Should it not be conveyed via a notary public or registered mail, the tenant has the right to dispute its legitimacy at the Rental Dispute Settlement Committee.
Question:
I received a notice to renew my tenancy, but the landlord did not respond. Instead, three weeks later, my company informed me that an eviction notice with my name had been registered with Dubai Courts. A text message with a link to a document from Dubai Courts, titled “e-notary,” was received by my public relations officer, claiming to be an eviction notice. I did not receive any text messages or emails from Dubai Courts, the landlord, or the landlord’s agent containing a copy of the document or a link to it. Moreover, the document was not personally delivered to me by a notary or through registered mail. Given these circumstances, I am questioning the validity of the eviction notice and exploring the option of disputing it at the Rental Dispute Settlement Committee.
Answer:
As per Law 33 of 2008, which regulates the landlord-tenant relationship, the appropriate method for serving a 12-month eviction notice is through a notary public and/or registered mail.
When sent via registered mail, the notice is typically affixed to the property’s door, and this is considered valid delivery by the courts.
Assuming you are the tenant, it’s unclear why your PRO, presumably not mentioned in your tenancy agreement, received the notification link.
I am not aware of any alterations in the eviction notice delivery process. However, considering Dubai’s shift towards a paperless strategy, this approach may be acceptable.
My main concern is that you haven’t personally received any notification. To address this, I suggest contesting the notice through the RDSC in Deira to verify its legitimacy.
Question:
As a landlord, the Ejari contract for my rental property has lapsed. The tenant, both verbally and via WhatsApp, expressed agreement to vacate the apartment by the end of December, despite the contract having ended on December 5.
Subsequently, he committed to moving out by the conclusion of January and consented to paying the rent for 47 days at the start of January.
Despite his assurances, he has not fulfilled the rent payment and continues to make pledges without taking any concrete actions. What course of action should I pursue? P.S. Dubai.
Answer:
In the event that the tenant eventually vacates, your concern then revolves around what steps to take if he fails to pay for the additional days he overstayed.
The decision on whether to pursue legal action depends on your assessment of the financial viability of filing a case, as I do not have information on the specific rent amount.
The total rent for an additional 47 days is unclear to me, but initiating a case at the RDSC will incur a cost of 3.5 per cent of the rental amount.
Presumably, you still hold the deposit. After deducting any necessary amounts for repairs or maintenance that the tenant is responsible for, you can decide whether to consider this sum as a loss due to overstaying or proceed with filing a case.
While you are entitled to the overdue rent, there are instances when it might be necessary to accept the loss and move forward.
If you are in the process of renting out the property again, one would hope that you can recoup some of the losses through the vacant rental price, considering the recent rise in the market.
