Landlords and Tenants

Sub-leasing the premise is illegal without the approval of the landlord.

A potential tenant cannot sign a lease contract if they do not have residency visa. If this is being processed, then obtain a letter from your company stating this fact.

The lessee has the priority to lease the premise again when the maintenance process has finished and the landlord should notify the lessee who shall practice this right within 1 month of this notice.

Unless otherwise agreed by both parties the rent shall be paid by the lessee yearly on 4 equal instalments.

Once approved and you obtain the keys, the next step is to have the utility services connected. DEWA (Dubai Electricity & Water Authority) can be contacted on 04 304 1304 or take a browse on their website at www.dewa.gov.ae    

A security deposit is required, this is usually around 1,000 AED and refundable when the service is terminated and fully paid up. Do remember to take a copy of the lease, a copy of your passport and residency visa, and a no objection letter from the employer if the connection is to be in the company name. If the service is to be in the name of the Company (as showing on the lease) ask for a list of the required documents.

The property will need to be left in the same condition as is handed over to the tenant. This shall be monitored by a documented report called the ‘Entry Condition Report’ which shall serve as a protection to the tenant against the claim of a Landlord for damage or condition of a property which was present before the Tenant’s occupation. This must be signed by both parties. Who pays for exactly what i.e. repairs, maintenance etc shall be stipulated in the Tenancy Contract, and both parties are bound by this agreement.

Upon leaving the property, an ‘Exit Condition Report’ is completed by the Tenant and Landlord (or Landlord’s Agent) and the both reports must match. It is a good idea to take some photographs of any damage which your concerned about to ensure you are not blamed for damage, have the Landlord or Landlord’s Agent sign these immediately to protect yourself.

A Landlord must provide 90 days notice to a tenant if the lease is not permitted to be renewed by the Tenant, this is only acceptable if the Owner or his/her immediate family are moving into the property. The Termination Notice must be served on the Tenant on the approved form.

If an Agent cannot show you his / her Broker ID Card, (a business card is insufficient) then do not deal with them and beware, do not ever deal with a building watchman nor pay then a fee. They are not registered Agents. The usual excuse given if they cannot show you’re their photo ID card, is “it is being processed” all Dubai agents have now had almost 2 years to register and the deadline was 12 months ago.

In the coming months, the new Standard Forms for rentals and property management shall be available ONLY for registered brokers.

In order to maintain the premises after the expiry of the agreement, the landlord is entitled for a security deposit when signing the agreement with the lessee, the same should be returned to lessee after the expiry of the agreement.

The Landlord must keep the property in a safe condition and ensure the tenant gains benefit from the rented property unless otherwise agreed between the two parties.

Only use a RERA Registered Broker / Agent and ensure you have appointed them on the approved Form (D1) and ensure the Agent knows the market, likely rent return for the area, and the Agency has a tenant ‘pre-screening’ procedure in place. Make sure you stipulate your communication updates and consultation with each other on the Form. If the Agent does not do what they agreed to do, terminate them and find another agent. Lost rental income is loss of your money.

Many Landlords make the mistake of waiting up to 2-3 months to get a tenant willing and able to pay for the rent level the Landlord desires. If you look at say a two year period, and the Landlord is wanting 120,000 AED p.a. rent, it is better to gain 110,000 AED per year, thus for say a two year term equates to 220,000 AED, as opposed to 90,000 AED for the first year and 120,000 for the second year, which shall return 210,000 AED for exactly the same two (2) year period – this is because the property is vacant for 3 months and only 75% of the rent expected is returned in the first year. In the vacant period, there is watering (if with gardens) cleaning twice weekly due to dust and the need for a well presented property, and often swimming pool maintenance, common area maintenance, all of these being costly requirements whilst there is no rent return.  

• Pay the rent on time. Must be paid by midnight on the ninth day after the day it is due, or the landlord may start legal proceedings to evict the tenant.
• Keep the apartment and the surrounding area clean and in good condition.
• Keep noise to a level that will not disturb your neighbors.
• Repair any damage occurring to the apartment through the fault of the tenant, family members or guests. Notify landlord at once of major damage.
• Give the landlord permission to enter the apartment at reasonable times and with advance notice to inspect it or to make any necessary repairs.
• Notify the landlord of any anticipated prolonged absence from the apartment so he or she can keep an eye on things.
• When moving out, give landlord proper advance notice. Be sure that the apartment is in the same condition as when the tenant moved in and return the key to the landlord promptly.
• Notify the landlord immediately if the apartment needs repair through no fault of the tenant.

