# Attesting of Rental Contract



## DaveHayden

Hi Everyone,

I am just in the process of 'attempting' to apply for my wifes Residency visa here in Abu Dhabi.

Now after 2 months of trying to get out marriage certificate attested we have finally succeeded and upon submitting the application we've just been informed that we now have to have our rental contract attested too!! Bad luck ha ha.

Now we have approached our landlord who has gone away to attempt to get this done. I have done a little research and found that he has to register the property first, which surely should have been done anyway? He has come back after a week and stated that he is having complications and it may take some time. He will not tell us what the complications are and is taking days to even respond to any messages we send.

My question is should this process be straight forward for him? Also who can we approach to help in the event of him not getting the document legally attested? We cannot apply for my wifes visa without this and will have to do a fourth border run soon. This is really getting to me.

Any advice would be very much appreciated!!


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## mgb

What sort of property? Which area? How old is it?
Is it a villa that has been divided into smaller units?
Or could it be a villa on gifted ground that is supposed to be for landlord and his family only? Not trying to worry you, just trying to identify the complications - dont complain to municipality until you know fully the problems because if its not a legal let you could be evicted with no recourse to reclaim any "unused"rent.


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## busybee2

DaveHayden said:


> Hi Everyone,
> 
> I am just in the process of 'attempting' to apply for my wifes Residency visa here in Abu Dhabi.
> 
> Now after 2 months of trying to get out marriage certificate attested we have finally succeeded and upon submitting the application we've just been informed that we now have to have our rental contract attested too!! Bad luck ha ha.
> 
> Now we have approached our landlord who has gone away to attempt to get this done. I have done a little research and found that he has to register the property first, which surely should have been done anyway? He has come back after a week and stated that he is having complications and it may take some time. He will not tell us what the complications are and is taking days to even respond to any messages we send.
> 
> My question is should this process be straight forward for him? Also who can we approach to help in the event of him not getting the document legally attested? We cannot apply for my wifes visa without this and will have to do a fourth border run soon. This is really getting to me.
> 
> Any advice would be very much appreciated!!


unfortunately this is a new rule that has just recently come in, he needs to get a tawtheeq.Abu Dhabi Municipality | Tawtheeq yes landlords should have done this a long time ago, but they didnt. we had a lot of hassles when we needed to renew visas back in june, even though our contract is like 3 years old. banks and landlords are only doing this on renewals etc. they have to go to the municipality and they have to check the plans are correct, and if there is any mistakes on that it can take weeks to sort out. you will just have to wait it out. the reason they are doing this now is because a lot of landlords have 1 villa and then sublet it or split it without approval and so they are getting rid of that and in order to check this out, all plans need to be approved and you need to provide your bill to make sure that if you are in a single unit there is only a single family living there. unfortunately we had the same, a small problem on the plans it was sorted but it did take a good few weeks, and we couldnt get a visa renewal whilst we were waiting, as usual i always put in our visa renewal a month in advance of needed etc. you will just need to keep doing the visa runs, or you can apply at immigration once but its more expensive. ramadan would have slowed down the process too.


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## busybee2

mgb said:


> What sort of property? Which area? How old is it?
> Is it a villa that has been divided into smaller units?
> Or could it be a villa on gifted ground that is supposed to be for landlord and his family only? Not trying to worry you, just trying to identify the complications - dont complain to municipality until you know fully the problems because if its not a legal let you could be evicted with no recourse to reclaim any "unused"rent.


yes if you are in an expat area then you will be fine, but as stated if you are in a local housing area, then you will not get your rental contact approved, you can tell if you are in a local housing area the houses are all the same and that you are in areas such as sahama, fahal, rabha, shawamekh etc. if you are paying your electric bill yourself then you are fine, most split villas etc have bills included in your rental agreement, this is illegal and that is why they have brought in the tawtheeq to check everyone out.


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## DaveHayden

Hi Everyone,

thank you all so much for your time in replying!

So to add further detail, it is a new building on Reem Island. They are all purpose built apartments provided by a very reputable company in the middle east.

We currently do not pay electricity as the building runs on generators but eventually will pay electricity bills to the provider of the entire building.

The landlord who we speak to is not in fact the owner it is his wife who is a resident. By all accounts she has been present when they have attempted to sort the problem but with no luck. Could this cause the issue? Should I be seeking advice in the background?


