DUBAI Tenants are calling for stricter laws to regulate refunds of security deposits in Dubai. Many said they have been unfairly docked a part or sometimes the whole of the refundable security deposit they paid to landlords.
“Authorities must tighten laws surrounding the issue. We are forced to forego our money because there’s nothing much we can do,” says Indian expatriate Tom Bosco, 34. He was asked by a developer to sign a receipt form acknowledging he had received his deposit. “I am yet to receive any refund and I am told I can get a portion of the deposit only after I sign their form. They are not ready to show me the break-up of expenses,” added the resident of a popular community near Jebel Ali. He had paid a Dh3,000 security while renting a one-bedroom apartment for Dh45,000 in 2012. “There was no external or internal damage to the property yet the management staff came to my building, assessed it and said I had to pay for regular maintenance including a full painting before I could get any of the deposit. This is unlawful and was not mentioned in my contract,” claims the Dubai-born Indian expat.
Another expatriate, American Jason Brown, who moved out of a villa community recently, says he too was not given his full deposit of Dh20,000. “The landlord who is a real estate developer in the project decided to keep Dh7,000 from my deposit towards wear and tear of the villa. This was unfair as the landlord had charged me for pre-existing conditions in the house like grout missing between two tiles, cracks on the ceiling, scratches on doors, water seepage to the walls. Ideally these are expenses which the landlord has to bear,” says Brown.
What the law says
According to current laws, a deposit should cover eventualities like breakages and negligence caused by the tenant. However, tenants aren’t always the ones on the receiving end. Ajay Mehra, who owns a three-bedroom property in Jumeirah Lakes Tower, says he had a tough time dealing with an unscrupulous tenant. “He put me through hell before vacating. First, he did not give me the sets of keys to the house. What I got was only the main door keys. When I went inside the apartment, it was a big mess. He had wallpaper stuck in the entrance and living room. There were cracks in the wall. The children’s bedroom had posters and scribbles all over the wall. Hinges in the cupboard were broken too. I had to get a professional to remove the wallpaper, fix the cracks and re-paint the walls,” he recounts. “It cost me Dh5,000 so I did not return his deposit.”
Another Indian landlord, Dev Shukla, says his British tenant did not even bother informing him before vacating. “Instead he emailed saying he was sending my house keys via courier as he had left. When I went to my place, a glass pane was broken, the house was in a mess with old furniture lying around. He had also not paid his last Dewa bill,” says the owner of the two-bedroom apartment in Dubailand area.
A comment from Dubai’s Land Department was not immediately available.
