Question: I own a 2-bedroom flat in Dubai that I rented to an individual to stay with his family. I recently learned about another person staying at the flat. I suspect the family has sublet a room in the flat without my knowledge. What are my legal rights here? What should I do?
Answer: A tenant is not allowed to sub-let rented premises allotted to them without a landlord’s written consent unless they agree on it in a rent agreement in Dubai. This is by Article 24 of Law No. 26 of 2007 Regulating the Relationship between Landlords and Tenants in Dubai, which states, “Unless otherwise agreed by the parties to a lease contract, the tenant may not sublease, or assign the use of the real property to third parties unless the relevant written consent of the landlord is obtained.”
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Furthermore, a landlord may evict a tenant by serving a notice through a notary public or by registered post if they sub-let rented premises to a third party without a landlord’s written consent. This is in accordance with Article 25 (1) (b) of Law No. 33 of 2008 Amending Law No. 26 of 2007 Regulating the Relationship Between Landlords and Tenants Dubai, which states, “A landlord may request eviction of the tenant from the Real Property before the expiry of the lease contract only in following cases:
b. Where the tenant sublets the real property or any part thereof without obtaining the landlord’s written approval, in which case the eviction shall apply to the tenant and to the subtenant, who shall reserve the right to claim compensation from the tenant.
Under these provisions of law, the tenant may have violated the terms of the rent agreement with you by subletting a room of your apartment without your written consent. Moreover, as the amended Dubai Tenancy Law outlines, such actions may result in eviction proceedings against both the tenant and the subtenant by serving an eviction notice through a notary public or registered post.
Therefore, as the apartment’s owner, you are legally entitled to initiate relevant action against your tenant for breaching the terms of the rent agreement signed between you and your tenant. You may consider the following steps:
Review rent agreement: Check your tenancy agreement for any specific clauses regarding subletting and consent requirements.
Communicate with a tenant: Initially, discuss the issue with your tenant both verbally and in writing (either by email or letter), stating that he has sublet the portion of the rented apartment to a third party without obtaining your written consent and request him to either make arrangements to vacate the subtenant and compensate you monetarily for the damages caused to you (if any).
Send a formal notice: You may consider issuing a formal written notice to your tenant through a Notary Public or by registered post, stating that they breach the rental agreement by subletting without your consent and requesting immediate eviction of the rented apartment.
Consider legal action: If the tenant and the sub-tenant do not evict based on the eviction notice (as mentioned above), you may consider approaching the Dubai Rental Dispute Centre (RDC) to initiate legal proceedings.
RDC have jurisdiction over all disputes between the owner and tenant of any real estate property in Dubai. If no crime has been committed, Dubai police generally may not have jurisdiction.
Ashish Mehta is the founder and Managing Partner of Ashish Mehta & Associates. He is qualified to practise law in Dubai, the United Kingdom and India. Full details of his firm on: www.amalawyers.com. Readers may e-mail their questions to: [email protected] or send them to Legal View, Khaleej Times, PO Box 11243, Dubai.