# Rental apartment from agency, What are my rights?



## Nightshadow (Sep 21, 2010)

I am fed up. I rented an apartment on November 10th through an agency, I am not sure if i am allowed to post their name or not, so I wont. But this is one of those "dubai apartments.com or .net" type of deals... 

First they placed me in Disco Gardens in an apartment that smelled the entire time like a sewer. Im not exaggerating this, no joke. Something was not right with the plumbing but the drain was giving off such a rancid smell, I complained and was told there wouldnt be an apartment I could move to for another week and blah blah blah because of Eid Mubarak or whatever. Fine, I waited. 

Was moved to Jumeirah Lakes Towers around November 24th. Everything was cool until last night, when the water heater burst and dumped water everywhere. I kid you not, about 5 inches of water everywhere. One of my suitcases, which had dress clothes in it was soaked through, so much so, that when i picked it up, it was dripping water everywhere. 

I called the rental agency and explained to them that after paying $2000 for the one month and having had an issue twice now, I expected some sort of discount / refund. I dont expect the whole thing back but hey, throw me a bone, $400 would make me happy ya know? 

They offered to move me to Marina ... something or other. Some super nice apartment there as compensation for my expensive, ruined dress clothes and neckties. I told the girl "You could give me a penthouse in Burj Khalifa and thats not going to replace my expensive clothing or paperwork now is it?" (I had documents in the luggage as well). 

She refuses to give me a discount. Does anyone have any suggestions that dont require a long-winded court battle? Id be happy just to get a couple hundred dollars back, dry-clean my clothing quickly and hope for the best... 

Please help!


----------



## Moe78 (Oct 29, 2010)

Are these actual apartments or Hotel Apartments?


----------



## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

Just move.  And dont be any more aggravated with it as for one month, they are not going to get you as a repeat customer anyhow so they wont care.


----------



## Nightshadow (Sep 21, 2010)

Moe78 said:


> Are these actual apartments or Hotel Apartments?


Actual apartments...


----------



## Moe78 (Oct 29, 2010)

I think it's illegal for them to rent you those! I might be mistaken though. Unless the contract is in someone else's name who has residence here?


----------



## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

What your rights are and getting anyone to respect them are 2 entirely different things. 

Unfortunately, there are more crooks in real estate than there are in prison. I'm very, very close to having my Michael Douglas in Falling Down day.

My lease started on 1st December and still my house is not fit for living in despite having the walkthrough detailing everything needing to be done on 7th November.

These scumbags will just keep wearing you down until you're so fed up, you'll be happy sleeping on a wooden bench in a park.


----------



## cami (Aug 11, 2010)

try to get back the money you paid them. tell them the docs destroyed were business related and you'll take them to court - tell them the local friends of your friends will help, and so they'll have to answer why they don't comply with the sharia law (arab law) which doesn't allow third party rentals. tell them you're going to post your story on dubizzle and the other classifieds sites here - there aren't many, and you'll talk to 7 days, and express (publications here). alternatively, you can visit the office and ask to talk to the manager, preferably if they have other clients in the office. the manager won't do jack***, but you'll stir them up a little 

if you just move out, you won't get any money back. what's more, they'll do the same with the next unsuspecting client.


----------



## Nightshadow (Sep 21, 2010)

Thanks for the advice fellas. Ill push a bit and see what the result is and keep you posted. Its unreal how apathetic the response was when i mentioned theyve already caused me grief twice for the amount of money I paid.


----------



## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

Gavtek said:


> These scumbags will just keep wearing you down until you're so fed up.


This is Dubai in a nutshell, doesn't matter that the place has been empty for a year previously either.

Bottom line - if you have a budget/allowance of 120k then rent a house for 100k and use the rest for deposit, fees, commission and repairs. Anything left over/returned when you leave is a bonus. 

No, it's not right, it shouldn't be and against the law but hey the sun shines, there are no taxes or hoodies and you can always leave if you don't like it.