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## busybee2

DaveHayden said:


> Hi Everyone,
> 
> thank you all so much for your time in replying!
> 
> So to add further detail, it is a new building on Reem Island. They are all purpose built apartments provided by a very reputable company in the middle east.
> 
> We currently do not pay electricity as the building runs on generators but eventually will pay electricity bills to the provider of the entire building.
> 
> The landlord who we speak to is not in fact the owner it is his wife who is a resident. By all accounts she has been present when they have attempted to sort the problem but with no luck. Could this cause the issue? Should I be seeking advice in the background?


it doesnt matter which building, all the buildings are new on reem and they are not hotel apartments etc. the issue may well be because all the buildings that were finished on reem in the beginning were delayed a long time because they wanted them to be all connected to the mains etc not run on generators as that could go on for years. to get a tawtheeq you need to show your electric bill etc, so yes that may well be causing a problem too.

again yes if not the owner that may well cause a slow down. being that she is local that wouldnt be an issue, but not having the owner to do it may, unless she has the proper power of attorney etc


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## mgb

Can your company PRO assist?
Did you find it through a reputable letting agent? If so they may be able to help or at least advise.


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## Lena23

I might have the same problem. I would like to ask is tawtheeq necessary for obtaining resident visa. My husband got resident visa and now we are in a process of getting visa for me and our son. We attested the wedding and birth certificates, but we were not aware that rental contract should be also attested.
My husband found apartment on Al Reem(Ocean scape), that doesn't have a tawtheeq yet. The landlord says that the tawtheeq might be ready in a month, might be ready in half a year. 
Since the rent contract is not signed yet, i would like to know will my husband be able to get visa for my son and me without the tawtheeq.


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## AlexDhabi

In order to authenticate the tenancy contract (Tawtheeq), you need to submit the following documents to your landlord or the legal owner of the building:

1.	Copy of your tenancy contract 
2.	Copy of Electricity and water bills for the last month 
3.	Passport copy with a valid residency visa (for expats only)
4.	Copy of Emirates ID card 
The landlord/agent/owner should then be able to take the steps to get the Tawtheeq for you. Tawtheeq is needed for renewal of residence (not new residents so far as I am aware) and also required for obtaining/renewing resident's parking permit from Mawaqif. Mawaqif does not currently apply in Al Reem island.


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## DaveHayden

Hi Lena,

I am afraid you do indeed have the same problem as us. I live in Damac, Marina Bay. 

I have now found out that these buildings cannot get Tawheeq until they run electricity to the building and stop using generators.

We have now been in our apartment 6 months and have just been told it is likely to be another 6 months. Essentially these people are moving people in before the buildings are ready.

We are now looking for a new apartment in the city as we do not want to consitently have to pay for flights every month to sort visas (I work offshore so cannot be around to do the border run via car)

I wouldn't suggest signing the contact if you need a visa as you will not be able to get anywhere until the buildings are complete.


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## Warold

Just signed a contract for a new apartment apparently building has been open for 20 days. I will ensure i sight the tawtheeq receipt before I hand anything over as the agent says it has tawtheeq but you know they cant be trusted.


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## DaveHayden

*1 Year On*

Hi Everyone,

So it's one year on and this process is still not complete. Damac customer service are lying over the phone telling me this has only been ongoing for 2 months and there is zero management available to discuss the matter. The building manager does not answer emails at all and the Facilities management can provide no updates as "they don't know".

My advice to everyone, please please please check your building has Tawtheeq before signing up. I have wasted so much money doing border runs with my wife it is unreal.

My second piece of advice is don't trust Damac on Reem Island (either building) if you are wanting a visa for your spouse, this is not the place to move!


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## busybee2

DaveHayden said:


> Hi Everyone,
> 
> So it's one year on and this process is still not complete. Damac customer service are lying over the phone telling me this has only been ongoing for 2 months and there is zero management available to discuss the matter. The building manager does not answer emails at all and the Facilities management can provide no updates as "they don't know".
> 
> My advice to everyone, please please please check your building has Tawtheeq before signing up. I have wasted so much money doing border runs with my wife it is unreal.
> 
> My second piece of advice is don't trust Damac on Reem Island (either building) if you are wanting a visa for your spouse, this is not the place to move!


the way of the world here sometimes!


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## sergiost

*Urgent clarification*

Dears,

Today I've signed a contract for an apartment in Oceanscape but some colleagues of mine informed me about the need for TAWTHEEQ (previous Real Estate Agency and property has issued that for me without further trouble from my side) and I should check out what is happening for this building. There has been almost a year since the last reply on this board so I must urgently find out whether the issues for Oceanscape building remains. The cheque I've written is not cash in yet, but will be in a week and the commission to the agency is valid from tomorrow and onwards. I've haven't got the option to cancel the cheque so I can only reported them stolen, but then again that would need a police statement. I will definitely need a TAWTHEEQ since although my wife has got a VISA, my newborn daughter is not. That also means except from illegal is also uninsured.
Any reply will be strongly appreciated!!!
Thank you all,

Sergio


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## AlexDhabi

You need to contact the people who you gave the cheque to (agent/developer/owner) urgently and explain you need Tawtheeq; if not available then demand the cheque back. Be open with them, hope they will be with you and last resort go to the police.


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