Dubai Property Lawyers and Legal consultants state that the number of cases filed by the tenants against their landlords is increasing stridently after the seven percent rent cap came into effect last month. Tenants in the Northern Emirates and Dubai are complaining that the landlords are trying all possible tricks to win the cases filed against them and are trying to expel the tenants.

Due to the increasing numbers of complaints from tenants, the officials have warned strict actions to prevent any sort of abuse by the Landlords. However the complaints from the tenants are still on the increase, as the greedy Landlords are trying to rent the properties at higher rent rates to new tenants. Tenants complaint that the methods used by the Landlords to evict the tenants are the kind that outwit the law, and use compulsion when the requests fails.

Helpless tenants have begun notifying the authorities. A tenant in Bur Dubai is said to have complained that his Landlord has asked him to vacate on the pretext of carrying out repair and maintenance work in the premises. His contract was refused to be renewed, and the claim made was only verbal. The tenant had already paid a fifteen percent hike the previous year, and states that it would be an unfair deal if he had to vacate the hourse for a false repair claim.

In another incident, an Arab expatriate complained that his Landlady misled the authorities for having him evicted. His rent was already increased during 2005, and as there was no option of increase the following year, the Landlady was asking him to vacate the property for her personal use. He requested a couple of months time for vacating the premises, during which the lady refused to have any contact with the tenant, and finally filed a case that the rent had not been paid for two months, and the tenant was compelled to vacate.

The Chairman of Dubai Rent Committee, Mohammed Saeed Al Gandhi said that a total of 339 complaints were filed last month, most of which turned out in favour of the tenants. He added that if a landlord asks the tenant to vacate on the pretext of maintenance works, he should submit the approval from the local municipality for doing so. In case the maintenance work does not require vacating the tenant, the case will turn in favour of the tenant.

Labels: Rentals