If you are not renewing your tenancy contact in UAE...

...inform the landlord in writing 90 days prior to the expiry of the contract

My rental contract finished on February 4, and I informed them on January 2 that I will not renew my contract. But now the landlord is refusing to refund my deposit and claiming that I did not give one month's notice.
I signed the paper with them on January 2. They are insisting that they will deduct my deposit of Dh2,000 without any reason. An individual I know in the building office told me that he knows the landlord and I signed the notice over one month ago, but the landlord would not accept it. What legal recourse do I have?
It is understood that your rental contract expired on February 4 and you had informed your landlord in writing on January 2 that you are not willing to renew the tenancy contract. Your landlord is refusing to refund your deposit and is claiming that you have not given one-month notice period in accordance with the terms of the tenancy contract regarding non-renewal of tenancy contract.
Based on your question, we assume that the subject rented premises is within the Emirate of Dubai. It is the responsibility of the tenant to inform the landlord in writing at least 90 days prior to expiry date of the tenancy contract stating that he is not willing to renew the tenancy contract. Article 13 and Article 14 of the Law No. 33 of 2008 regarding 'Amending some provisions of Law No. 26 of 2007 Regulating Relationship Between Landlords & Tenants in the Emirate of Dubai' (the "Rental Law") states the provisions regarding renewing a tenancy contract.
Article 13 of the Rental Law states that "For the purpose of renewing tenancy contract, landlord and tenant upon expiry of the tenancy contract may amend any of the contract terms or review the rent whether by increase or decrease. If the parties do not reach an agreement regarding this, the Committee may decide fair rent considering the standards referred to in Article No. 9 of this Law."
Further, Article 14 of the aforementioned Law reads: "If either party of tenancy contract wishes to amend any of its conditions pursuant to Article 13 of this law, then he must notify the same to the other party not less than 90 days prior to expiry date, unless both parties agreed otherwise." Therefore the aforementioned clause may be interpreted, as one party shall notify the other party not less than 90 days prior to expiry date of contract regarding non-renewal of tenancy contract. It is evident that you have complied with one month notice if your contract states so. However you have not provided the landlord 90 days' notice.
In case, the landlord refused to refund the security deposit or accept your notice you may consider to approach Rental Dispute Committee at the Land Department of the Emirate of Dubai. Pursuant to the same, the competent forum at the Land Department may take a final call on the dispute between you and your landlord.
Arbitrary termination
I am working on an unlimited contract as a doctor in a hospital in Abu Dhabi since November 2014. The salaries have been regularly delayed for all the employees ranging from 2-4 months. In the first week of January 2016, I had some argument with the owner related to the salary delay. After that I had to rush to my home country on emergency leave of 11 days (application was approved by the medical director). Once I returned, I joined duty for a day and was supposed to attend a conference for four days in Dubai (leave approved) from the next day. But on the same day of joining, around 9.30pm, the HR department of my hospital shot a mail to me informing "Termination of my services" with one month notice & informed me not to attend office with immediate effect. My offer letter mentions 2 months of notice. My queries are as below -
a) Will the termination be considered legal, as it was sent through mail late in the night when I was off duty and was on approved conference leave from the next day?
b) Will this be considered "Arbitrary Termination"? If so what should be my next steps? What would be the action taken by the legal dept.?
c) Does the offer letter have more weightage than the employment contract if it is in favour of the employee as there are many terms & conditions mentioned in the offer letter which are not there in the employment contract.

Know the law The offer letter signed by you and your employer shall be considered valid by the Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation and the Courts of competent jurisdiction only if it is attested and filed with the ministry as of January 01, 2016, all offer letters are to be filed with the ministry.

Pursuant to your questions, we advise you that the email sent by your employer regarding termination is valid one as per Article 117(1) of the Federal Law No. 8 of 1980 (the "Labour Law) of UAE which states "both the employer and the worker may terminate a contract of employment of unlimited duration for a valid reason at any time following its conclusion by giving the other party notice in writing at least 30 days before the termination."
In case your employer has not mentioned the reason for your termination in the email, it may be treated as arbitrary termination of employment in accordance with Article 122 of the Labour Law which states: "A worker's service shall be deemed to have been arbitrarily terminated by his employer if the reason for the termination is irrelevant to the worker and, more particularly, if the reason is that the worker has submitted a serious complaint to the competent authorities or has instituted legal proceedings against the employer that has proved to be valid."
Ashish Mehta is the founder and Managing Partner of Ashish Mehta & Associates. He is qualified to practise law in Dubai, the United Kingdom, Singapore and India. Full details of his firm on: www.amalawyers.com. Readers may e-mail their questions to: news@khaleejtimes.com or send them to Legal View, Khaleej Times, PO Box 11243, Dubai.