touch with me on this.
I understand your situation and frankly speaking many tenants face these kinds of issues.
However, legally speaking, do you have a written intimation that you are terminating the tenancy contract early and that the landlord has accepted this? If yes, then you have a good defence.
If there is no written evidence for early termination and return of security cheque, then, unfortunately, the court will not take cognizance of your version of the story.
The landlord is then well within his right to claim two months' rent as compensation for early termination.
Since there is a police case lodged against you, it is imperative to pay a fine and get clearance from the police case.
This clearance will result in lifting the travel ban. Please note that in the police case you will only be paying a fine and not the full cheque amount.
For the recovery of full cheque amount, the landlord will have to file a case before the Rent Dispute Committee (which will have to be defended on merits).
Priority as of now should be to clear the police case and lift the travel ban.
You can get in touch with me for further assistance and clarification.
Regards,
Hari Wadhwana
