UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Duncan Pickering, Nicola de Sylva and Sean Cope, DLA Piper Middle East LLP
Dubai Article 25 of Law No (26) of 2007 (as amended) sets out grounds that permit a landlord to seek early termination of a lease and to re-enter prem - ises: • failure to pay rent, after notice; • subletting the premises, without consent; • illegal or immoral use of the premises; • failure to keep the premises occupied for specified periods of time; • any change to the premises which renders them unsafe, or which causes damage; • unauthorised use of the premises; • condemnation of the premises; • breach of the tenant’s obligations; or • demolition notices from authorities. In both Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where a landlord wishes to terminate a lease prior to its expiry pursuant to an event of default, 30 days’ prior written notice of default should be served on the tenant through the notary public or by registered mail. If the tenant disputes the grounds for early termination of the lease, a case can be lodged at the relevant Rent Disputes Settlement Centre. There are no guidelines as to how long the pro - cess would take. 6.22 Termination by a Third Party Under the Civil Code, property can be appropri - ated by the government for the public benefit. In such circumstances, “just compensation” must be paid. Whether and to what extent the com - pensation 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 fol - lowing.
of between four and 25 years attract a registra - tion fee equal to 1% of the rent “on a one-year lease basis”. The authors understand that the DMT’s current practice is to apply the 1% fee against the year-one rent value, multiplied by the total length of the term. Leases for over 25 years attract a registration fee equal to 4% of the value of consideration. Dubai Leases of less than ten years are required to be registered on the Ejari system, using the DLD mandatory form of lease. A nominal registration fee is payable. Leases with a term of ten years or more require registration on the full register at the DLD. A registration fee equal to 4% of the total rental value of the lease is payable in equal proportion by the landlord and tenant, unless agreed otherwise. 6.21 Forced Eviction Abu Dhabi Article 23 of Law No (20) of 2006 (as amended) sets out grounds that permit a landlord to seek early termination of a lease and to re-enter the premises: • failure to pay rent; • assignment or subletting the premises with - out consent; • high occupancy levels; • use of the premises other than for the pur - pose let or for a detrimental purpose; • where the landlord wishes to demolish and redevelop the premises; • where the landlord wishes to occupy the premises for their own purpose; • condemnation of the premises; • breach of the tenant’s obligations; or • demolition notice from authorities.
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