File a police complaint if your neighbour plays loud music

Q:I stay in a one-bedroom-hall flat in Dubai. We have a neighbour, who plays loud music on the weekends. The music is so loud that it disturbs our sleep and that of our children. I have tried requesting the neighbour to reduce the volume, which he does, but then increases it again after some time. I tried complaining to the watchman, but he says there is nothing he can do. Is there anything we can do to stop him?

A:Pursuant to your queries, as a tenant, it is your right to reside in the rented premises peacefully. If the loud music irritates you and your family and affects your sleep, you should approach the owner of the building and make a complaint against your neighbour. Based on your complaint, the owner of your building — after observation of your neighbour’s act of playing loud music — can warn the said neighbour, either verbally and in writing. It is the responsibility of the owner of the building to provide peaceful possession of the rented premises.

This is in accordance with article 770(1) of Federal Law No. 5 of 1985 on the issuance of the civil transactions law for the UAE (the ‘Civil Law’), which states: “A lessor may not cause any nuisance to a lessee in enjoying the benefit during the lease period and shall not make any change in the leased entity that prevents its benefit from being received or prejudices the benefit contracted upon; otherwise, he shall be liable therefore.”

Further, as your neighbour is also a tenant in the said building, he cannot exceed his enjoyment of the premises which will cause damage or nuisance to others. This is in accordance with Article 777(2) of the Civil Law, which states: “However, if the lessee’s enjoyment exceeds the limits of the agreement or violates the norms, he shall be liable for any damage resulting from his act.”

In the event the said neighbour does not reduce the loud music, you or owner of your building may approach the nearest police station at Dubai and file a complaint against the neighbour on grounds of public nuisance. The police may transfer the said matter to public prosecution if a complaint is registered against the neighbour. Based on the findings of the case and witnesses, the public prosecution may order the tenant to vacate the rented premises for disturbing peaceful cohabitation of his neighbours.

This is in accordance with Article 796 of the Civil Law, which states: “The tenancy of the house or the like shall not be terminated by virtue of the fact that a tenant has shown immorality. The public prosecution shall order him to desist from indecency. However, if he fails to do so, the judge shall, at the request of the owner or the neighbour, order him to quit the premises and the rent shall be charged to him.

If his indecency causes damage to the house or to a neighbour, he shall be liable for the rent for the period in which he quits the house before it is leased to him.”

Further, you and your owner of the building may file a written complaint with the Dubai Municipality. The Dubai Municipality may impose a fine on your neighbour..

Q:I am working for a company on an unlimited contract and recently submitted my resignation. However, my visa will expire in 20 days, while the duration of my notice period is two months. Do I still need to serve my full notice period even though my visa is expiring? What are the options open to me? Can my employer renew it for just 40 days and then cancel it or can I just request cancellation of visa and leave?

A:Pursuant to your queries, we assume that you are employed by a mainland company in the UAE and your employment is governed by Federal Law No. 8 of 1980 regulating employment relations in the UAE (the ‘Employment Law’) and subsequent ministerial orders issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. It should be noted that employment contract and the residence visa are two different aspects. Since you are employed on an employment contract of unlimited duration, you are to serve notice period even though your residence visa sponsored by your employer is expiring shortly. Unlimited term of employment contract usually do not have an end date.

Since there is no end date for employment contracts of unlimited duration, it cannot be terminated only for the reason of expiry of residence visa. Article 1(II) of the ministerial decree no. 775 of 2015 on rules and conditions for the termination of employment relations covers the terms and conditions for termination of unlimited term of employment contract. It states: “An employment relation between employer and employee may be terminated In the case of unlimited (not term-bound) contracts, if any of the following instances occurs:

1. The two parties consent to termination.

2. One party acts, at any time, to terminate the contract subject to notifying the other party and continuing to honour contractual obligations of the duration of the notice period, which cannot be less than one month and cannot exceed three months.

3. One party (employer or employee) acts unilaterally to terminate the contract, without complying with the legal conditions described (2) above and without reason of non-compliance by the other party; in this case the terminating party bears any legal consequences of early termination.

4. The employer acts to terminate the contract of an employee who commits any of the violations that are described in article (120) of the Federal Employment Law.”

Based on the aforementioned provision of law, you may request your employer to terminate the contract on mutual understanding. In the event the employer does not agree for mutual termination, you may have to pay salary in lieu of 40 (forty) days notice period for early termination of the employment contract. This is in accordance with Article 119 of the Employment Law. It states, “Where an employer or an employee fails to give the other party notice of the termination of the contract or reduces the period of the notice, the party obliged to give notice shall pay the other party compensation, called ‘compensation in lieu of notice’, even where no prejudice has been sustained by the other party as a result of such failure or reduction. The said compensation shall be equal to the employee’s remuneration in respect of the entire period of notice or the time by which it was reduced. Compensation in lieu of notice shall be calculated on the basis of the remuneration last received, in the case of employee remunerated on a monthly, weekly, daily or hourly basis or in the case of an employee remunerated at piece rates, on the basis of the average daily remuneration referred to in Article 57 of this Law.”

Your employer may not renew your residence visa only for the sake of 40 days, rather he would mutually terminate the employer contract, cancel your visa and pay your end-of-service benefits. Or else the employer may ask you to pay ‘compensation in lieu of notice’ for 40 days and thereafter may proceed to cancel your residence visa and settle your end -of -service benefits.

Ashish Mehta is the founder and Managing Partner of Ashish Mehta & Associates. He is qualified to practise law in Dubai, the United Kingdom, Singapore and India. Full details of his firm on: www. amalawyers.com. Readers may e-mail their questions to: news@khaleejtimes.com or send them to Legal View, Khaleej Times, PO Box 11243, Dubai.