• A copy of your passport
• A copy of your residency UAE visa (you cannot sign a lease without this)
• A statement of income from your employer (to show affordability and employment)
• A signed application for tenancy with all information provided
• A security deposit (usually around equivalent of 4 weeks rent) this is refundable when you exit the property providing it is returned to the owner in the same condition when you entered the property. The security deposit should be lodged with RERA and the lease when signed needs to be registered with RERA.
• The rent sometimes is negotiable but usually 4 cheques – the 1st being 3 months rent cheque which is dated now, and the following postdated for 3 monthly intervals. The rent is paid in advance in Dubai.

All Dubai tenants should be familiar with Law No. (26). of 2007 which is the Law governing the relationship between the Landlord and the Tenant.

The tenancy must be governed by a written tenancy contract agreement with all the relevant information and must be registered in RERA by Law otherwise neither party may assert a claim if a dispute should arise. The new Law is fair to both the Landlord and the Tenant and should be read by both parties as both are legally bound by the Law. The Law defines the scope of implementation of the Law and also details chapter articles relating to’

• Obligations of the Landlord
• Obligations of the Tenant
• Eviction
• General Rules
• Final Judgements

The lessee is responsible to return the premises to landlord in a good condition, and in case of default the damaged party should file a complaint to the applicable committee to issue a decision regarding the disputed matter.

• Unless otherwise agreed in the rental agreement the lessee should bear all taxes and other fees of the premise.
• Unless agreed between landlord and the lessee, the lessee is not to remove the improvement he made to the premise during the tenancy period.
• During the time the case looked up by the committee the lessee is obligated to pay the rent to the landlord up to the date of issuing the judgment by the committee

The relationship between the tenant and landlord has been regulated by issuing Law No 26, 2007 by the ruler of Dubai his highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid The related law was formed in Dubai on Nov 26, 2007 and executed by RERA.

The new law is applicable to leased properties in the Emirate excluding free accommodation provided by natural persons or judicial persons to their employees.

All Dubai Landlords should be familiar with Law No. (26). of 2007which is the Law governing the relationship between the Landlord and the Tenant.

Agents now, are required to have an agreement with their client, you as the potential tenant are the client as it is the tenant who pays 5% agent’s fee. You only pay the fee when signing a lease contract for the property you want to secure. The Agent will approach the Landlord on your behalf.

Landlords in Dubai need to be aware that Real Estate Regulatory Authority, also known as RERA is now regulating the relationship between Landlords and Tenants. The new Law No. (26) of 2007 shall be released in the very near future and take effect 60 days from publishing in the Official Gazette.

In case of dispute and arbitrator unable to do his job or refused and landlord and lessee failed to assign a new arbitrator, the committee should assign on the request of any of them arbitrators to continue the arbitration process.

• The decision made by the committee to be executed in Dubai court.
• RERA is responsible for forming all decree and regulations to execute this law and producing to the Executive Board for approval

The landlord and tenant relationship is composed after signing a writing tenancy agreement which should cover the following:

• the unit description
• the purpose of agreement
• the owner name
• land registration No. and location
• Duration and the rent allowance.

If duration unspecified in the agreement it shall not exceed the time on which the lessee was paying his rent. When any party has an intention not to renew the tenancy agreement the party intended to do the same should send 90 days notice to the other party prior to the expiry of the rental agreement.

The landlord reserve the right to evict the lessee from the premises before the expiry of the tenancy agreement only when:

• After 30 days notice sent to lessee to make outstanding payment.
• If the lessee sub-leased the premises without the approval of the landlord.
• Unauthorized and illegal use of the premises by the lessee.
• If the premise is to be destroyed the same should be confirmed by inspecting the premise from the right authority.
• When lessee fail to execute one or all of the terms and conditions of his agreement and 30 days notice has been issued to him to rectify.

The lessee is responsible to do the maintenance of the premises during the period of leasing the property.

Tenants should also remember, the property is the asset of the Owner, it must be looked after. When you have registered the Tenancy contract with RERA, if you have a problem and need intervention or a dispute arises, RERA can assist, but only if the lease is registered.