UNDERSTANDING TENANCY AND THE SETTLEMENT PROCEDURE FOR RENTAL DISPUTES IN DUBAI

Tenancy Law in Dubai UAE or Law No. 33 of 2008 regulates and embodies the legislations concerning the rights, obligations and framework the relationship between Landlords and Tenants in the Emirate of Dubai. Whilst, the Rental Disputes Centre (RDC) acts as the main forum and receives dispute application for resolving tenancy disagreements and cases.

Rental Disputes Centre (RDC) administers adjudication procedures enhancing rental judicial system developed to simplify the resolution process systematically and come up to speedy disposition of tenancy disputes.

Except for cases already assigned to special judicial court and cases related to long-term lease or financial lease contracts falling under the umbrella of Law No. 7 of 2006 for real estate registration, the jurisdiction of RDC extends to:

• All rental disputes arising between tenants and landlords located in the Emirate of Dubai;
• Counterclaims as well as requests for ad interim or expeditious action from either party to the tenancy agreement; and
• Appeals from decisions and judgments in accordance with the provisions of the decree

OVERVIEW: Process and Procedures

RDC consists of two sectors: JUDICIAL and ADMINISTRATIVE. Administrative sector is mandated to provide technical and administrative support for the judicial sector. Judicial sector comprises of the following departments:

1. Arbitration and Reconciliation Department is tasked for rental dispute settlements amicably within 15 days, unless otherwise extended by the supervising judge. Once the parties reach a settlement, an official settlement agreement will be issued which will be executory in nature. In the event that parties failed to reach an amicable settlement, the dispute will be elevated to the First Instance Department.
2. Department of First Instance consist of committees. These committees shall determine and decide if a rental dispute falls within the jurisdiction of RDC. The First Instance judgments are appealable to the Appeal Department within 15 days from the date following the issuance of the judgment.
3. Department of Appeal committees shall adjudicate appeals (only if rent claim is more than AED 100,000, except if it falls under special circumstances pursuant to Article 17(1) of Law No. 26 of 2013) filed against decisions issued by the First Instance Department unless otherwise its outside the realm of its jurisdiction. The judgments issued by the Appeal Department are final and executory.
4. Law Enforcement Department will execute and enforce all final judgments decreed by the First Instance and Appeal departments.

DOCUMENTATIONS AND FEES

Supporting documents required by the Centre includes:

• Claimant’s Emirates ID or Passport or Company’s commercial license
• Original Tenancy Agreement
• Copies of cheques given to the landlord (if any) or Statement of Accounts
• Notarized Power of Attorney issued by the party to its authorized representative (if any)

Rental dispute cases brought before the Centre generally involve fees of:

• 5% of the annual rent of the leased property (no less than AED 250 BUT NOT MORE THAN AED 20,000)
• Other fees such as: deposit of rent with RDC, expert’s fees, notice publication in the event the other party fails to show up during hearings)

CONCLUSION

As the judicial arm aimed to ascertain rental disputes in a speedy, systematic and bringing about steadiness in regards to tenancy relationship and matters concerning between the landlords and tenants, RDC is committed to continued upgrade of its working mechanism that enables rental parties to ascertain their legal positions and guides them in the legal proceedings at various stage until the finality or resolution of rental disputes within the Emirate of Dubai. For other legal queries regarding property law in Dubai UAE, Contact trusted lawyers in Dubai UAE and set an appointment.