The protection of tenants against unjust eviction

With the recent surge in rental rates in areas such as Dubai Marina, Downtown and The Palm, stories are starting to emerge of landlords wishing to evict tenants in order to, presumably, take advantage of the opportunity to place hefty rental increases on properties. This practice is not new and was around in the pre-recession period when rental increases desired by landlords were out of control.

Law No.33, Article 25(2) provides protection to the tenant by stipulating under which circumstances a tenant can be evicted.

If the landlord wishes to demolish the property or conduct construction which makes it impossible for the tenant to use the property, the landlord has grounds to affect an eviction.

Similarly, if comprehensive maintenance needs to be carried out on the property which cannot be undertaken while the tenant is in situ, the landlord can evict the tenant upon the provision of a technical report accredited by the Dubai Municipality.

Meanwhile, the landlord has the right to evict a tenant if the landlord wishes to use the property for his or her personal use and for the use by a next of kin. The landlord will have to prove that the landlord does not have access to an alternative property as a suitable alternative.

Finally, if the landlord wishes to sell the property, he or she is entitled to evict the tenant.

In all of the above cases, the tenant must be given at least 12 months’ notice of the eviction and the reasons and necessary documentation supporting the notice to evict, at least 12 months prior to the expiry date of the tenancy contract.

BY MOHANAD ALWADIYA
Managing Director
Harbor Real Estate.

UAE’s real estate market robust

DUBAI: Sentiment in the UAE real estate investment market improved during the second quarter (Q2) of 2012, boosted by the rising availability of funds for investments, reports RICS in its latest Global Commercial Property Survey.

On the investment side, purchaser enquiries rose for the second consecutive quarter and transactions are forecast to rise in the coming months. Significantly, expectations for capital values in the UAE for the third quarter show a modest increase for the first time since 2008.

According to the RICS survey, 16 per cent more respondents indicated that money available for investment in real estate increased during the second quarter of the year.

Meanwhile occupier demand, led by an active retail sector, continued its rise, though at a slightly slower pace.

New supply coming on to the office market adds to existing stocks so that despite the recovery in demand the oversupply situation continues to impact upon rental expectations.

Elsewhere, following on from strong first quarter results, the real estate market in North America and Canada has remained buoyant in both occupier and investor markets despite the global economic slowdown.

China and Hong Kong also appear to have relatively resilient occupier markets for the time being. However, once again, the survey shows a generally weaker picture across Europe, with signs of stress spreading from the periphery to other markets.

Greece, Spain, Portugal, France and Italy in particular showed signs of distress during this quarter of the year, with both sentiment and activity levels suffering on the back of elevated uncertainty.

Commenting on the latest survey results, Simon Rubinsohn, RICS Chief Economist, said: “It is encouraging that there are now some tentative signs of a turn in the real estate market in the UAE. At the moment, this is more visible in the investment market and it will take some time to work off the excess space that has built up in recent years.” “As a result, it may be premature to envisage any upturn in rent levels but after a torrid period, the indications are that that they are at least now close to stabilising,” Simon Rubinsohn added.

In a continuation of its recent strong performance and with a total value of over Dhs2 billion, Dubai’s Real Estate industry achieved the highest number of unit sales and corresponding total unit value for any month of July on record according to data sourced from the Dubai Land Department.

With 1,767 transactions, the industry saw over 193,629 sqm (2.084Mill sq ft.) of property units sold during the month showing demand for Dubai property units continues.

Consistent with recent trends, the top performing areas were Dubai Marina, Downtown and JLT where the combined value of the transactions from these areas accounted for approximately 67 per cent of the total value of unit transactions during the month.

“The recovery is certainly with us,” said Mohanad Alwadiya, Managing Director of Harbor Real Estate in Dubai. “Confidence is returning to the market and, when considering the latest reports regarding healthy profits and renewed activity by several leading developers, the industry is certainly looking vibrant again.”

Alwadiya was referring to announcements made recently by Emaar regarding an 82 per cent surge in profits in the first half of 2012 along with renewed interest in developing a townhouse project in Dubailand.

Nakheel has also returned strong profit growth for the first half of 2012 up 36 per cent from the same period last year.

The company, restructured as a result of the global financial crisis, is also planning new developments based upon the resurgence in demand for Dubai property.

“We have all been waiting for this time, when optimism based on growing confidence would return to the market,” said Alwadiya, who added, “The growth trend is looking very exciting.”

Dubai’s Real Estate industry achieve total value of over Dhs2bn

Harbor Real Estate in Brief:
Harbor Real Estate is a fully integrated real estate service provider based in Dubai and part of an established world class group of real estate companies since 2001. With a strong reputation and a veteran team with over 15 years of experience in the industry, Harbor Real Estate provides Integrated Marketing, Sales and Leasing Services, Innovative Property Supervision Management Services and Complete Property Inspection & Snagging services.

Having served over 5,000 satisfied customers, Harbor has an extensive clientele base that consists of public and private entities, major developers, private and institutional investors and owner-occupiers.

In 2009, Harbor Real Estate Brokerage established a quarterly real estate report “The Harbor Report”. This candid report covers the latest news, developments and trends in the real estate industry with an in-depth analysis of the latest topics and current affairs.

For More Information, please contact:
Lorie Ann Paul
Office Manager – Harbor Communications
T: +971 4 325 1616
Source Article from http://www.ameinfo.com/strong-july-dubai-real-estate-308114

Strong July for Dubai Real Estate

In a continuation of its recent strong performance and with a total value of over 2 billion dirhams, Dubai’s Real Estate industry achieved the highest number of unit sales and corresponding total unit value for any month of July on record according to data sourced from the Dubai Land Department.

With 1,767 transactions, the industry saw over 193,629 sqm (2.084Mill sq ft.) of property units sold during the month showing demand for Dubai property units continues.

Consistent with recent trends, the top performing areas were Dubai Marina, Downtown and JLT where the combined value of the transactions from these areas accounted for approximately 67% of the total value of unit transactions during the month.

“The recovery is certainly with us” said Mohanad Alwadiya, Managing Director of Harbor Real Estate in Dubai. “Confidence is returning to the market and, when considering the latest reports regarding healthy profits and renewed activity by several leading developers, the industry is certainly looking vibrant again”
Alwadiya was referring to announcements made recently by EMAAR regarding an 82% surge in profits in the first half of 2012 along with renewed interest in developing a townhouse project in Dubailand.

Nakheel has also returned strong profit growth for the first half of 2012 up 36% on 2011. The company, restructured as a result of the global financial crisis, is also planning new developments based upon the resurgence in demand for Dubai property.

“We have all been waiting for this time, when optimism based on growing confidence would return to the market” said Alwadiya, who added “The growth trend is looking very exciting”.

To read live news open this link: http://www.ameinfo.com/strong-july-dubai-real-estate-308114