Dubai will have unified rent contract

dubai — From March, all of Dubai’s property lease contracts will have a unified structure, the Dubai Land Department (DLD) announced on Wednesday.

Landlords can download and print the new contracts from the Ejari website. The new contracts define the roles and responsibilities of all parties involved, especially the landlord and tenants.

According to the DLD, the unified contract regulates the rental and property management markets and all related requirements, including licensing and guarantees. The new form has been designed to regulate relationships between all parties involved in real estate transactions and guarantees the rights of all parties, the DLD noted.

Niraj Masand, director of Banke International, a boutique property brokerage in Dubai, said the new lease form would benefit both the landlord and tenant, with the latter

Previously, agents, landlords and tenants used contracts that in part were in contradiction with the law Mario Volpi,

standing to benefit more in terms of unfair evictions and disproportionate rent hikes.

“Even though the prevalent law is well-known, the same is not reflected in the current green contract typically used by landlords and tenants. With the new unified lease form, it will be directly printed on the Ejari website with all the clauses as per the prevalent law. Any exception will have to be clearly stated and jointly agreed between the landlord and the tenant,” Masand added.

Mario Volpi, chief sales officer, Kensington Exclusive Properties, said the new unified contract would ensure clarity for all parties.

“The new unified lease gives clarity to the whole rental process as only one contract will be allowed. This new form does away clauses that contradicted current laws as per the old contracts. Previously, agents along with landlords and tenants were using tenancy contracts that in part were in total contradiction with the law,” added Volpi.

“The adoption of the unified lease form comes within the framework of our efforts to embed principles of transparency in the real estate market,” Mohammed Ahmed Yahya, deputy chief executive officer of the Rental Affairs Sector, DLD, said. Mahmood Shaikhani, managing director of Shaikhani Group, said this is a long overdue process and will help bring in more transparency in the market. “We welcome this move. Standardisation is very essential for developing systems and processes that gives the consumers a clear guideline and helps settle things,” he said.

Noorul Asif, chief operating officer of Schon Properties, said the unified lease form is a step in the right direction. “In order to promote best practices and improve transparency, governments need to standardise processes and documentation,” he said.

Last year, he said the DLD processed 490,000 lease documents through its Ejari system. “In future, this number is going to go up as developers continue to supply new homes. A unified lease form will help streamline the process and it falls in line with the government’s overall development vision,” Asif said.

— deepthi@khaleejtimes.com

chief sales officer, Kensington Exclusive Properties