Tenants fear eviction by unscrupulous landlords
02:20AM Wed 12 Mar, 2014
Dubai: Many tenants have expressed concerns that some landlords are exploiting clauses in the tenancy law to evict them and raise rents.
The commonly exploited clause, the tenants say, is that the landlord gives them a year’s notice to vacate — on the pretext that he needs the flat for his personal use or renovation — but in fact rents it out at a higher rate.
“ If the landlord wants to end the contract, he should give the tenant a one-year notice period and should provide him with approved documents.”
Marwan Bin Galita, CEO of the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera)
Marwan Bin Galita, CEO of the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) told Gulf News there are simple procedures that can be followed to ensure the rights of tenants upon eviction.
“If the landlord wants to end the contract, he should give the tenant a one-year notice period and should provide him with approved documents.”
He also explained that under these two conditions, a landlord is not permitted to rent out the property to others for one year from the date of the eviction of tenants. The law also states that if a landlord violates the rules, a tenant has the right to request compensation.
Some residents continue to feel vulnerable despite reassurances from Rera’s most senior official that tenants are protected under Dubai law. They said unscrupulous real estates agents are making existing tenants leave to get higher rents for their property.
Gaith Khalid, 30, said he had to move out of his Dh52,000 one-bedroom apartment in Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) to another Dh85,000 one-bedroom apartment, also in JLT, after his landlord asked him to leave.
“He said he wanted to move in with his family, I tried to convince him to let me stay by offering to pay Dh15,000 extra. He seemed to be convinced at the beginning but then rejected my offer,” said Khalid.
Khalid had been living in the apartment since 2010 and moved to his new apartment last December. He said the additional Dh33,000 he has to pay for rent has affected him in every aspect of his life. He even had to get another job to cope with the additional expense.
Khalid said although what the landlord did is perfectly legal, he is highly doubtful that he is actually going to move in. Instead he believes the landlord will rent it out at a much higher price.”
“If he does not move in and he just rents it out, I can take him to court but I don’t think I will because it is a long process,” he said.
The Decree, No 43 of 2013, sets a specific band on the optimum rental increases that a landlord can demand while renewing leases.
Another concerned tenant, Kareem Bassem, 25, who has lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Jumeirah Village Circle since 2011 for Dh37,500, has also been asked to vacate by the end of this year by his landlord who said he wants to sell it.
Bassem’s rent was initially Dh36,000 but his landlord imposed the five per cent increase before asking him to vacate.
‘Crazy’
In the hope of finding the same apartment in the same building, he asked a real estate agency that said all the apartments are now between Dh68,000 to Dh72,000 per year.
“I don’t know if he is actually going to sell it or he just wants to get me out so that he can rent it out for higher fees. The rent prices now are crazy high. I am not a millionaire.”
Bassem said he will have to find an apartment in a remote area or in the worst-case scenario he will have to move in with his friend.
Also facing eviction, Salwa Yousry who lives in International City, said she is doubtful that her landlord is going to sell the property, as he claims.
“Within two years, my landlord has increased the rent from Dh33,000 to Dh44,000 and has asked me to leave the house after I refused to pay a higher amount than permitted by the Rera rent increase calculator.”
Like many other tenants, Salwa said she has no guarantee that the landlord will sell the property. “Even if he provides documents — which he has not — there is no guarantee that he will in fact sell the flat after I leave.”
Salwa added that once she is settled in her new flat she would not be bothered about tracking down her old landlord to ensure that he has sold the property.
What is allowed
Landlords can raise rents on renewal by:
5 per cent if the earlier rental is 11 to 20 per cent lower than the average rent for a similar property;
10 per cent if the rental is 21 to 30 per cent lower than the current going rate for properties of a similar scale;
15 per cent if the rent is as low as 31 to 40 per cent than comparable ones; and
20 per cent if a property’s rent is more than 40 per cent less than the average.
The new rental slab will not allow landlords to raise rents on renewal if the current lease is only 10 per cent lower than the average rent of a similar property.
Gulf News
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