----------



## Moe78 (Oct 29, 2010)

OR you can go postal on them!

It's rare to find a decent real estate agency here, doesn't matter what they are, big or small they will still treat you like crap!

Been in a similar ordeal where the landlord is so cheap, the building has transferred from one agency to the other maybe 3 times this year alone! The place is in need of so many repairs, we have a bottomless list!

I guess you have to try your best to be wary of the agency/landlord you deal with.


----------



## Nightshadow (Sep 21, 2010)

Mr Rossi said:


> This is Dubai in a nutshell, doesn't matter that the place has been empty for a year previously either.
> 
> Bottom line - if you have a budget/allowance of 120k then rent a house for 100k and use the rest for deposit, fees, commission and repairs. Anything left over/returned when you leave is a bonus.
> 
> No, it's not right, it shouldn't be and against the law but hey the sun shines, there are no taxes or hoodies and you can always leave if you don't like it.


Its funny because I think it was you who once said "wait till youve been here a bit longer, everything looks great on the outside but its all broken" or something to that effect. Well whoever said that, great point. 

I just cant believe they offered to upgrade me. Like hows that going to solve the issue of my stuff? Unreal.


----------



## Moe78 (Oct 29, 2010)

They don't care about your stuff, the least you can do is get the upgrade and maybe try and get them to pay your dry cleaning bill. If you're after compensation, Dubai doesn't know what that means. And always remember, Welcome to Dubai!

When I got here I had a lot of assumptions, even family is a let down here.


----------



## wandabug (Apr 22, 2010)

Are you sure it is a real estate company you are dealing with? or is it is an agency that rents out privately owned apartments for short-term/holiday lets. They are 2 very different businesses. If it is the latter you have no rights, there is no Tenancy Contract. Holiday lets are not covered by RERA Regulations.


----------



## Moe78 (Oct 29, 2010)

So what you're saying is he has no rights either way since if it's the first then there is no legal contract and if it's the second there are no rules LOL


----------



## Nightshadow (Sep 21, 2010)

Good news. Using my outstanding negotiation skills I managed to get them to agree to a small refund, its not much. 700 dirhams. So figure thats about what Ill spend on drinks Thursday night, lol. 

Ah, its good to be a salesman and know your way around situations like these, some people just have no tact when it comes to talking to people. (The girl stated I should be "**** grateful" they were giving me an upgrade originally), no tact I tell ya.


----------



## wandabug (Apr 22, 2010)

Nice one, drinks on you then!! xxx


----------



## Nightshadow (Sep 21, 2010)

wandabug said:


> Nice one, drinks on you then!! xxx



Ooooh! Is Wandabug coming out? I dont think Ive met you yet!


----------



## Moe78 (Oct 29, 2010)

Great! Free drinks for everyone!


----------



## wandabug (Apr 22, 2010)

Nightshadow said:


> Ooooh! Is Wandabug coming out? I dont think Ive met you yet!


I am in England at the moment stuck with the in-laws, it bloody freezing and I am missing Dubai so much. Off to Cyprus (again with in-laws from hell) for Christmas and hopefully back to Dubai in January (minus in-laws) xx lane:


----------



## Nightshadow (Sep 21, 2010)

wandabug said:


> I am in England at the moment stuck with the in-laws, it bloody freezing and I am missing Dubai so much. Off to Cyprus (again with in-laws from hell) for Christmas and hopefully back to Dubai in January (minus in-laws) xx lane:


I look forward to meeting you at one of the future events. The good news is Im getting my deposit back as well, on top of the 700.


----------



## cami (Aug 11, 2010)

Nightshadow said:


> I look forward to meeting you at one of the future events. The good news is Im getting my deposit back as well, on top of the 700.


are you still going to be relocated to the marina? watch out where you're moving next. ask to see some contract and ask on the forum before you sign anything.


