# 12 month eviction notice



## comfortablynumb (Jun 7, 2014)

For a change, this time there is a landlord who is facing a tenant issue. So calling out for the folks to help me with my problem.

My tenant has been renting the villa for a year now. His contract expired 31st May 2014 and during the last week of May, I send him a 12 month eviction notice by aramex to be able to sell the villa in 12 months. In order for the tenancy renewal process to be easy for us, I gave him a notice to vacate on 30th May 2015. I have no intention of renting again after the terrible experience with this guy. 

He has received the courier however he
a) refuses to acknowledge a clause saying the same in the new tenancy contract,
b) refuses to pay any part of the contract renewal fees to the real estate firm and
c) has now been living in my villa without paying his rent for a week now.

There is no increase in rent from last year. He says that he will only pay the rent if we agree on a tenancy contract without the clause saying that he has received the eviction notice. I have spoken to RERA twice who have confirmed that the eviction notice is still valid from the date when it was issued. But there seems to be enough vagueness on expat forums around whether its valid from the date of issue or 12 months from renewal of the new contract. 

Hence I am worried if not including this clause in the contract means that the tenant only vacates in 2016 instead of 2015. I dont mind receiving the rent later but under no circumstance do I want the tenant to get away with murder. 

Do folks here suggest that I go to the rental dispute committee. The tenant is a western expat CEO of a large gym in Dubai so potentially has some wasta.


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

One question - why would he be paying a real estate agent any more fees ? You pay the agent when you go in for the first time and not every year ?

Yes, go to the rental committee, as if the situation is as you have described it, he will lose.


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## NjxNA (Jan 13, 2013)

a) you don't need that clause to be on the renewed contract. The moment he signed the registered email you sent him he acknowledged the eviction notice. Nowhere in the law says that the new contract needs to have the clause.
b) You don't need the Real Estate firm to deal in the renewal, you can do it directly with him.
c) Not sure here, but I think there's room for you to open a case to the Rent Committee for this


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## comfortablynumb (Jun 7, 2014)

twowheelsgood said:


> One question - why would he be paying a real estate agent any more fees ? You pay the agent when you go in for the first time and not every year ?
> 
> Yes, go to the rental committee, as if the situation is as you have described it, he will lose.


I as a renter always pay the agent for rent renewals. So I assume that as a landlord, the tenant will pay for the renewals. Maybe I have been getting it wrong as a renter, however the agency is charging 1000 dirhams and the tenant expects me to collect the contract, pay the agency and chase him to sign it!


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## comfortablynumb (Jun 7, 2014)

NjxNA said:


> a) you don't need that clause to be on the renewed contract. The moment he signed the registered email you sent him he acknowledged the eviction notice. Nowhere in the law says that the new contract needs to have the clause.
> b) You don't need the Real Estate firm to deal in the renewal, you can do it directly with him.
> c) Not sure here, but I think there's room for you to open a case to the Rent Committee for this


Thanks
I agree that the law does not but there are plenty of forums where it suggests that the 12 month notice can only be registered at the end of the tenancy contract. Plus the reluctance of the tenant to include it makes me wonder whether he is doing this in good faith. 
Not sure if I have made some minor technical glitch in the notice which he will exploit a year later. I have send an aramex courier to his office and home address which has a letter signed by me.(not notarised)
Hence even if it costs me some money, keener to get clarification on the situation than realising that I need to rent to this guy again in 12 months.
tks


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

comfortablynumb said:


> I as a renter always pay the agent for rent renewals. So I assume that as a landlord, the tenant will pay for the renewals. Maybe I have been getting it wrong as a renter, however the agency is charging 1000 dirhams and the tenant expects me to collect the contract, pay the agency and chase him to sign it!


I have never paid a real estate agent after the initial lease is set. Renewals take no more than copying the document, changing the total and signing it. then registering it with Ejari (these days anyway). I dealt with the landlords PA who did their end.

Not sure why you as a renter would pay an agent anything as the contract is between you and the landlord - its just another excuse for an agent to claim a fee for doing nothing you cannot do yourself with ease.

