mikewot

http://www.dubai.ae/en/Lists/HowToGu...orm.aspx?ID=24

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-n...-as-much-as-50

http://www.timeoutdubai.com/aroundto...2#.UbR1yvkzOvM

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=608657

Ethos83

Hi Kitty,

Sorry you're going through this.

The LL is banking on your not willing to put up with the hassles to get you to agree to a 5k rental increase. Remember, he's an arrogant bastard, doesn't care about you and doesn't care about the laws. He's managed to get you to pay top dollar for your flat for the last few years, above comparable market rates. There's nothing fair going on here.

Take a few hours off from work. Gather all your paperwork and all correspondences with the landlord, go to RERA and have them officially advise you if you have a case.

They will most likely say that you do have a case. At that point notify the landlord that RERA recommends you are in the right and that the LL can't raise the rent. Try to have something official in writing from RERA.

Then wait for their reaction. See if the LL backs down.

If not, you can open up a case against them. However, at that point it'll be up to you to decide if you want to put up with the hassles and time involved. Remember, your landlord is banking on you not wanting to do so to get you to agree to an illegal rent increase.

Mogs

This is a a copy of an email I got my previous landlord when I threatened him with the Rent Committee back in 2008....

"Dear Mr Mogs,
I talked to Dr Albanna who is deputy chairman of Rent Committee and is
judge
in the committee.I asked him about your reason that you only stayed in
my
villa for one year and he told me that law is superseded and is not
applicable any more .Therefore its better you don,t waste your money
and to
vacate my villa
as per contract.
Regards
W*anker Landlord"

I took him to the Rent Committee and won my case. I loved his line that that the law was superseded and not applicable any more.

Scratcher

Kitty, I went through a similar experience several years back in Dubai. The landlord was a complete sh1t and three months before renewal he sent to me in writing a demand for 10% increase in rent or move out. He was completely unreasonable and rude. So I decided to string him along by refusing to accept his demands, threatening RERA etc, while at the same time finding somewhere else to live.

I moved apartment in the last week of my contract and then called him 2 days before renewal to confirm I couldn't pay the increase so I would leave as per his correspondence. He immediately offered to lower the price, or payment by more cheques, all of which I told him i was not interested in and left him with an empty flat which took him months to rent again.

In the end I was happy because I found a better place to live, a better landlord, and I left the tw*t with an empty apartment losing him money.

Scratcher

LaLaLayla

Some of these landlords are just so greedy. We know about 5 families from the Springs we live in who have been forced to move this year due to unreasonable rent increases. All of those villas are still emtpy. Serves the greedy b*st*rds right.

LaLaLayla

Mogs, that hilarious

Greenways

So its now my turn, contract is due for renewal at end of October, I called agent asking to renew. We pay 150K for 3 bed in Marina which is, I accept a good price.
We might have accepted a 5% increase - even although they are not due it according to RERA..

Got notice today, asking for 170K. Mikewot I copied and pasted your earlier post to Kittycat into my email and sent it back, thank you.

I'm just waiting for a response.

Only issues are - contract in my husbands name and his company pays the rent (don't think this is a real issue, I'll negotiate and then they will pay). Also the RERA calculator is being updated for can't get figures for after the end of august. Ive emailed RERA to ask (using email address on calculator) but think a response is unlikely.

mikewot

Yeah the calculator seems to be stuck after the end of the month. For anyone else now when you go to the rental calculator there is a link to the 3 relevant laws on the right hand side.

Meow

Rather amusingly, our LL's representative has just asked us for an increase for a renewal that is due in six weeks. Really picked the wrong person to mess with...

OleJanx

Oh dear! He really has just poked a hornet's nest with a sharp stick, hasn't he?

Robajob

I look forward to reading all about it.

Meow

Well, those columns don't write themselves you know!




My 250th column will be published on Saturday. That's an awful of words over the years.

Blue Cat

Congratulations are in order for that achievement

Saff_Parker

A question I wonder too.

Kix

They get aggressive because they are basically uneducated and use the fact that they can shout as a mask for the fact they know they are inferior (education-wise, and I don't mean degrees) to the person they are shouting at.

Just like that road rage incident, do you think he'd have done that to another local? Of course not.

It's probably why most educated westerners are more chilled out people, we reason and think, you know, engage brain before opening mouth. Unfortunately most of our fellow ex-pats don't.