Who's responsible for making sure the internet works in your apartment? Getty Images
Who's responsible for making sure the internet works in your apartment? Getty Images

Homefront: Tenant struggling to connect TV or internet in his new apartment due to faulty cabling was refused help by "rude" estate agent



I rented an apartment last month and when the telecoms company went to install the TV/Internet they realised the cables inside the walls are not working. The building is new and the building management say this is out of their scope. The (rude) real estate agent says it's not his problem and I should deal with the landlord directly. Is there a way I can open a dispute and get this fixed? Is the real estate agent in his right to refuse helping with this matter? If he's not, can I press charges against him or the agency? I will contact the landlord directly but I would like to know who is responsible for this? AS, Dubai 

This problem will definitely have to involve the landlord as the property belongs to him. He does have a duty of care to you as his tenant. The agent has not actually broken any law, he is just being very narrow minded in his approach to you and in doing so is not very professional nor I guess is he interested in future business with you by refusing to help. An agent receives commission for finding a property, negotiating the rent including the terms and conditions, organising the contract, collection and distributing the rent. The work officially ends here but he can still be polite and helpful. I am surprised that the building management is also not really helping as they would be able to liaise with the developer on behalf of the owner. The developer has a one-year liability to fix any defective installations, namely MEP (mechanical, electrical or plumbing) and a 10-year liability to fix any structural defects from the date on the completion certificate. Telecommunications could be a grey area in the eyes of the law, however, but either way, this problem is remedied by a joint effort between the owner and developer and perhaps you in assistance.

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A tenant vacated one of our offices in Jumeirah Lake Towers without any notice in writing or otherwise. However, he did vacate at the expiry of the tenancy contract. We had sent him a reminder letter 90 days before and his office had acknowledged the receipt of the letter, which clearly stated that they need to come back to us 30 days before to confirm the renewal but there was no communication from them, even though we sent them reminder via email. There was also no communication for non-renewal. There was nothing in the tenancy contract which states that the tenant has to give any prior notice before vacating.  He is now asking for his security deposit to be returned. Can you help us understand the law with regards to the vacating notices and whether we can hold back his security deposit to cover for the loss in rent due to vacancy. RP, Dubai 

Law 26 of 2007 was amended by Law 33 of 2008. This amended law did away with the need for a tenant to give notice for reason of not renewing the tenancy contract. In the absence of any specific notice period mentioned within the contract, in theory, any tenant can leave at the end of the contractual date without giving notice.

This doesn’t really help a landlord who obviously wishes to know what a tenant will do in either renewing or not so that they can plan to market the property or not. Your tenant has therefore not broken any laws by vacating at the end of the contract. You are not allowed to keep the deposit for the reason of loss of rent due to vacancy. If, however, there were issues relating to the maintenance or to replace any damages done by the tenant during his tenancy, you are entitled to deduct the relevant amount and return the difference (if any).

Mario Volpi is the chief sales officer for Kensington Exclusive Properties and has worked in the property industry for over 30 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@kensington.ae

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
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Juliot Vinolia’s checklist for adopting alternate-day fasting

-      Don’t do it more than once in three days

-      Don’t go under 700 calories on fasting days

-      Ensure there is sufficient water intake, as the body can go in dehydration mode

-      Ensure there is enough roughage (fibre) in the food on fasting days as well

-      Do not binge on processed or fatty foods on non-fasting days

-      Complement fasting with plant-based foods, fruits, vegetables, seafood. Cut out processed meats and processed carbohydrates

-      Manage your sleep

-      People with existing gastric or mental health issues should avoid fasting

-      Do not fast for prolonged periods without supervision by a qualified expert

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The Perfect Couple

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor

Creator: Jenna Lamia

Rating: 3/5

TRAP

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue

Director: M Night Shyamalan

Rating: 3/5

Company%20Profile
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Points about the fast fashion industry Celine Hajjar wants everyone to know
  • Fast fashion is responsible for up to 10 per cent of global carbon emissions
  • Fast fashion is responsible for 24 per cent of the world's insecticides
  • Synthetic fibres that make up the average garment can take hundreds of years to biodegrade
  • Fast fashion labour workers make 80 per cent less than the required salary to live
  • 27 million fast fashion workers worldwide suffer from work-related illnesses and diseases
  • Hundreds of thousands of fast fashion labourers work without rights or protection and 80 per cent of them are women
West Indies v England ODI series:

West Indies squad: Jason Holder (c), Fabian Allen, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Evin Lewis, Ashley Nurse, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Kemar Roach, Oshane Thomas.

Fixtures:

1st ODI - February 20, Bridgetown

2nd ODI - February 22, Bridgetown

3rd ODI - February 25, St George's

4th ODI - February 27, St George's

5th ODI - March 2, Gros Islet

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE

Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega

Director: Tim Burton

Rating: 3/5

The%20specs
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Kanye%20West
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The specs

Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six

Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm

Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto

Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km

Price: From Dh796,600

On sale: now

Result

2.15pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,950m; Winner: Majestic Thunder, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).

2.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m; Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.

3.15pm: Handicap Dh85,000 1,600m; Winner: Native Appeal, Adam McLean, Doug Watson.

3.45pm: Handicap Dh115,000 1,950m; Winner: Conclusion, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.

4.15pm: Handicap Dh100,000 1,400m; Winner: Pilgrim’s Treasure, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.

4.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m; Winner: Sanad Libya, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.

5.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,000m; Winner: Midlander, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar

Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989

Director: Goran Hugo Olsson

Rating: 5/5

Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE

There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.

It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.

What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.

When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.

It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.

This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.

It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.

The details

Heard It in a Past Life

Maggie Rogers

(Capital Records)

3/5

Six pitfalls to avoid when trading company stocks

Following fashion

Investing is cyclical, buying last year's winners often means holding this year's losers.

Losing your balance

You end up with too much exposure to an individual company or sector that has taken your fancy.

Being over active

If you chop and change your portfolio too often, dealing charges will eat up your gains.

Running your losers

Investors hate admitting mistakes and hold onto bad stocks hoping they will come good.

Selling in a panic

If you sell up when the market drops, you have locked yourself out of the recovery.

Timing the market

Even the best investor in the world cannot consistently call market movements.

Racecard
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German plea
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the German parliament that. Russia had erected a new wall across Europe. 

"It's not a Berlin Wall -- it is a Wall in central Europe between freedom and bondage and this Wall is growing bigger with every bomb" dropped on Ukraine, Zelenskyy told MPs.

Mr Zelenskyy was applauded by MPs in the Bundestag as he addressed Chancellor Olaf Scholz directly.

"Dear Mr Scholz, tear down this Wall," he said, evoking US President Ronald Reagan's 1987 appeal to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.

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Company%20profile
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