Question: Can a landlord serve a 12-month eviction notice to a tenant through an email and not through a notary public, saying they plan to sell the property?
If the person renting the property voluntarily leaves it nine months after receiving the emailed eviction notice and the landlord fails to sell the unit and re-lets it instead, can the tenant claim compensation from the owner?
If the tenant files a case with the Rent Dispute Settlement Committee, will the court dismiss his claim? SB, Dubai
Answer: Sending a notice of eviction via email is not a valid way of informing the tenant of their 12 months’ notice.
Having said that, if the tenant has voluntarily vacated before the 12 months is up, they still have rights if the landlord fails to sell the property.
The landlord can only re-let in this situation after they have given the original tenant first refusal to move back in.
If the renter no longer wishes to move back in, the owner would then have to get a no-objection letter from the tenant before they can re-let the property.
If the property owner has re-let the unit without the no-objection letter, the tenant does have the right to claim compensation through the Rental Dispute Settlement Committee.
The actual outcome cannot be determined or predicted as any judgment is given by the judge at the time and is at their discretion.
Q: I served my tenant with a 12-month eviction notice because I intend to sell the property.
Can I ask my tenant to give me a signed and stamped no-objection certificate, so I can re-let the property? JL, Dubai
A: If your tenant is OK with being evicted for the reason of selling, but then you decide you no longer wish to do this and instead prefer to re-let the unit, the correct procedure would be to offer the tenant first refusal to re-let it.
However, it is not for me to interfere in your business. So, if your tenant agree to the re-let and sends you a notarised notification, you are free to lease the unit to someone without fear of any legal case filed by the outgoing tenant.
Q: I have been renting a property in Dubai for three years.
My landlord sent me a 12-month eviction notice because they plan to sell the apartment. This notice will end on May 5.
Can I ask the new buyer for another 12-month eviction notice?
Rents are going up in Dubai and I cannot find a place with affordable rents near my office. RR, Dubai
A: When a buyer is eventually found, they will fall under two categories, either an investor or an owner occupier/end-user.
If the buyer is an investor, they will buy the property with you as the tenant in situ. They cannot evict you to then re-let the property as this is not allowed.
You will be able to negotiate with the investor as your new landlord to achieve mutual terms, according to the law.
If the buyer is an end-user, it is less likely that they will allow you to stay for another year, given they bought the property to live in themselves.
It is, therefore, advisable to try to find some common ground by meeting your new owners to see if anything can be done.
Mario Volpi is the sales director at AX Capital. He has worked in the property sector for 40 years in London and Dubai. The opinions expressed do not constitute legal advice and are provided for information only. Please send any questions to m.volpi@axcapital.ae
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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5.30pm: Khor Al Baghal – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
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What is the definition of an SME?
SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.
A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
Checks continue
A High Court judge issued an interim order on Friday suspending a decision by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots to direct a stop to Brexit agri-food checks at Northern Ireland ports.
Mr Justice Colton said he was making the temporary direction until a judicial review of the minister's unilateral action this week to order a halt to port checks that are required under the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Civil servants have yet to implement the instruction, pending legal clarity on their obligations, and checks are continuing.
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