I need to break my contract as I urgently need to move back to the US for brain surgery on two aneurysms. I told the owner my situation, saying I needed to vacate by November 30 and would help find a tenant. He was horrible, saying there is a penalty of two months' rent to be settled prior to me quitting the contact. He then said if I refused to cooperate "we will meet in court". He added that he was not open to any alternatives and would only abide by the "actual contract terms". I can take all my medical documentation to the Rental Dispute Settlement Centre (RDSC) and show them. Have you ever heard of the RDSC helping on a special case like this? LW, Dubai
aYou would think situations requiring understanding, and perhaps sympathy on the part of the landlord, would be relatively straightforward given the human element involved. In reality, you are at the mercy of the landlord. It would appear that your landlord is not interested in your situation and negotiating out of this contract in a way that would appeal to all parties would seem fairly difficult. I have heard of more shocking cases, where a landlord insisted on claiming his penalty clause after a husband wished to terminate his rental contract early after losing his wife to cancer.
As difficult as it may seem to understand, landlords are merely trying to limit their loss (financial) too but perhaps are not as tactful as they should be when communicating their point. If you have the time, and the inclination, then by all means go and seek the recommendation of the rental committee but I have not heard of similar cases going that far as, generally, parties manage to agree terms. I advise you continue communications with the landlord, but if paying the two months penalty is not negotiable – being his way of releasing you from your obligations – then go ahead and finish it in this way. In the long run it will be the quickest and most cost-effective method.
Our tenants' renewal date for our Abu Dhabi property is December 22 and we have just advised them of our intention to increase the rent by 5 per cent. Does the two months notice period still stand? If so, will we be allowed to increase by 10 per cent next year, or will the 5 per cent cap still apply? SW, Abu Dhabi
The two months notice period still stands when notifying your tenants you wish to increase the rent at the time of renewal. You have confirmed to your tenants that you wish to impose a 5 per cent increase next year, but please note that as the landlord you are at liberty to charge whatever rent you wish to at the renewal. Since the Abu Dhabi rental cap was abolished you can now effectively charge whatever you want.
I am a landlord for an apartment in JLT and the tenancy contract of my apartment has just expired. Three months ago, I sent an email notifying my tenant of the rent increase as per the Rera calculator and he agreed to it via an email response. Yesterday, the last day of the tenancy contract, he wrote to me stating that due to some issues with his job, he might leave Dubai and therefore this email should be treated as a one-month vacation notice. Do I need to issue a one-month contract and if so, what should the rent be? What if the tenant then wants to stay? AM, Dubai
Organise a contract even if it is for an extension. The actual amount you can ask for is tricky because a four-week rental amount should be more than the long-term equivalent pro-rata rate. You will have to be careful though as any short- term tenancies are now subject to acquiring permission being granted by the DTCM, allowing you to be an operator and therefore allowed to charge the correct short-term rate. It seems that you will only be able to charge an extra month as per the Rera rental rate for the year divided by 12 to get the monthly rate. If your tenant doesn’t vacate due to finding suitable employment, go ahead with a new 12-month contract.
Mario Volpi is a real estate professional who has worked within the industry for the past 31 years in London and Dubai. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and they do not reflect in any way those of the institutions to which he is affiliated. It does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only. Please send any questions to mariovolpi64@gmail.com.
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