Question: I renewed my tenancy contract on September 20. While signing the contract, the landlord, a real estate company, made me sign a document asking me to vacate the premises next year. I was forced to sign this document to renew and receive my contract. Is the document valid?
I would like to renew my lease next year as well. SD, Dubai
Answer: Any signed agreement between two parties is valid, as long as the agreement is still in place. In your case, you can prove that you were forced to sign it to renew the contract, which is illegal as all tenancy contracts are renewable unless otherwise agreed.
There are four reasons that the landlord can use to evict you. These are stated in the law as: to sell the property, to move in themselves or for a first-degree next of kin to move in, for extensive modernisation, and for demolition. For these four reasons, the landlord would have to give the tenant 12 months’ notice of the eviction.
I would suggest you file a case at the Rental Dispute Settlement Committee in the Dubai Land Department building in Deira. State that you were forced to sign the document against your wishes and that you do not agree with its contents now as you would wish to renew for the following year, too.
The rent committee judge of the day will decide the outcome. However, I suspect your case will be viewed favourably, so hopefully you will be able to stay on in the property for years to come.
Q: After saving for many years, I bought a property in a new Dubai community. It’s still off-plan and I am paying as per construction milestones. I bought the unit in 2023.
My family and I have already started making plans to move into the property in 2025 and secured admission for our children in a school in the same community.
However, considering the property boom in Dubai, the price of my unit has appreciated tremendously. I am receiving attractive offers from real estate brokers on a daily basis.
I am torn between retaining the unit as an owner-occupier and selling it to make a big profit. What should I do? Please advise. PB, Dubai
A: Assuming you are buying this off-plan unit as your next home, I would continue with your original plan and take handover of it in 2025.
If the property price continues to rise (as I’m expecting) and you want to invest in future units to gain a further foothold on the property market, you can always remortgage the unit once handed over and take out the equity as the down payment on another property.
You can, of course, sell the property now if you have achieved a very good offer. However, I assume you will still need to live somewhere, in which case you’d have to buy again. This could delay your move-in date if the property was off-plan again. Or you could cash out but move into rented accommodation and wait to see what the property market does in the future.
Most analysts are not expecting a downturn in the property market anytime soon, so cashing out now, moving into rented accommodation and waiting could be risky as you would be out of the market.
Either way, it’s your choice but I would do my research and due diligence before moving ahead.
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
Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in a Divided World by Michael Ignatieff
Harvard University Press
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 502hp at 7,600rpm
Torque: 637Nm at 5,150rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh317,671
On sale: now
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
Pox that threatens the Middle East's native species
Camelpox
Caused by a virus related to the one that causes human smallpox, camelpox typically causes fever, swelling of lymph nodes and skin lesions in camels aged over three, but the animal usually recovers after a month or so. Younger animals may develop a more acute form that causes internal lesions and diarrhoea, and is often fatal, especially when secondary infections result. It is found across the Middle East as well as in parts of Asia, Africa, Russia and India.
Falconpox
Falconpox can cause a variety of types of lesions, which can affect, for example, the eyelids, feet and the areas above and below the beak. It is a problem among captive falcons and is one of many types of avian pox or avipox diseases that together affect dozens of bird species across the world. Among the other forms are pigeonpox, turkeypox, starlingpox and canarypox. Avipox viruses are spread by mosquitoes and direct bird-to-bird contact.
Houbarapox
Houbarapox is, like falconpox, one of the many forms of avipox diseases. It exists in various forms, with a type that causes skin lesions being least likely to result in death. Other forms cause more severe lesions, including internal lesions, and are more likely to kill the bird, often because secondary infections develop. This summer the CVRL reported an outbreak of pox in houbaras after rains in spring led to an increase in mosquito numbers.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
The%C2%A0specs%20
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E6-cylinder%2C%204.8-litre%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E5-speed%20automatic%20and%20manual%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E280%20brake%20horsepower%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E451Nm%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh153%2C00%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
TOURNAMENT INFO
Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
