Over 50% increase in rent dispute cases

Even with the new five per cent cap on rent increases from January this year, the number of cases has not gone down. The Rent Committee has been receiving an average of 30 cases a day.

The Dubai rent committee has recorded a 53 per cent increase in the rent dispute cases in the last year. It received around 7,200 cases in 2007, compared to 4,700 cases in 2006.

"The situation is the same now, but we hope that the cases will reduce later this year due to the new rent cap law," Mohammad Al Shaikh, secretary general of the Dubai rent committee, told Gulf News.

However, he said the trend is changing, and there has been a significant increase in cases being filed by landlords to evict tenants.

"The rent committee has been busy for the past year due to an increasing number of cases. We had to form two committees to dispose of the cases," he said. Both committees meet four times a week, from Sunday to Wednesday, and hear more than 30 cases every day.

"Most eviction cases are filed by landlords of old buildings who want to renovate or demolish buildings," he said.

Tricks

Al Shaikh said the rent committee takes a decision on eviction only after conducting a survey of the old buildings. "We do check whether the landlord is using 'renovation' as a trick or he really needs tenants to leave," he said.

But, he said enough time is given to tenants even if the building has to be demolished and they always have the first right to come back to the building after renovation or rebuilding.

Al Shaikh clarified that the rent committee's role is to implement the rent laws and not to formulate them. "We make sure that rent cap law is implemented in letter and spirit," he said.

He confirmed that a comprehensive new rent law to manage rent disputes and put in place the increasing needs of Dubai's residential and commercial market is expected soon. "We will work in accordance with the new law once it is officially introduced," he said.

Gulf News earlier reported that Dubai Government will soon announce a tenancy law that will redefine the relationship between tenant and landlord, manage rent disputes and put in place a comprehensive legal framework for Dubai's growing rental market.

The law will also specify the rules of subletting and bachelor accommodation.

Seeking recourse: How to tackle a hike

Tenants in Dubai whose rents were increased last year cannot be asked to pay an increase this year, said a senior official.

Mohammad Al Shaikh, secretary general of the Dubai rent committee, said that rents of tenants whose rents were increased last year or who signed their new contract last year cannot be increased, even by five per cent.

Also, if a tenant receives a rent hike notice mentioning an increase of more than five per cent, he or she should write a letter to the landlord or real estate agent mentioning the five per cent rent cap law. If they do not agree, then they should go to the rent committee and file a case.

The rent committee takes action on rent disputes only if a tenant or a landlord formally files a complaint with the committee. The complainant has to deposit a fee of 3.5 per cent of the total rent amount. The fee is adjusted in the rent in case a tenant wins the case.