My family moved in to a new apartment in Dubai a month ago. The unit faces the road and the sound of traffic is bothering us. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since and my baby cries all night because of the noise, which is worse in the evenings.
Can I cancel the contract and get another apartment without paying a penalty? BO, Dubai
I would initially ask you to look carefully at your tenancy agreement, especially at any clauses that pertain to cancelling the contract early and see what can be done. Secondly, I would request a meeting with the landlord, ideally in your apartment so they can experience the noise pollution first-hand that you are referring too.
Obviously, if there is a compensation clause for the landlord when breaking the contract early, this has to be adhered to. If this compensation is too much for you to pay, you can always explain that the apartment doesn’t fulfill your right to quiet enjoyment and that you only found this out when you moved in.
A tenant has the right to quiet enjoyment of a rented property and if this is the issue, technically you should be able to cancel without any penalties. Proving this point to the landlord will be challenging as obviously they will have another opinion.
If you cannot afford any penalty amount or you cannot get an agreement in order to move out without further losses, unfortunately your only other avenue would be to file a case with the rental dispute committee in Dubai. Of course, the cost to do so can be a prohibitive factor to consider but often a winning case gets awarded costs too.
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I read an article of yours dated July 31, 2019, titled ‘Homefront: Should Dubai tenants give 90 days’ notice before moving out?’ You have said that: “One very important point is that despite what the law states, the initial default position is what your tenancy contract actually states. If you have a clause within the agreement that says you should give a certain amount of notice (when not renewing), this needs to be adhered to.”
My tenancy contract states the following: “If the tenant wishes to vacate the subject of tenancy or wants to leave the town, he should officially inform the landlord and obtain his consent. If the tenant leaves without informing the landlord, the landlord has the right to open the premises in his capacity as the legal owner, and the tenant has no objection or claim in the future.”
I issued a vacating notice to my landlord and was seeking his acknowledgement, but instead he turned me down and said I have to pay a penalty of two months’ worth of annual rent since my contract expires on February 12, 2021.
Is my landlord right in doing this or should I just leave without him acknowledging my notice? I don't want any legal consequences for my decision. CG, Dubai
As long as you leave at the expiry of the contract and you depart in the proper way such as pay all outstanding utility bills and return the property as it was given to you, the landlord cannot enforce you to pay this penalty
I maintain what I mentioned before, that when not renewing, a tenant does not have to give two months’ notice unless the contract states so in order to leave the rented property. It is, of course, good practice to inform the owner and give them as much notice as possible as often landlords are not aware of this rule, so they will not be happy when tenants just move out at the end of their tenancy agreement.
Your contract states that you must inform the landlord and obtain consent to move out. This is not a reasonable clause as no tenant can be held to ransom like this. However, as long as you leave at the expiry of the contract and you depart in the proper way such as pay all outstanding utility bills and return the property as it was given to you, the landlord cannot enforce you to pay this penalty.
The landlord will, of course, not agree so your only recourse would be to file a case with the rental dispute committee in Dubai. This will obviously take a bit of time and attract a cost of 3.5 per cent of the rental amount to open the case. Given the circumstances, your case should be successful. Unless your contract states you have to give two months’ notice for not renewing, technically you can leave at the end of your contract.
Mario Volpi is the sales and leasing manager at Engel & Volkers. He has worked in the property sector for more than 35 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.volpi@engelvoelkers.com
PAST 10 BRITISH GRAND PRIX WINNERS
2016 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
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England squad
Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Dominic Bess, James Bracey, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Ben Foakes, Lewis Gregory, Keaton Jennings, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Amar Virdi, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Rooney's club record
At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17
At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
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On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The specs
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Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
Brief scores:
Manchester City 3
Bernardo Silva 16', Sterling 57', Gundogan 79'
Bournemouth 1
Wilson 44'
Man of the match: Leroy Sane (Manchester City)
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Neymar's bio
Total club appearances 411
Total goals scored 241
Appearances for Barca 186
Goals scored for Barca 105
Lowest Test scores
26 - New Zealand v England at Auckland, March 1955
30 - South Africa v England at Port Elizabeth, Feb 1896
30 - South Africa v England at Birmingham, June 1924
35 - South Africa v England at Cape Town, April 1899
36 - South Africa v Australia at Melbourne, Feb. 1932
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36 - India v Australia at Adelaide, Dec. 2020
38 - Ireland v England at Lord's, July 2019
42 - New Zealand v Australia in Wellington, March 1946
42 - Australia v England in Sydney, Feb. 1888
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
