Dubai landlord defrauded by real estate agency

Landlord who was conned by fake real estate management company must turn to the rental committee or the police for help, advises Mario Volpi.

Mario Volpi advises a landlord who has two properties in Dubai Marina. Razan Alzayani / The National

I am a landlord of two apartments in Dubai Marina. I handed my apartments through a rental agreement over to a real estate management company at Dh110,000 and Dh95,000 respectively and received three cheques from them. One of them has cleared but now I have heard that they have closed down their offices. On inquiring, I was shocked to discover that they have rented my apartments at much lower values in one and two cheques. There are people at their offices in a similar situation to myself whose cheques have bounced. I’m assuming my cheques will also be returned. Please advise what I should do, IS, Dubai

Sadly you have been a victim of fraud by the agent company and you need to file a case at the rental committee against them. However, I suspect that if the company has closed down, it will be difficult to file such a case. Your other option is to try to negotiate with your occupiers who, let’s not forget, have actually paid rent to stay at the property, albeit not to the right person. If all the above proves useless, your only option would be to file a case against the company with the police.

My 12-month tenancy expires on July 26, 2015. On December 18 last year, I received a letter by registered post that gave me 12 months' notice to vacate the property as the owner needed the property for "personal use". Does this mean I have 12 months to vacate from December 18 2014 or should I get 12 months' notice from the expiry date of my contract (July 26, 2015)? In other words, should I move out in December this year or do I get the right to renew for 12 months from July? I have subsequently received a text message from the landlord that says that they will renew my contract until December this year as they are putting the house on the market. I have not responded to any correspondence yet as I want to know my rights. LB, Dubai

Law 33 of 2008, Article 25, section 2 clearly states that for certain reasons and wishing to gain possession for own (landlord) use or selling the property, the landlord has to give 12 months’ notice upon expiration of the tenancy contract.

So your landlord cannot request your eviction from the date of their 12 months’ notice in December as this notice was given at the wrong time. They have to give the 12 months’ notice from the July date, so you will be lawfully requested to leave from July 25, 2016.

My landlord announced at the end of the first year of my tenancy that he wished to sell the apartment. He gave me a 12-month eviction notice saying that we should vacate by June 15, 2015 (when the lease ends), as he wanted to sell. I contacted him a few days ago (he lives abroad) as nobody had come to see the apartment so far. He said he had changed his mind about selling and that if we wanted to stay on for another year, he was prepared to extend the lease for another year but that he wanted a 5 per cent increase in rent. I checked on the Rera website and it confirmed that no rent increase was applicable to the apartment. Can I insist on a renewal with no rent increase? The landlord has been decent and we have a good relationship, though I have never set eyes on him in my life. SM, Dubai

You are absolutely correct in your assumption that if the Rera calculator states no increase, then your landlord is not entitled to an increase. Any changes to the contract, including wishing to renew, have to be communicated to either party giving 90 days’ notice, normally in writing (email is sufficient). As he no longer wishes to sell he cannot enforce the 12-month vacating notice, so if you wish to renew he will have to renew with you at last year’s rental amount.

Mario Volpi is the managing director of Ocean View Real Estate and has worked in the industry in the emirate and in London for the past 30 years. Send any questions to [e-mail]

The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only. Readers are encouraged to seek appropriate independent legal advice