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RAK new tenancy law caps annual increase in rent at 15 per cent

RAS AL KHAIMAH — His Highnes Shaikh Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, issued yesterday a new tenancy law to govern the relationship between landlords and tenants and also capped the annual hike in rents at 15 per cent.

The legislation will be applicable only in cases of lease contracts of residential, commercial and industrial buildings or the vacant land pieces that have been rented for construction purposes and excluding lands used for agricultural purposes and their buildings, government properties or lands granted to individuals for residential purposes but ownerships of which have not been transferred to them, besides the long-term tenancy contracts.

This is in addition to the residential buildings or labour compounds that have been allocated by employers to their employees in accordance with the employment contracts and buildings leased for hospitality industry and tourist purposes besides properties that fall within the limits of free zones. Code No. 3 of the law establishes the Tenancy Disputes Committee (TDC) to be based in the premises of RAK Municipality (RM). The panel is headed by a judge from the RAK Cassation Court (RCC) and comprises a number of experts in law, engineering, accounting, economy, and administration besides a number of businessmen.

The new committee is tasked with looking into any of the disputes that might ensue between tenants and landlords with regard to the tenancy contracts. The decree also stated the ruling of the new body will be final and could not be appealed with any of the judiciary or governmental bodies in the emirate. Judicial bodies have also been banned from looking into any of the cases that are governed by the new legislation. The law also gave the landlord the right to evict the tenant in case the latter failed to pay the rent during two weeks from the agreed payment date. This is in addition to stating that the property-owner has no right to force the tenant to leave the leased property through forbidding him from using parts the facility, disconnection of water and electricity or by taking any of the tenant’s belongings. In any of the said cases, the renter should report it to the TDC. After inspecting the property, if the TDC ascertain the leaseholder’s claims it will give the landlord a grace period to correct the case, after which the tenant would have the right to do that by himself at the expenses of the owner.