mikewot

I'm suggesting an unscrupulous LL has sold the place and as you have no contract then the new bloke is going to write one up in his name, register with Ejari and present it as a fait accompli to tell you to get out.
But I may have an evil suspicious mind.

scrubbedexpat141

You may well be correct.

At which point I'm bottom-****ed and in whole worlds of trouble.

I'm just going to chase and chase for contract from old landlord.

Blue Cat

I think you may well be right, Scamp don't hand over any DEWA bill until you get that contract.

scrubbedexpat141

I won't, don't worry.

Chased again today, not heard anything.

weasel decentral

Take a large dump in an A4 envelope and hmmm not sure where I am going with this..
Just do that first and I will think of the next step

mikewot

Did you give him cash & get a receipt? Or did you pay by cheque or bankers draft in which case you're OK. If you just handed over a big brown envelope you could well be requiring a large tube of lube.

scrubbedexpat141

Cheque and got a receipt (I will be looking for it tonight...It's not in my work bag where it was for a long time, I expect I filed it at home somewhere safe.)

mikewot

Ah you have proof of payment so you should be OK :-) As I say I'm just naturally suspicious and might be interpreting things wrongly.

scrubbedexpat141

Yeah I am too.

Have chased for contract today but no response so far.

Will try and ring the landlord.

Patsy Stoned

Don't worry darling, you have paid by cheque, it will be in your bank statement. They would have to give you a years notice to leave having sold it.

You should just call the LL and tell him that if you don't have your contract by the 28th Jan you will be getting in touch with RERA. The LL has taken your money and so far has not given you a valid contract..he is in the wrong. Stop being "Mr. Nice Guy" and start demanding. The law is on your side. xx

mikewot

I thought I might need a trip to the Rent Committee, luckily my LL was a pussycat in the end. However here are the fruits of my labours:
RERA will give you advice, based on your lease contract and the intricacies of Dubai Real Estate Legislation. They will be able to tell you whether you have a justifiable case against your landlord. If you do, and you want to make an official complaint, you will need to go to the RENT COMMITTEE.

RERA is on the First Floor of the Lands Deparment which is a couple of blocks inland on Baniyas Street - ie the same road as the Municipality Building. Head through the right hand door when you get to the top of the stairs on the first floor. The other side are all officials' offices.
The rent committee is found in the Municipal Building next to the Radisson between the Dhow wharfs and Union Square. You will find 3 buildings there opening up onto a small square with a fountain/pool in the middle. The Rent Committee is on the same side of the square but across the fountain from Gloria Jeans. It is diagonally opposite the Cashier's Offices. If you ultimately need a typing centre there are plenty around Union Square.
A recommended person to speak with at the Rent Committee is Mr Mansoor, he's in office 13 ground floor. He's very helpful and will let you know where you stand.


To lodge a complaint through the Rent Committee you will need to pay a fee which is a percentage figure of 3.5% of your total per annum rent. You will also need to have supporting paperwork (4 copies of each page) which includes, but is not limited to -

* Your original lease (which they will keep until your case is resolved)
* Any addendums to your lease that are not in Arabic will need to be translated by an accredited legal translator on letterhead.
* Your formal complaint typed in Arabic according to a specific template which the Rent Committee will give you (in Arabic, so you will need a translator to translate the template before you even fill it out).
* The tenant's visa and passport
* Clear documentation of the premises type, number and street
* Copies of all documentation supporting your complaint.
* The receipt for the payment of the complaint fee (3.5% of your value of the lease)

(NB if you are a landlord or owner, you will need a whole lot more documentation eg title deed, current tenancy contract or management contract, etc)

Once this is submitted they will give you a time and date for a hearing and you will need to attend this and any subsequent hearings until a resolution is made. It is highly unlikely, given the process and the paperwork required, that you will get the preliminaries completed within one working day.

Note: If the complainant wins their case, the value of their registration of complaint fee will be refunded by the defendant in the wrap up, but this can take some time depending on how long the case goes for and how unscrupulous the defendant is.

Patsy Stoned

The other thing to note is that if the LL is trying to raise your rent beyond which is allowed, it is not up to you to go to the rent committee. The LL has to make the complaint, if he doesn't then your rent will stay the same and he can't force you out. That way HE has to pay all fees.
So you just tell him that you are not prepared to pay the increase and if he wants to he will have to go to the rent committee

mikewot

Is this your interpretation? The reason I ask is that many LL in JVT are shooting rents up and a lot of renters are simply rolling over and either paying or moving because they don't want the hassle of RERA etc. So is there something in writing from government or municipality source which makes it clear who has to go to the Rent Committee?

Patsy Stoned

No darling, not my interpretation...the law's interpretation. Unfortunately it is not widely known, if only more people were aware of this, there would be a lot less bullying by landlords.

"Popular belief is that the landlord has all the rights," said Ludmila Yamalova, a managing partner at the legal consultancy HPL Yamalova & Plewka JLT. "But the law clearly protects tenants."

Rera prohibits raising the rent by more than 5 per cent if the rent is more than 25 per cent below the market rate. Landlords must also give 90 days' notice of any proposed rent increase, and the rent may be raised only if both parties agree. If they do not, the landlord must ask Rera for a review.

"The notion that the landlord can kick out the tenant and fix an arbitrary rent at their own discretion as they see fit - that's incorrect," Ms Yamalova said.
"Basically, the tenant does not have to do anything. The default rule is that the same terms of the original contract automatically apply on renewal," she said.
"If the tenant does not agree and the landlord insists on the increase then the landlord must take it to the Rent Committee, and whoever files with the Rent Committee has to pay a 3.5 per cent filing fee."


http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-n...efy-5-rent-cap

mikewot

That is excellent, I shall put this on the JVT website.