A residential tenant penalized with AED 95000 over failure to key handover with the lease automatically renewed for not having cleared his liabilities
The Dubai Rental Disputes Center, the judicial arm of Land Department, has suspended the decision to apprehend a tenant who had accumulated rental arrears of AED 95,000 in a rental case for failing to officially hand over his residential unit’s key back to its manager.
The RDC, however, stated in its brief to “Emarat Al-Youm”, that it imposed the tenant with the outstanding, explaining that the tenant had to travel precipitously, after his family met with an accident in his home country. He entrusted the leased residential unit to one of his friends asking the later to hand over its key at the end of the lease, but his friend did not, so the real estate leasing company had no option but to let the lease automatically be renewed.
The RDC highlighted that the tenant should be aware that the lease would automatically be renewed in the event of no objection by the landlord, and the contract would be renewed for the similar term or for a term of one year, whichever is shorter, and under the same terms and conditions set out in the previous contractual lease.
Judge Abdulqader Mousa, the Chairman of Rental Disputes Center stated, “the RDC receives a number of disputes concerning the failure to obtain a clearance certificate from the owner at the end of the lease, or the failure to hand over the key to the leased premises, whether it is a residential or a commercial property unit", pointing out that by not handing over the key to the owner or his/her representative, the tenant is at risk of having the lease renewed automatically.
According to the RDC, the law must be adhered to, however, there are circumstances which should be approached with compassion as they bear human dimensions. The RDC takes into account while carrying out its verdicts and decisions which it did apply in dealing with the issue of a young man from Egypt. He had to leave for his home country leaving the key to the housing unit without officially delivering it back.
The RDC Chairman Mousa called on the parties to the lease to increase their level of legal awareness and culture in real estate sector and to read the tenancy contracts well before putting their signatures on them. It is imperative for the tenant to know the simple information, such as compliance with the terms of the contract, or he is not entitled to sublet the real estate property without the landlord’s prior written consent.