UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Duncan Pickering, Nicola de Sylva, Sean Cope and Marta Almeida, DLA Piper LLP
and to what extent the compensation would cover any tenant’s interests in the property is dealt with on a case-by-case basis. 6.23 Remedies/Damages for Breach The usual remedies for landlords include the following. Compensatory Remedies These are any damages that the landlord may be enti - tled to as a result of the breach and/or termination, including accrued rights (such as unpaid rent, service charges, or other payments under the terms of the lease) and other damages (such as damages caused to the property over and above what may be covered by any security deposit). Eviction There may be specific notice requirements that apply for specific types of eviction (see 6.21 Forced Evic- tion ). 7. Construction 7.1 Common Structures Used to Price Construction Projects Pricing structures will vary according to the nature of the works. The most common pricing structures are: • lump sum – a pre-agreed sum that the contractor will be paid to perform the works under the con - struction contract; • measurement or unit price – whereby the work is measured and valued on the basis of a bill of quantities; • prime cost – payment is made for the costs of labour and materials used; and • cost plus – payment is made for the prime cost, plus an added percentage for profit. Payment is usually made against the certification of completed works by an engineer appointed by the employer. 7.2 Assigning Responsibility for the Design and Construction of a Project Whilst there is no local standard suite for private sec - tor construction contracts in the UAE, many con -
struction contracts for major projects in the UAE are based on the industry standard form of contracts pub - lished by the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) (with appropriate project-specific amendments), and such responsibility for design and construction is allocated contractually in accordance with standard international practice, depending on the specific requirements of the project. In relation to pub - lic sector construction contracts, Abu Dhabi has man - dated the use of its Abu Dhabi Government Construc - tion Contract for all government capital construction projects managed by Abu Dhabi Government entities; however, such form of contract is based on the FIDIC form. 7.3 Management of Construction Risk The contractual devices included in the FIDIC stand - ard forms of contract are typically used to manage risk allocation in the context of a construction project (however, the standard FIDIC conditions of contract are often amended by employers to transfer additional risk to the contractor). While the majority of the stand - ard FIDIC provisions are generally viewed as being enforceable under UAE law, the Civil Code provides that an agreement or a contractual provision will be unenforceable if: • it conflicts with a mandatory provision of the law; • it is contrary to public order or morals; • it is performed in bad faith; or • a right is exercised in an unlawful manner (includ - ing where the benefit realised is disproportionate to the harm suffered by others, or where the interests sought to be realised conflict with Sharia). Any parts of an agreement that conflict with or are inconsistent with such mandatory provisions will either be rendered automatically void or will provide the courts with the power to adjust the agreement to ensure consistency with mandatory provisions. 7.4 Management of Schedule-Related Risk Virtually all construction contracts in the UAE require the works to be completed by a specified date. Instead of the employer demonstrating the damage it would suffer for late completion of the works by the contractor (which may be difficult to quantify),
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