I purchased a two-bedroom apartment in February for my personal use in Dubai Silicon Oasis. This is my one and only property in the UAE and it is mortgaged. The property was already rented so, as per the Dubai Court's advice, we sent a 12-month eviction notice on March 9 via the notary public office. The tenant's regular contract was expiring on November 14, whereas the legal notice term expires four months after on March 13 2018. We were chasing him to sign the remaining four-month contract but he did not respond well. To my surprise I then received a document from the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) last week, that says the tenant deposited a one-year cheque at Rera. This is despite receiving the court's eviction notice. How do I proceed further on this matter? AB, Dubai
The confusion here is exacerbated because there is no defined time when to serve the 12 months' notice of eviction for reason of own use.
Let me explain, on the one hand Law 33 of 2008 states that the notice ought to be served upon expiry of the tenancy agreement, in other words from just before November 14 2017. On the other hand, some judges at the Rental Dispute Settlement Centre (RDSC) do uphold the one-year notice sent at any time (which is what you have done).
Clearly your tenant did not agree about moving out in March 2018 so went quiet, preferring to lodge the rental cheques for the following year at Rera. This practice is perfectly legal.
The situation is that you bought the property to live in but your tenant does not want to leave. Your only option is to file a case at the RDSC. They will access the case and make a final decision.
While I cannot predetermine any outcome, I can say that in the past, some judges have requested another year be given to the tenant before finally vacating. The law here, however, is not set on precedents so it is also possible that you may win the case; it all depends on the presiding judge on the day.
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We are the tenants of an apartment whose ownership changed during the current tenancy contract but it was never communicated to us officially, nor was the tenancy contract amended with the new ownership. On top of that, the real estate company, that was acting as an agent, closed down. We did not have the contact details of the previous owner with whom the tenancy contract was signed nor the present owner. As required by law, we had to send a vacating notice 90 days prior to the tenancy contract expiring, but we did not have any details. When we finally got hold of the agent, she gave us the details via WhatsApp, but by then it was around 63 days before the expiry of the tenancy contract. We tried to reach the new owner on the phone but were not successful. I also sent the new broker my vacating notice via email, 34 days before the tenancy's expiry. The broker, who is now copying the new owner in via email, says we were too late in communicating our wish to vacate, so the present owner is now refusing to refund the security deposit once the apartment is vacated. The expiry is December 14. What should we do? RP, Dubai
Law 33 of 2008 amended law 26 of 2007, which is the law that regulates the relationship between landlords and tenants.
It is true that in the past, a tenant had to give 90 days’ notice if they did not want to renew their contract. