Dubai: Residents welcomed the move to establish a new Rental Dispute Settlement Centre in Dubai saying it will hopefully address the problem of randomly increasing rents in the emirate to take advantage of the rental property boom.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Saturday issued decree No.26 for 2013, establishing the Rent Dispute Settlement Centre, which will be based at the Dubai Land Department.

The new centre will replace the Dubai Municipality’s Rent Committee, which traditionally hear rent disputes between landlords and tenants in the city.

As per the new decree, the centre is mandated to settle all rent disputes that may arise between landlords and tenants of properties within the emirate of Dubai or in free zones. But the centre cannot do not have jurisdictions in areas that have special judicial committees or courts assigned to settle disputes.

The centre, which will be chaired by judges, will issue decisions based on a unanimous or majority vote behalf of His Highness the Ruler of Dubai. The Head of the Dubai Judicial Council has been given the powers to issue the decisions necessary for the implementation of the centre’s rulings.

According to the decree, the centre is not authorised to look into rent disputes arising from the finance lease contract, as well as disputes arising from long-term lease contracts covered by the provisions of law No. 7 of 2006 concerning the real estate registration in Dubai.

The centre will have two main sector— the judicial and administrative sectors.

The judicial sector of the centre will include the Reconciliation Department, the Department of First of Instance, the Department of Appeal and the Law Enforcement Department.

The administrative sector of the Centre will consist of a number of organisational units responsible for carrying out the tasks of providing technical and administrative support to the judicial sector.

The Arbitration and Reconciliation department is given 15 days maximum to settle rent disputes amicably from the date of the appearance of the parties. All disputes must be settled in 30 days or less.

Unlike decisions issued by the Rent Committee which are final and cannot be contested, some decisions by the new centre can be appealed.

Property brokers in Dubai said a new centre to settle rent disputes is good news. “When you have an organisation with a specialisation, it will definitely yield good results. The new body can have a research and development department that can collect data per area and provide evidence-based solutions to every dispute,” Agha Abbas Mizhar, a property broker in Dubai, told Gulf News.

Mizhar said the rental sector in Dubai is vast and each area has different issues altogether. Having a dedicated centre that will look into property disputes is a big step towards curbing abuses committed by any party.

“Having a dedicated office that will resolve rent disputes is much better as there are a lot of confusion among the tenants, landlords, and real estate agencies here in Dubai. This organisation is especially needed now since rents have increased again and rent disputes have increased as well. It will better regulate the rental market,” Mohammad, a Dubai property broker, told Gulf News.

Mohammad said his disputes between tenants and landlords are a daily issue at their agency especially during the time when contract renewals have to be made.

 

- with inputs from WAM