I have recently moved out of my apartment. I provided the rental agency in charge of the apartment with more than 60 days notice. As the agreed upon move out date approached I received zero instruction from the agency, so I contacted them to ask where I should deliver the keys, parking garage security cards, etc. The agency then emailed me a list of instructions six hours before my lease was about to expire. One of these was to submit a clearance letter from ADDC Abu Dhabi Distribution Company (ADDC). As this was a weekend, and the agency gave me such short notice to obtain the letter I could not get it for the actual move out date. However, the ADDC account was disconnected and transferred to my new apartment before the expiration of my lease. After the two business days that it takes to acquire the clearance letter I submitted it to the rental agency. The agency now claims I must pay them rent money for each day that passed that I did not submit the letter, despite the clearance letter stating that the account was closed prior to the specified end of lease date. Is it legal to charge a tenant daily rent based on a clearance letter not being submitted, even if the ADDC account was terminated prior to the end of lease? Also after moving out, the agency did not allow me to attend the inspection of the apartment despite my repeated phone calls and visits to the building. A week later I received an email listing some minor damages and charges. What recourse if any do I have to negotiate the cost of these “damages”. JC, Abu Dhabi
Every tenant has to have a clearance letter to ensure that there are no outstanding liabilities on the account after vacating; this information should be given to you by the agent or competent person in case you were not aware of this. Some real estate agencies have a lot to answer for and their level of efficiency leaves a lot to be desired. Given that the information about the clearance letter was not provided to you in a timely manner, you should challenge this two-day rent demand. I assume you do not have access to the actual landlord because I think you need to speak directly to this person in the hope he/she can see your point. The return of the deposit is the subject of many complaining letters written to me. The fact is that the property has to be returned to the landlord in the same condition as it was given to the tenant in the first place. However, to be denied access to the handover inspection smacks of incompetence again on behalf of the agency. I would seriously weigh up all the costs against the loss of part of the deposit and the two days’ rent that is being claimed to see if it is worth taking the matter further.
If a landlord has not collected the rent for a long time, even after repetitive phone reminders, is not possible the landlord might later claim that I have not paid my rent on time and initiate process to evict me from the house. How can I prove that indeed I was ready to pay and had been reminding the landlord several times through to take the rent? MM, Dubai
The situation you find yourself in is actually quite common. To counter balance this you are therefore allowed to lodge the rent cheques at either Dubai Municipality office or at the rent committee; this way it is proven that you were not withholding the rent. The office gets in touch with the landlord to inform him they have the rent cheques and he then goes to collect them from there.
I own a property in Discovery Gardens and gave my tenant a Dubai Courts’ Notary Public notice last year. The reason given on the eviction notice was because I am selling the property. However, I haven’t been able to sell my property because I haven’t been offered the price I was looking for. If my tenant doesn’t vacate the property, can I open a case against my tenant in the Rental Dispute and Settlement Centre? ZA, Dubai
I assume you have sent the 12 months notification notice to vacate at the correct time. As per law 33 of 2008, the notification has to be sent upon expiry of the tenancy agreement. If the notification was not sent at this time, there is a possibility that your tenant (if he opens a case against you) might actually be allowed to stay on until you send the notification correctly ie upon expiry of the tenancy agreement. You can also try your luck and file a case against the tenant yourself, (for not vacating) but the judge’s interpretation of law 33 of 2008 is all that matters.
Mario Volpi is the managing director of Ocean View Real Estate and has worked in the industry in the emirate and in London for the past 30 years. Send any questions to mario@oceanviewdubai.com
The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information.
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