Is having pets reason to evict tenants?
II have been living in a residential complex where pets are allowed within the apartment. After over a year here, my landlord sent me a notice that he would not renew my tenancy contract as it has come to his attention that I own a pet and he does not allow pets in the apartment. This was not mentioned in my contract with the rental agency though. I feel, he is using my pet as an excuse. Can I be asked to leave on these grounds, without warning? Pursuant to your queries, it is assumed that the apartment where you are residing is located in Dubai. We further assume that there is no such restriction by the building owner’s association to keep pets in the apartment. You may inform the owner of the apartment that there is no restriction imposed by the building owner’s association on keeping pets in the apartments.
Further, you can inform the owner of the apartment that the tenancy contract has no mention of not allowing pets in an apartment and, therefore, it is your interpretation of the terms of the tenancy contract that there is no prohibition of keeping pets. However, the owner of your apartment may come up with his interpretation by stating that tenancy contract does not mention that you can keep pets.
Your dog should not be a nuisance to other residents of the building and should not disturb the cleanliness and hygiene of the surroundings. You have not mentioned the breed of the dog residing in the apartment. Federal Law No. 22 of 2016 related to possession of dangerous animals does not allow the residents in the UAE to keep pet dogs like Pit bull, Boxer, Dobermann etc.
The owner of your apartment may serve you notice for one year to evict the apartment. This is in accordance with article 25(2) of law no. 33 of 2008 amending law no. 26 of 2007 regulating the relationship between landlords and tenants in Dubai “... For the purposes of paragraph (2) of this article, the landlord must notify the tenant of the eviction reasons twelve (12) months prior to the date set for eviction, provided that this notice is given through a notary public or registered post.” You may consider approaching the Dubai Municipality and Rental Dispute Centre in Dubai to take their view on this matter.
What to do when work visa is rejected
I am an Algerian on a tourist visa here in Dubai. I signed an offer letter on November 8 and was waiting for my visa change (tourist to work visa). On December 12, a company representative called me and said that my work visa was rejected. He said the company would try to apply for a free zone work visa. What should I do in this situation? Offer letters generally have a clause stating that the offer is subject to approval of your visa application by the authorities in the UAE. There could be several reasons why your visa application was rejected by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. For instance, the employer does not have quota to employ another employee; or your employment visa held previously was not cancelled properly; or an employment ban from a previous employment; or any other reason. You may consider to exit the UAE upon expiry of your tourist visa and once your employment visa is issued by the authorities to a free zone entity, you may arrive on an employment visa.