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Sharjah tenants call for rent cap

SHARJAH — Around 200 tenants and representatives of real estate companies who turned up at the open session held by the Sharjah Municipality on Tuesday demanded a cap on the annual rent hike in the emirate.

by

Afkar Ali Ahmed

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Published: Thu 3 Apr 2008, 9:06 AM

Last updated: Sun 5 Apr 2015, 4:45 PM

The session was organised to explain the new tenancy law No. 2 of 2007.

However, the landlords stayed away from the session despite several requests by the municipality, Khaleej Times has learnt.

Hassan Mustaffa, Director of Legal Office at the Sharjah Amiri Court, said, “Some time has to be given before judging the effectiveness of the current tenancy law in settling disputes. The law can be amended if it is not bringing a fair deal to both sides — the tenants and landlords.”

The law has been amended six times since 1977 and will be amended again if required, he said.

Mustaffa explained that the Article 8 protects the interests of both the landlords and the tenants.

However, the participants repeatedly demanded a rent cap be incorporated in the new law which will come into effect soon.

Tenants attending the meeting said the residents in Sharjah feel the new law would not be in their favour but would be biased in favour of the landlords.

Mustafa Elawi, one of the tenants who attended the session, said the majority of the tenants in Sharjah are waiting for the new tenancy law to be enforced, provided it incorporates a specific rent cap to prevent landlords from fleecing them by raising rents up to 100 per cent.

Khalifah Amin, another tenant, said the rent cap has been successful in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and all residents are happy about it. He wondered why Sharjah is yet to announce the same.

The Sharjah Municipality statistics reveal that the number of the tenancy disputes has increased to 967 from the beginning of this year.

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