----------



## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

In general, any consumer or tenant or investor, basically anyone who is paying for anything is seen as a lesser being. That is why many shops refuse to take defective goods back, claiming its your bad luck the thing does not work. Similarly, the investor will face huge penalties if he does not pay the developer, but the developer can delay construction or change floor plans without any real problem. 
Many shops and landlords still think they are doing the customer/tenant a favor..


----------



## Moe78 (Oct 29, 2010)

That's why I do most of my shopping overseas and trust me they are doing me a favor by charging everyone else their ridiculous prices! I feel like a genius for getting it cheaper elsewhere


----------



## nadirahmad (Mar 9, 2009)

*Dont give up*

Welcome to Dubai, money hungry rental agencies providing a low life service. I am also fighting through a bad system to paint a villa and fix electrical short circuits. The key here is perseverance, dont give up.

Things can get sorted but its not pain free. As one local advised me, if you want the honey you must first be bitten by the bees.

I suggest you complain to RERA, check the agent's RERA number against the name. Any anomoly and you have them by the preverbials and will get a full refund of fees. 

Good Luck !


----------



## Bigjimbo (Oct 28, 2010)

*Agent bashing*



nadirahmad said:


> Welcome to Dubai, money hungry rental agencies providing a low life service. I am also fighting through a bad system to paint a villa and fix electrical short circuits. The key here is perseverance, dont give up.
> 
> Things can get sorted but its not pain free. As one local advised me, if you want the honey you must first be bitten by the bees.
> 
> ...


Every time any discussion starts about property here, someone sooner rather then later starts bashing agents, saying they are all crooks etc etc. I am an agent here, and get by mainly on recommendations and referrals. Maybe we should start a list of trusted people and agencies, so we could in future avoid the whole generic agents are rubbish discussion.


----------



## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

Bigjimbo said:


> Every time any discussion starts about property here, someone sooner rather then later starts bashing agents, saying they are all crooks etc etc. I am an agent here, and get by mainly on recommendations and referrals. Maybe we should start a list of trusted people and agencies, so we could in future avoid the whole generic agents are rubbish discussion.


I agree with Bigjimbo. It's not fair to tar everyone with the same brush. I know a couple of decent agents who would never do anything like this.


----------



## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

It's the general nature of the job, along with recruitment agents. Moving home and starting a new job are 2 of the most stressful things people go through in their lives, these people earn commission by screwing people over as much as possible during these periods. Some are just better at letting the mask slip than others.


----------



## Bigjimbo (Oct 28, 2010)

Gavtek said:


> It's the general nature of the job, along with recruitment agents. Moving home and starting a new job are 2 of the most stressful things people go through in their lives, these people earn commission by screwing people over as much as possible during these periods. Some are just better at letting the mask slip than others.


Again, a wonderful rounded argument. I actually take pride in helping new people get set up in Dubai, and have made several friends in doing so. Maybe I am not so cynical as you appear to be......


----------



## nadirahmad (Mar 9, 2009)

I think you have to persevere to do anything in UAE as you are generally dealing with low achievers in the service industry. My philosophy is any monkey can do a job but people with brains cost will cost extra. You get what you pay for generally with property, cars, precious objects so then why not people also ? One way to avoid disappointment is at the outset ask yourself, what do I need to do here and does the person you are dealing with come with recommendations? A good finsher will always do well for you and be recommended, that is what I look for but, there are not many around.


----------



## Elphaba (Jan 24, 2008)

In essence, it all comes down to the terms of the contract. A properly worded contract is legally binding. We have laws here, and yes, consumer laws too.

I am persistently amazed to find that people (especially ones new in town) sign contracts without having read them properly or understanding the terms. The term 'caveat emptor' applies everywhere.
-


----------



## Merapi (Nov 24, 2010)

pamela0810 said:


> I agree with Bigjimbo. It's not fair to tar everyone with the same brush. I know a couple of decent agents who would never do anything like this.


Hi Pam, would you mind letting me know good agents you know of please? Thanks.


----------

