Abu Dhabi introduced new rental regulations to settle disputes within a short period of time, and to ensure quick and fair justice to all the parties involved. Rental Dispute Settlement Committees (the ‘Committees’) allow landlords to directly approach the Enforcement Department. They can claim unpaid rents or evacuate the tenants when the tenants fail to pay the rent for a maximum of 30 days, provided the Committees issue a ruling to this extent.
However, the eviction notice will be issued by the Committees only after they have heard all the parties. The eviction is also applicable only to cases where there has been a non-payment of rent. A notice will be served to the tenant to pay the rent due within a period of 21 days from the date of the notice in case of residential properties and 30 days in case of commercial and industrial properties.
The Committees shall issue a decision for a minimum of two days and a maximum of three weeks. If the tenant has paid the arrears within the period mentioned above, the eviction decision shall be withheld.
These new regulations are applicable to registered tenancy contracts. The registered contracts are said to have an executory instrument status as per the new regulations. The intention is to protect both the landlords and the tenants.
The aim of the new regulations, as we can conclude, is to quickly resolve the rental disputes through a simple process. It is further aimed at reducing time spent by the courts on such cases.
