A landlord may terminate a tenancy contract under contractual provisions that have been expressly agreed between them. Depending on what has been agreed, there may a landlord-only break option, a tenant only break option or a mutual break option whereby either party can terminate the contract subject to conditions being met. This article is written to ensure that you are aware of the rights you hold as a tenant , and to avoid being unfairly forced out of any property by landowners. In order to ensure this doesn’t happen , you can contact real estate advocates and legal advisors to make sure that you are being treated fairly by your landlord.
The 2008 Landlord and Tenant Law states clearly that if a landlord wishes to evict their tenant, the landlord is obliged to serve their eviction notice through the notary public or through registered mail . It also the landlord’s obligation to provide reasons for the eviction
Eviction Prior to Expiry of Lease
There are 9 reasons for which the landlord is entitled to evict their tenant prior to the expiry of their lease. Which are stated below:
1. In the event the tenant fails to pay rent even after thirty days of notifying the tenant of the rent due;
2. The tenant sublets the property without the landlord’s consent;
3. If the leased property is used for illegal purposes that violate public order and moral;
4. In the event the leased premises is a commercial premises, and the premises is left vacant for thirty consecutive days or for a period of ninety non-consecutive days in one year;
5. The tenant’s actions cause changes to the premises that endangers the safety of the premises, or causes damage to the premises as a result of an intentional or gross negligence act;
6. The premises is used for purposes other than those for which it has been leased, or their use violates the planning and building regulations of Dubai;
7. If the premises in question is in desperate repair as shown and proven by a technical report approved by Dubai Municipality;
8. In the event the tenant fails to abide by a legal obligation or by a term found in the lease contract even after providing the tenant with a thirty-day notice to abide by agreement or law; and
9. The government requires the demolition of the premises.
Eviction Upon Expiry of Lease
Even when a tenant’s lease expires, landlords can only evict their tenants under certain circumstances which are stated below
1. The landlord desires to demolish the premises in order to reconstruct it, or add new buildings and this addition will deprive the tenant from benefiting from the leased premises, provided that the landlord obtained the relevant approvals;
2. The condition of the leased premises requires renovation or extensive maintenance, and such work cannot be carried out while the tenant is in use; provided that a technical report approved by Dubai Municipality is obtained to show the need of renovation;
3. The landlord desires to occupy the leased premises for their own use or by any member of their family up to the first degree, provided that the landlord does not own any other similar suitable property; and
4. The landlord desires to sell the leased premises.
If the owner plans to evict a tenant from a property because they intend to use it for family or personal use, they need to serve an eviction notice of minimum 12 months through a notary . This is in accordance with Article 25(2)(c) of the Amended Dubai Tenancy Law, which states: “Upon expiry of the Rent Contract, the Landlord may seek eviction of the Tenant from the Real Property only if:
c. the Real Property owner wishes to retake possession of the Real Property for his own use or for use by any of his first-degree relatives, provided that the owner proves that he does not own any alternative Real Property that is suitable for this purpose;
The same notice period of 12 months must be given to tenants if the landlord wants to evacuate the premises due to maintenance or demolition plans . According to the Dubai Land Department(DLD) , the landlord can ask a tenant to vacate the property if:
• Maintenance or restoration work is so substantial that it would be impossible to complete while the tenant is still present.
• In the same way, the landlord might ask residents to leave if the building has to be demolished. In both circumstances, they must present a technical report from the appropriate authorities, such as the Dubai Municipality or a government department, and notify the tenants via a Notary Public notice.
What If My Landlord Is forcing me leave the property without proper notice?
If your landlord continues to request that you move out, you should inform him that you will file a case at the Rental Dispute Settlement Committee (RDSC). If he has not given you proper notice , then you still have the right to renew the contract .
The landlord cannot force you to vacate the property and let the property to someone else shortly after. If you do move out and find out that the landlord has let the property to someone else, you would therefore be entitled to compensation through the RDSC.
Laws have been placed to ensure that neither the landlord nor tenant is allowed to abuse their power as landlords are given the right to increase rent whilst tenants are given the right to not be evicted from the property unless there is a valid reason stated by the law which can be found above. Tenants should familiarize themselves with Law No.33 of 2008 of the Landlord and Tenant Law to avoid paying unnecessary expenditures by submitting their disagreement to the RDC. In order to ensure that there is no unfair play when evicting tenants or when you are being evicted by a tenant, you should seek the advice of a real estate advocates and legal professionals.
