Panel Rejects Landlord’s Plea for Nod to Evict 142 Families

The committee cited absence of any legal grounds and irrelevance of the justifications given by the landlord for evicting the tenants. General Secretary of the committee Counsellor Ibrahim Fareihat told Khaleej Times that the landlord wanted to evict the tenants because the current annual rent is low when the rents have risen in the area.

The landlord said he was earning only about Dh7 million as rents annually now.

Renovation of the building and renting the apartments out fresh would fetch him around Dh50 million per year.

The landlord said in the plea that he is the head of a large family and has only one building.

He wants higher returns on his investment so that he could look after his family better. A number of investors have presented him with good offers. Fareihat said the committee rejected the plea because better returns for the landlord’s investment are not a legal basis for evicting the tenants. The committee allows eviction of the tenants only for seven reasons. They include non-payment of rent; the tenant giving up the lease or renting the apartment to subcontractors; and breach of the terms of the rent contract by allowing more number of people than allowed to stay in the apartment. Exploitation of the apartment or leasing the premises against the interests of the lessor or using the apartment in a manner that violated the terms of the lease could be another valid reason.

If the landlord has got a permit from the competent authorities to demolish the building, which will normally be allowed only if the building is 15 years old or more, the committee allows eviction of tenants. In such a case, the landlord is obliged to give the tenants a grace period of at least six months from the date of the demolition permit to vacate the flats.

adel@khaleejtimes.com