UAE legal Q&As: Unscrupulous agent has left me with sizeable hotel bill

And abuse of internet networks by others - who is responsible?

I recently moved to Abu Dhabi, where I met an estate agent about a studio in Reem Village. I made a down payment of Dh6,000 and was given the tenancy contract. However, the agent told me the studio was not ready and, in the meantime, offered me accommodation in a hotel at the agency's expense until the unit was ready. Three weeks later, after I became suspicious about the situation, I reported it to police. The tenancy contract was not legitimate and the agent has disappeared. Now the hotel is asking me to pay for my month stay or else they will not check me out. The room is in my name but payment terms were agreed between the agent and the hotel – I had nothing to do with it. Does the law protect me in this case?

The room is booked in your name and you are responsible. The hotel could claim the money from the rogue agent if he was available but as he’s not, it could submit a fraud claim against him and you. You should check out as soon as possible and limit the amount you have to pay for the room. No agreement between the hotel and the agent is valid as long as the booking is in your name.

If someone connects to my internet network at home (with or without my consent) and does bad things online without my knowledge that are punishable by law, am I held accountable for their actions? Can the internet provider suspend my connection, or file a lawsuit against me?

Regardless of who uses your internet connection, you are the person liable for any illegal activity, as per Decree No 5 of 2012 on cyber crime. You should take what measures you can to protect your network and contact your internet service provider for advice.

Yousef Al Bahar is an advocate at Al Bahar and Associates Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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