I live in Dubai. A year ago I rented a villa from a real estate office. I signed a tenancy contract for one year and it was mentioned at the time that I need to pay Dh5,000 as a fee for tenancy contract renewal. I was supposed to pay that fee in July 2017. One month ago, the real estate office sent me a notice through a notary public asking me to vacate the villa in case I didn’t pay the renewal fee within one month’s time. My questions are: 1) Can the real estate office, in case they file a rental case against me, evict me from the villa for the reason that I did not pay renewal fee within 30 days? 2) My tenancy contract is in my name and I’m the one who signed it but my wife is the one who signed the cheque and submitted to the real estate office for the rental instalment. The real estate office is now contending that they have the right to file a rental case against me and my wife. Is that true and, as per the Dubai Rental Law, can they file the case against my wife for the reason that she signed the cheque?
According to the Dubai Rental Law, non-payment of the tenancy contract renewal fee by the tenant does not give the landlord the right to ask the rental court to evict the tenant just for that reason. Finally as per the Dubai Rental Law, the landlord has the right to file a rental case jointly with the main tenant against the one who signed the cheques. Therefore the cheques’ signatory will be forced by the Rental Court to pay only an amount equal to the cheque amounts that has been submitted to the landlord and which got returned by the bank.
Arbitrary dismissal
I have worked in a company for more than three years. The employer is currently pushing me to take a transfer to another branch with a position and salary lower then the one mentioned in the labour contract. He says that the move would benefit the company and that my failure to give in to his demand might even lead to my dismissal from work. Is the employer entitled to ask an employee to move to another branch and force a person to take a lower position and salary than his existing emoluments? Were I to refuse this demand and should it lead to my dismissal, would it be considered as arbitrary dismissal?
The Labour Law entitles the employer to transfer the employee to another company branch but the new job shall match the standard of the existing job, as also should the salary. Therefore, if such violation has been committed by the employer and the employee has subsequently been dismissed for such reason, the employer will be seen as going against the law and such dismissal may be deemed to be an arbitrary dismissal.
Questions answered by advocate Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Shaiba Advocates and Legal Consultants.
