It is quite normal for landlords and sellers to use a power of attorney when dealing with sales and rentals of their properties in the UAE as often the owners of these properties reside abroad. Getty Images
It is quite normal for landlords and sellers to use a power of attorney when dealing with sales and rentals of their properties in the UAE as often the owners of these properties reside abroad. Getty Images
It is quite normal for landlords and sellers to use a power of attorney when dealing with sales and rentals of their properties in the UAE as often the owners of these properties reside abroad. Getty Images
It is quite normal for landlords and sellers to use a power of attorney when dealing with sales and rentals of their properties in the UAE as often the owners of these properties reside abroad. Getty

Money

Homefront: Can I address my rent cheques to the landlord’s power of attorney?’

A Dubai tenant is wary of writing cheques in the name of an individual, rather than a property management company

Mario Volpi

October 15, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

I am interested in renting an apartment, in which a power of attorney claims to work for a property management company and represents an individual. Can I address the rent cheques to him?

I checked out the regulations governing powers of attorney on the Dubai Land Department website. However, I'm hesitant to address the cheques to an individual and not a property management company. Please advise me on what due diligence I should do before writing out the cheques. Is this legal? I read an article written in 2015 that said a fine could be issued to anyone who doesn't address rental cheques to the owner. TU, Dubai

It is quite normal for landlords and sellers to use a powers of attorney when dealing with sales and rentals of their properties in the UAE, as often the owners of these properties reside abroad. It also makes it easier for a tenant to deal with the day-to-day management of a property when the person concerned in authority is here in the country.

In your case, I suspect that the power of attorney works for a property management company, which happens to be a coincidence. But I understand you preferring to pay a company rather than an individual.

In terms of the due diligence, you have already checked out the validity of the power of attorney from the Dubai Land Department website. However, I would recommend you also check the expiry date as a power of attorney is normally only valid for a period of two years.

If the power of attorney document states that the holder can receive the rent/sale proceeds in his/her name, it is then okay to proceed with the payment in their name. This is a very important point to note because the payment of rent or sale should always be made in the name of the landlord/seller, so please check the wording of the power of attorney document very carefully. For added security, you can also request an email from the owner to say that they are happy for the power of attorney to receive the rent in their name.

Mario Volpi is the sales and leasing manager at Engel & Volkers. He has worked in the property sector for more than 35 years in London and Dubai.

The opinions expressed do not constitute legal advice and are provided for information only. Please send any questions to mario.volpi@engelvoelkers.com

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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The more serious side of specialty coffee

While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.

The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.

Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”

One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.

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