Commonly Asked Questions Regarding Rental

Before signing the lease agreement, there are several factors a tenant must know which are as follows:

a- Inquire about the laws and legislation that govern rental law in the UAE.
b- Who owns the unit individual or company as each has pros and cons we will explain it later in the book.
c- What is the jurisdiction for the unit, for example, if the unit is in Dubai in territory DIFC or not?

a- The lease agreement should identify the lessor and the tenant, including their full names and contact information.
b- The lease agreement should provide a detailed description of the leased property, including the address, unit number, and any specific features or amenities included.
c- The agreement should specify the duration of the lease, including the start and end dates. It should also outline the procedures for renewing or terminating the lease.
d- The lease agreement should clearly state the monthly rent amount, due date, acceptable payment methods, and any late fees or penalties for overdue payments.
e- Details regarding the amount of the security deposit, the conditions for its return, and any deductions that may be made should be included in the lease agreement.
f- The document should outline the responsibilities of both the landlord and tenant regarding maintenance and repairs of the property.
g- Any specific rules, regulations, or restrictions governing the use of the property, such as noise restrictions, pet policies, and subletting guidelines, should be clearly outlined in the lease agreement.
h- The lease should specify which utilities and services are included in the rent and which are the tenant’s responsibility, such as electricity, water, internet, or trash removal.
i- In the event of a dispute between the parties, the lease agreement should outline the process for resolving conflicts, such as mediation or arbitration.

The competent authorities for the rental disputes will be in all the emirates before the rental committees.

Depends on the period for the agreement and the place of the unit. For example, if the unit is in Dubai and there is a long-period lease agreement for more (10) years, the competent court will be in the Dubai Court, but less than (10) years will be in the Rental Dispute Center (RDC).

In general, yes, but only if the unit is under the jurisdiction of the Dubai International Financial Center, in that case, the competent court will be the DIFC Court, and any other jurisdiction in Dubai will be the Rental Dispute Center (RDC).

Any dispute over the hotel room lease agreement is subject to UAE civil law, whether the agreement is for a long or short period.

Both parties must sign the lease agreement to protect their rights if any disputes arise in the future.

In addition to the general conditions, both parties can add special conditions to the agreement.

They can do that as long they sign the lease agreement and are certified by the competent authority.

The lease renewal occurs with the same conditions, duration, and rental value as the previous one.

In this case, the tenant must protect his right by depositing rent checks with the RDC, assuming the unit is in Dubai, and notifying the lessor via a registered letter that the rent checks are in the RDC.

The tenant must register the rent case before the rental dispute committees to oblige the lessor to renew the lease agreement by the previous lease agreement terms.

Yes, on condition the tenant has written approval from the owner to sublease the unit to the subtenant.

The lessor can increase the rent after the lease is terminated, but he must stick with the increase according to the prescribed percentage decree law number (43) 2013.

Legally, there are no mechanisms for paying rent, but whether it is one payment or not depends on the agreement between the parties. It is common knowledge that rent is paid in four equal payments annually in Dubai.

If the lessor wishes to increase the rent or if either party to the contract wishes to change any of the terms of the agreement, notify the other party 90 days before the contract expiration date.

Legally, this is no problem as long as the tenant will complete the villa works, but this must be mentioned in the rental contract.

It is common knowledge that property maintenance is the lessor’s responsibility unless there is an agreement to the contrary.

Yes, he can do that, but only after getting written approval from the lessor, especially if the work needs approval from the competent authorities, specifically for the office units.

Indeed. Usually, the insurance amount is 10% of the lease amount; this ensures coverage for some of the maintenance parts that the tenant must do, like fixing broken doors or painting the unit’s walls. Or anything else borne by the tenant.

In this case, the tenant must get permission from the judge to do the necessary maintenance and return to the lessor to pay the amount he spent.

The tenant must inform the lessor by email to take quick action by sending a pest control company; if he refuses to do that or does not respond, the tenant has all the right to terminate the lease agreement and receive fair compensation from the court.

The tenant can’t remove anything from the rental unit without permission from the lessor. But in any event, it all depends on the lease agreement conditions.

Yes. If the tenant doesn’t pay the rent and the lessor sends him legal notice within (30) days, but he doesn’t respond to paying the rent, the lessor can directly ask the court to terminate the lease.

Of course, it will be borne by the tenant.

If he doesn’t have permission to sublet from the lease, the lessor has the full right to terminate the lease agreement.

Suppose the tenant closes the commercial unit for 30 consecutive days or 90 intermittent days per year. In that case, the lessor can terminate the lease immediately unless both parties have another agreement.

Yes, he can do that, on condition that he notify the tenant at least 12 months before the eviction date.

In this case, the tenant can sue the lessor for compensation.

The lessor can re-rent the unit again to another tenant if it has been two years since the termination of the previous lease.

He can do that, provided he notifies the tenant by notary at least 12 months before the eviction date.

No. The rental relationship and the lease agreement continue with the lessor’s heirs.

No, the rent agreement does not expire except if the tenant’s heirs want to vacate on condition that they notify the lessor to terminate the rent relationship.

No. The lease agreement will not expire, and the new lessor must comply with all the terms and conditions in the lease agreement between the old lessor and the tenant.

Yes. He can do that, provided he notifies the tenant by notary at least 12 months before the eviction date.

Yes. He has priority in returning to the villa, provided he expresses his desire for that, but it is no more than 30 days from when the lessor notified him the villa is ready to move on.

In this case, if the lessor has previously approved subleasing, the subtenant continues the rental relationship with the lessor under the same terms of the contract agreed upon between the original tenant and the subtenant.

Yes, they can do that, but it will be costly and take longer.

The tenant must contact the police directly, obtain a report on this incident, and take legal measures against the lessor to oblige him to compensation for the damages caused to the tenant.

As previously mentioned, the competent authority for rental disputes will be in RDC except for the units in the DIFC jurisdiction.

Similar procedures, but the RDC has only two stages for litigating, the court first of instance and the appeal court without cassation court.

No, the judgment will be final. However, the court ruling may be appealed if the value of the claim or contract is less than AED 100,000 if a decision is issued to vacate the rental unit.

The period for appealing the ruling is 15 days.

In this case, the lessor must send a legal notice to the tenant and instruct him to pay the remaining amount. Then, the lessor must register (a performance order) to obtain a ruling obligating the tenant to pay the due amount.

We always advise communication between the two parties by email to preserve rights.

In this case, the lessor must register a lawsuit against the tenant and request the assignment of an expert to move to the real estate unit and ensure that the tenant rents the rental unit to others.

The lessor must register a case against the tenant and request the appointment of an engineering expert to evaluate the damage to the rental unit and the costs of repairing the damage.

No. The legal interest applicable in Dubai courts is 5%. It is calculated only in civil, commercial, and labor cases, not rental ones.

All the rental judgments are implemented in the RDC execution department.

– For cases involving lease contract renewal, lease contract cancellation, or eviction, the fees are 3.5% of the value of the lease contract, with a maximum fee of AED 20,000.

– For financial claims, the fees are 3.5% of the claim value, with a maximum fee of AED 15,000.”