Failure to turn in the key to the owner leads to the automatic renewal of the lease

The Dubai Rental Disputes Center, the judicial arm of Land Department, stated that the tenant must hand over the real estate property’s keys to its owner or his representative upon expiry of the lease, highlighting the need to discharge his accountability by obtaining receipt of acknowledgment from the owner or his agent upon handing over the housing unit back to them.

The RDC, briefing the daily “Emarat Al-Youm” pointed out that not delivering the key to the owner or his proxy, the tenant gets into the issue of letting the lease get renewed automatically.

The Dubai Rental Disputes Center has called on tenants to abide by the rent law and its associated regulatory rules and legislations, so as to avoid dispute with the landlords, which might lead to accountability and imposition of penalties and irregularities.

Throwing further light on the subject, Judge Abdulqader Mousa, Chairman of Rental Disputes Center, said, “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 housing unit or a commercial property", pointing out that these disputes result from some tenants not being aware of their obligations. He called on tenants to follow legal procedures in relation to handing the premises back to the owner, along with a proof from the owner/landlord stating the termination of the contractual relationship pertinent to the leased real estate property.

Mousa stressed that not handing over the key to the owner, or his representative, shall expose the tenant to the trouble of renewing contract automatically.

He pointed out that the RDC leaves no stone unturned in spreading rental awareness among the public, asking tenants to abide by the rent law and the associated regulatory rules and legislations, so as to avoid dispute with the landlords, which might lead to accountability and imposition of penalties and irregularities.

Mousa called for increasing the level of awareness and legal culture in relation to the rental sector, by perusing the lease contracts before putting the signatures on. A tenant must know the simple information, such as compliance with the terms of the contract, or he is not entitled to sublet the property without the prior written consent of the owner.

He said that the RDC plays an important role through expediting the litigation process, in attracting more investors to the Emirate's real estate sector in particular bringing about an atmosphere of trust in the real estate market through the issuance of quick and expeditious rental judgments related to financial claims.

The Rental Disputes Center had received a complaint from a tenant against a property management company that had renewed his lease for the following year, despite his notification to the company of his desire to not renew. Since he was out of the country, he instructed one of his friends to hand over the key, but the latter failed to do, but the property management company automatically renewed the lease, over failure to hand over the key, and the tenant was taken by surprise to financial claims and a case filed against him by the company demanding him to pay the rent for whole year.