[Dubai - United Arab Emirates, 19 December 2016] – The Rental Disputes Center (RDC), the judicial arm of Dubai Land Department (DLD), recently celebrated its third anniversary. Over the past three years, the center has contributed to creating a specialised judicial system aimed at settling rental disputes between landlords and tenants in a simplified and efficient manner.
From the work of RDC, Dubai has provided a model for cities and countries around the world that guarantees the rights of all parties of rental contracts. Through RDC's rapid procedures, the Center has contributed towards Dubai's social and economic stability, supported by DLD's administrative, financial and technical presence.
HE Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, Director General of Dubai Land Department said: "The Rental Disputes Center has succeeded in providing enhanced services for all of our customers through equal application of the law so that each party receives their rights without distinction or favouritism. At DLD we continuously work towards our vision to make Dubai a primary global real estate destination of choice. To achieve this, RDC aims to deliver innovation, trust and happiness, through the clear provision of dispute resolution services that help all parties working and living in Dubai. RDC's work sees landlords and tenants governed by clear rules, duties and responsibilities."
HE Judge Abdul Qader Mohammed Musa, Head of RDC said: "The Center's mission is to ensure the quality of judicial services and raise the efficiency of the measures and alternatives to resolve disputes. RDC works to improve the efficiency of the Dispute Management System and the implementation of judgments and decisions management. This enhances the quality of investigations and judicial rulings, thereby supporting the efforts of Dubai Land Department to educate the community and disseminate knowledge of rental rights, thereby reducing the number of rental disputes and shedding light on the reasons for such disputes in order to reduce them."
HE Musa continued to point out the creativity of RDC in providing smart services, which has become an important mechanism followed to record cases, manage hearings and deliver judgements electronically. All of this guarantees customers full access to services around the clock, with easy, fast and simplified procedures, high levels of efficiency, and transparency to meet the needs and expectations of customers. In providing its services, the RDC aims to provide clear communication with all service users, in line with the UAE 2021 vision for service development, which seeks to achieve a high quality of life for UAE nationals and residents.
RDC has recorded tremendous success since its inception, including a 98 per cent success rate for its initiatives and projects, and 100 per cent completion rate for the development of procedures and implementation of sentences. This has been bolstered by the rehabilitation of implementation bailiffs and the conciliation department. Over the past few years, the center has organised and developed a conciliation department, alongside electronic and smart systems. The center has also carried out partnerships with key public and private entities, electronically linked with 80 per cent of them.
According to 2016 statistics issued by RDC, the center received 18,923 disputes, representing five per cent of the total rental contracts registered in Ejari system for the year. The Center receives a large number of customers every day; however the center has achieved unprecedented service waiting times, averaging 24 minutes per person. The number of cases and applications registered in 2016 reached 11,765, with 7,809 cases resolved.
In comparison to 2015, 23,000 disputes were received, averaging five per cent of total rental contracts registered in the Ejari system. The Center has made great progress in reducing waiting times for first case hearings when compared to the previous year. Waiting times were also reduced for first instance circuit and appellate circuit judgement hearings. During the year 2015, the total number of cases reached 8,836, which were distributed between conciliation, trial and appeal.
The Center has accomplished all of these achievements with the help of its specialised management, including central support, which records primary litigation and appellate cases and temporal and urgent matters, and case management files, including the registration of the claims and disputes department and the litigants support section.
The Conciliation Department specialises in conducting amicable settlements for rental disputes. There is also a First Instance Circuit, which consists of a sufficient number of rental conflict settlement committees. The Appellate Circuit specialises in adjudicating appeals filed on decisions and judgments issued by the First Instance Circuit. The Judgments Execution Department specialises in the implementation of final provisions without appeal that are issued by the First Instance Circuit and Appellate Circuit, which are implemented by RDC.
The Center's also has its own call center in order to facilitate effective communication with the public. Over the course of 2016, RDC received approximately 48,702 phone calls, with responsiveness to customer calls reaching up to a 100 per cent ratio.
Judge Abdul Kadir Musa Mohammed concluded: "We continue to improve the performance of the Center on an ongoing basis, achieving the vision of our wise leadership to create a safe and attractive investment environment in Dubai that ensures the rights of all. We are working hard to develop more systems and applications; particularly the Smart Judge application, which allows customers access to proceedings and decisions of rental disputes. Although this application provides hypothetical judgements, this guide has reduced rental disputes by almost 20 per cent.