UAE Property: ‘Can I evict a tenant for late rent payment?’

Question: I’m a landlord and my tenant has been difficult in his payments of rent , occasionally being a bit late here and there. In December, he missed the payment and after much chasing from my side, he finally paid his rent after being late again. He has now missed his March rent payment and I’m again forced to chase him and it’s getting really tiresome. What are my options? What documentation do I need to legally initiate eviction proceedings against him for non-payment of rent? I can’t keep going on like this. TG, Dubai Answer: When it comes to non-payment of rent , the process is quite simple, unlike when evicting a tenant for own use, for selling purposes, for major renovations or demolition, where the landlord has to give 12 months’ notice in writing. For the non-payment of rent , you must send a written notification to the tenant demanding payment within 30 days. This notification is over and above the time that he owes you outstanding rent payments. The court requests giving this time for the tenant to rectify the situation. I would suggest you send this notification through the notary public. After the 30-day period has expired and your tenant has still not complied or fulfilled his financial obligations to you, you are now at liberty to file a case at the rental dispute centre in the Dubai Land Department building in Deira. This can also be done online. The cost of filing the case is 3.5 per cent of the year’s rental amount. All documentation needs to be in Arabic, so if you don’t have this yet, the cost to translate is also an addition to the 3.5 per cent. Assuming you win the case, you will either get your dues back from the tenant or the judge will order his eviction within a short period of time. Q: I’m a teacher looking to move to an affordable area of Dubai, but I’m not satisfied with just settling for Jumeirah Village Circle as most real estate agents are pushing me to look only in this location. I’m looking for alternative options. Ideally, I do not want to be far away, stuck outside the city. Can you advise where else I could look at? I’m looking to buy a ready studio or one-bedroom apartment up to Dh650,000 and would need to be settled in before the summer, if possible. MC, Sharjah A: There are many areas of Dubai I could steer you to, but the location depends on where you need to be, especially for work. Looking at what’s established and available in terms of areas, I would suggest you consider Sports City. This location offers direct connectivity to Mohamed bin Zayed Road, Al Fay Road, Al Khail Road and Hessa Street, which will get you to where you need to be. In this location, your budget will also stretch to a one-bedroom apartment, not just studios, so you will have a few good options to choose from. Sports City is blossoming. Last year, it recorded sales transactions of Dh4.7 billion ($1.28 billion) and this month, Dh30 million was registered in off-plan sales alone. The average rental yield in the first quarter of this year was recorded at 8.2 per cent, so the area should appeal to both end users and investors alike. As a teacher, I’m sure you would be interested to know it has great schools located in the immediate area and I understand that Gems will also open a school of research and innovation later this year. Excellent universities such as Heriot-Watt, Middlesex and the American University in Dubai are all within close proximity, too. This location is set to benefit further as the upcoming Dubai Metro line, expected to be completed by 2029, will provide easy connectivity across all of Dubai, further adding to this area’s long-term attraction. The opinions expressed do not constitute legal advice and are provided for information only. Please send any questions to mario@novviproperties.com