Save yourself some money


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

comfortablynumb said:


> Not sure if I have made some minor technical glitch in the notice which he will exploit a year later. I have send an aramex courier to his office and home address which has a letter signed by me.(not notarised)


Make sure that the notice is "technically" correct, if it is not at the moment. For sure the tenant will try to exploit this if it is not correct.


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

I also never pay renewal fees. Whenever asked I say, sorry, no. I already paid a friggin' 5% fee to the agent when I rented the property. 

You haven't done anything wrong. The eviction notice is valid 12 months from the contract renewal. So the tenant has one more full year in his villa. There's nothing else he can do provided you don't rerent the villa. 

There's no need to include an eviction clause on the contract because it's a separate notice that's already been served. 

My guess is that the tenant is speculating what happens if you change your mind and decide not to sell the villa next year, and wants to keep his contract free from any eviction clauses. RERA has also made clear that they don't accept or recognize 1-year clauses on rental contracts, so it's also a moot point from this end too.


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

If he has not paid his rent that is due, he is in breach of contract. I'd go for that angle.


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## comfortablynumb (Jun 7, 2014)

twowheelsgood said:


> I have never paid a real estate agent after the initial lease is set. Renewals take no more than copying the document, changing the total and signing it. then registering it with Ejari (these days anyway). I dealt with the landlords PA who did their end.
> 
> Not sure why you as a renter would pay an agent anything as the contract is between you and the landlord - its just another excuse for an agent to claim a fee for doing nothing you cannot do yourself with ease.
> 
> Save yourself some money


, understood


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## comfortablynumb (Jun 7, 2014)

rsinner said:


> Make sure that the notice is "technically" correct, if it is not at the moment. For sure the tenant will try to exploit this if it is not correct.



I agree which is my worry. What I have done is send a signed letter by aramex which states my reason to sell and asks the tenant to vacate the property by 30 may 2015 during mid may 2014. In your opinion, is there any thing there is technically wrong there?


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## comfortablynumb (Jun 7, 2014)

Gavtek said:


> If he has not paid his rent that is due, he is in breach of contract. I'd go for that angle.


thanks, that makes sense. It seems I need to officially demand the rent and wait for 30 days. So I might shoot off more letters tomorrow.


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## comfortablynumb (Jun 7, 2014)

TallyHo said:


> I also never pay renewal fees. Whenever asked I say, sorry, no. I already paid a friggin' 5% fee to the agent when I rented the property.
> 
> You haven't done anything wrong. The eviction notice is valid 12 months from the contract renewal. So the tenant has one more full year in his villa. There's nothing else he can do provided you don't rerent the villa.
> 
> ...


thanks, all I wanted as a clause was wording which makes him acknowledge that he has received the notice.

I am going to sit on this for a week and if the tenant does not come back, go to RDSC. I know its a low probability that there is something we have not considered but if there is I want to flush it out in the RDSC so that I do not go through the same situation in 2015. The tenant might just say that legally the new contract was signed after the eviction notice was send and given that there is no acknowledgement of the clause in the new contract, the new contract take s precedence over the notice send earlier.
Maybe being paranoid now!


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## w_man (Apr 16, 2010)

As long as you sent him an eviction notice through Notary Public or Registered Mail indicating a legal reason for eviction - selling the property is a legal reason - then you have nothing to worry about.

As others suggested, you absolutely do not need that clause in the new tenancy contract - if you sent the eviction notice through the proper channel, you already have proof that he's received it and it will hold up in a dispute in 2015, if it ever comes to that.

As far as I know, you can NOT (and SHOULD not) be charging him any renewal fee. I once paid a renewal fee when I was new here but it was only 150aed charge by some agent to do the paperwork (I should have said no!). 1000aed?! You are getting ripped off ... stop paying it and certainly don't change your tenant this type of fee.

As far as I know of the law, and based on what you wrote, you have served him an eviction notice before the expiry of the 2014 tenancy contract and that means that he must vacate in May of 2015! not 2016 and he has no legal base to stand on this ground. 

You can certainly go to RERA to get some clarification if you are still unsure but I doubt you need to start a case - simply remove the clause which he's having a problem with, forget about the renewal fee and collect your money for the next year. 

Good luck


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