Changes in eviction notifications are causing concern among residents of Dubai.

Eviction notices in Dubai can be valid for tenants even when property ownership changes, as confirmed by rental dispute cases. The latest court ruling addressed to the Dubai Rental Dispute Center (RDC) indicates that an eviction notice can be transferred from the property seller to the new buyer. Previously, new owners purchasing a property with an existing tenant were required to request a new eviction notice for 12 months, even if a notice had already been provided to the tenant through a notary. This created an opportunity for the tenant to provide, for example, an 11-month eviction notice, only to add another 12-month eviction notice if the property was sold to a new buyer. When a buyer needs to occupy the property, this is a step in the right direction for such buyers and allows for a reassessment of the market balance, said Mario Volpi, sales director at AX Capital real estate in Dubai.

However, while Article 25 of Law 33 from 2008 regarding eviction notices remains unchanged, the way this law is interpreted in court has changed, so that the notice is tied to the property, and both parties are protected. Lyudmila Yamalova, managing partner of the law firm HPL Yamalova and Plewka, stated that the new interpretation provides stability. "At the end of summer 2023, we saw the first case in the RDC that applied a different interpretation [of evictions]," she said. "Since then, there have been at least 10 cases where the eviction notice was ultimately tied to the property, rather than being limited to just the person who issued it. You want to provide some stability, but you don't want to restrict investors so much that it no longer makes sense to own property. If you are truly an investor, if you want to make money, you have the opportunity to receive an eviction notice for 12 months to manage the property. You can rely on this notice to ensure that everyone is protected. This achieves the right balance."

Lyudmila Yamalova states that the method of providing eviction notices in Dubai ensures stability. A landlord can terminate the contract if the eviction notice is properly served through a notary at least 12 months in advance. Any decision made in the RDC can be appealed and does not always serve as a precedent for similar cases in the future. In the current rapidly developing housing market with soaring rents, Dubai's tenants and property owners have often found themselves at odds. The Dubai Land Department and the Real Estate Regulatory Agency have clear guidelines that protect tenants from unscrupulous landlords and ensure stability in the rising real estate market. "The law is interpreted in such a way that every ordinary relationship is automatically renewed under the same conditions, unless there is a violation of the law or unless the parties wish to sell the property or move," added Ms.

By law, landlords are allowed to increase rent in accordance with the government index, taking into account the average rent for similar properties. These rules apply only to Dubai, as each emirate has its own real estate market regulations. The Dubai Rent Index is an online calculator that allows tenants to check current market rates. If the current rent differs by 10 percent from the average rent for similar properties in the same area, the rent cannot be increased. If it is 11% to 20% lower, the rent can be increased by a maximum of 5%, and by 10% if the tenant is paying 21% to 30% below the market rate.

Landlords must notify tenants 90 days in advance of any changes to the contract, including the amount of annual rent. If a landlord increases the rent outside of the rental index or issues an eviction notice for unauthorized reasons, tenants can contest the action through the RDC. Dr. Hassan Elhais, a legal consultant at Awatif Mohammad Shoqi Advocates & Legal Consultancy, stated that the conditions for eviction are clear. "There are specific reasons for which a landlord can request eviction after the lease term ends," he said. "These include the reconstruction of the property, restoration that cannot be carried out while the tenant is continuously residing there, personal use by the owner or their close relatives, or the sale of the property. In this case, notice must be given at least 12 months before the eviction date via a notary or registered mail."

“The validity of the notice can be challenged by the tenant if the notice was improperly served through a notary or registered mail, if the minimum notice period was not respected, or if the reasons stated in the notice were not valid reasons permissible by law, or were untrue.” Real estate experts say that more and more people in Dubai are seeking to purchase their own homes to avoid conflicts with landlords. In the first nine months of 2023, Dubai recorded 116,116 new real estate transactions worth over 429.6 billion dirhams (117 billion dollars), an increase in transactions of about 40 percent over 12 months. “Rental laws in the UAE are not based on precedent, and it is 100 percent dependent on the judge of the day, depending on the case. Sometimes you may have two identical cases with different outcomes,” said Mario Volpi, sales director at AX Capital real estate in Dubai. “The market is definitely moving towards a much larger number of end-users...”

The news was published on February 7, 2024, at 10:27 AM.