I rent a one-bedroom apartment in Dubai. The building I live in has not been cleaned for the past few months and the management claims that a new cleaning provider has just been hired.
The building hallway is littered with cockroaches, which have also made their way into the apartment. Although the building management has now called in a pest control company, I continue to see cockroaches inside the apartment.
Also, a window pane in my apartment cracked while I was at work. I informed the maintenance team who agreed to replace the window glass pane. However, it has been 10 months since I lodged this complaint and the window is yet to be fixed. The maintenance team claims that the window pane has not been delivered because the office has not paid the glass delivery company. How can I deal with this situation? YS, Dubai
Given how you speak about the management of the building, I assume your landlord is the developer or a company, rather than an individual. That said, you should state your concerns directly to your landlord. The building management can help but only to a certain degree.
You obviously need to get to the bottom of the problems. So, try to speak to other residents in order to see if they too have had similar issues. If you speak collectively, it will have a bigger impact.
If these maintenance issues are taking too long, you can always look to replace the window pane yourself and reclaim the expense from the landlord via the next rental payments.
Generally speaking, if you are encountering too many issues and this is stopping you from having quiet enjoyment of the rental property, you will have every right to question the validity of the contract. Unless the landlord eradicates or deals with the issues in a timely manner, you will have no alternative but to vacate the apartment.
My rent contract ended and I have been trying to contact the landlord for three months, but the apartment is owned by a company and managed by an agent who is not answering calls, emails, or WhatsApp messages. I have notified the agent, facility management and the company that I don't want to renew the contract.
Facility management did an inspection of the flat and I gave them the keys. However, I don't have any official notification that they have accepted the end of the contract. Can you advise me on what I should do? EG, Dubai
It is extremely odd that despite trying for three months, nobody has replied to you. The good news is that you have proof via email and WhatsApp that you tried to notify them of your intentions not to renew. Legally, a tenant doesn’t actually have to give three months' notice to the landlord for non-renewal but it is always good practice as landlord/tenant relations need to be kept on a good footing.
As you can clearly demonstrate your actions of trying to contact them, there is nothing for you to worry about even though you don’t have final communications from anyone. Your contract is finished and that is the end of it.
If you are encountering too many issues and this is stopping you from having quiet enjoyment of the rental property, you will have every right to question the validity of the contract
Presumably, you handed back the property to facility management in exactly the same condition as it was given and closed all your utility accounts, so owe nothing.
My only concern would be your deposit. If you want it back, keep trying to contact the agent.
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
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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.”
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
