UAE Property: ‘My landlord’s eviction notice doesn’t seem to be legit’

Question: My landlord sent me an eviction notice on December 24 by email giving me one year’s notice and his reason for eviction is to sell the property. The eviction letter was not from a notary public or registered mail. It was a PDF document signed by him. I replied saying that if he wanted to sell, I would like to buy. He said I must not plan on anything. I think he does not want to sell, but rather rent out for more. I contacted the Real Estate Regulatory Agency and they advised me to open a case because he cannot just send me an email. Why can’t I just renew my lease if he has not followed the law? Am I missing something? I do not want to move out. RM, Dubai Answer: It is true that any eviction notice sent other than by notary public or registered mail can be regarded as invalid, so you can go about your business as normal. The landlord is not allowed to refuse renewal if that is what you want to do, but unfortunately, the only way to force him to renew is through the rent dispute settlement committee. Rera was correct in what they advised you, so to get justice I assume you will have to go through this procedure and file a case there. Ignorance of the law is no defence, so your landlord will get to know this once you file the case, that’s assuming you cannot convince him to renew in the meantime. Q: I am currently renting a studio apartment in Dubai and the lease is due for renewal on August 15, 2024. I got the apartment for Dh20,000 a year. Last June, my landlord sold the unit. My new landlord reached out last week and asked if I intend to renew my lease. He wanted to increase the rent to Dh30,000 stating that the market price has gone up. That is a sharp increase from my old budget. As per Rera, the landlord can increase up to 15 per cent if the current rent is 40 per cent less than the market value. Therefore, I asked if we can renew for Dh23,000, maximum Dh24,000. However, the new landlord claims that this is only applicable for renewal to the old landlord and insisted on Dh30,000 renewal price. Is he right in saying that this rental index rule does not apply in my situation? IP, Dubai A: There are a few things to consider. The first is that the landlord must communicate in writing for any changes to the contract giving at least 90 days’ notice of the same. You say that your old landlord sold the unit in June but when did the buyer become your new landlord? If he wants to increase the rent, he must inform you giving you at least 90 days’ notice of this change to your existing contract. The second point is that it doesn’t matter who your landlord is, the law doesn’t change and in fact, when the unit was bought with you residing in it as a tenant, the new landlord took over your tenancy contract and all the terms and conditions within it in its entirety as previously agreed with your old landlord. He can only make changes to the contract if he communicates those in writing by giving you the 90 days’ notice from the expiration date, in your case 90 days before August 15. If this date is missed, then as per the law, he is not entitled to any rent increase even if the rental calculator states an increase is allowed. It’s all about the notice, so please check if he is within the 90 days and did communicate his wish in writing to you within the time frame needed because the law states that the increase is only allowed as per the Land Department rental index. Renewals are based on this matrix, not market rates. Market rates are for vacant units and yours is not vacant as you live there. 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