Question: I have served my tenant in Dubai with a 12-month eviction notice that is notarised. The reason submitted was to sell the property. Can I put the property on the short-term rental market such as Airbnb if the selling price is not achieved?
My understanding is that I am barred from putting the property on the long-term rental market (Real Estate Regulatory Authority-registered) for a period of two years.
Further, can the eviction notice be cancelled and the property be offered to the tenant again if I decide to continue with a long-term lease? RK, Abu Dhabi
Answer: If you have requested an eviction for the reason of selling and you do not sell the property, the best way to continue would be to request a no objection certificate from the outgoing tenant stating they have no opposition to you re-letting on a short-term basis.
If you decide to let the property long term, you should offer the unit to the original tenant. If the tenant does not take you up on your offer, they need to put in writing that they do not have any grievance with you letting the property on long-term rent. However, I stress that they ought to be given first refusal before going ahead with any other arrangement.
Q: I own a property in Dubai. I want to know by how much I can increase rent after my tenant vacates next September. TI, Dubai
A: If you have a property you wish to rent and if it is vacant, you can charge the current market rent. This information can be sourced by either speaking to a broker who is an area specialist within your community, or you can get an idea by visiting property portals such as Property Finder or Bayut.
Q: I gave my tenant one year’s notice (through registered mail) to vacate the property as I wanted to move in. A month before the expiry of the tenancy, in May, she requested that I extend for another four months due to a medical condition. I reluctantly agreed and we signed a four-month tenancy extension, with a higher rent, at current market value.
Now, two weeks before the expiry of her tenancy extension, she says she wants to renew for another 12 months. I have offered to renew at the monthly rate she is currently paying, but she is refusing to accept this and wants a reduction. I no longer need the property as I made other plans after she extended by four months.
Given that we are only two weeks from the expiry of her four-month lease extension, if she continues to occupy the property without signing a new tenancy agreement, does the law require her to continue paying the current monthly rent? If so, how does one enforce this?
Alternatively, can I evict her for staying in the apartment without a valid tenancy agreement? MA, Dubai
A: Technically speaking and unless otherwise agreed, a tenancy contract renews automatically on the same terms and conditions as before.
However, there is potentially a problem with this statement in your case, because the previous 12-month contract was on a specific rent and the four-month extension was set on a higher rent.
Therefore, the key to the new 12-month contract lies with any agreement you both can reach. If none can be reached, the only way to sort your differences would be a decision from a judge at the Rental Dispute Settlement Committee.
I suspect that they will refer you both to the Dubai Land Department rental index for guidance, but ultimately it will be up to the judge to decide. However, one of you will have to file a case in the first place to engage with a judge.
Mario Volpi is head of brokerage at Novvi Properties and has worked in the property sector for 40 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@novviproperties.com
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Tomorrow 2021
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The biog
Favourite book: Men are from Mars Women are from Venus
Favourite travel destination: Ooty, a hill station in South India
Hobbies: Cooking. Biryani, pepper crab are her signature dishes
Favourite place in UAE: Marjan Island
BRIEF SCORES
England 353 and 313-8 dec
(B Stokes 112, A Cook 88; M Morkel 3-70, K Rabada 3-85)
(J Bairstow 63, T Westley 59, J Root 50; K Maharaj 3-50)
South Africa 175 and 252
(T Bavuma 52; T Roland-Jones 5-57, J Anderson 3-25)
(D Elgar 136; M Ali 4-45, T Roland-Jones 3-72)
Result: England won by 239 runs
England lead four-match series 2-1
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Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
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Plastic tipping point
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
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Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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The bio
Studied up to grade 12 in Vatanappally, a village in India’s southern Thrissur district
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Explained
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RESULT
Manchester United 2 Burnley 2
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Burnley: Barnes (3'), Defour (36')
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It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
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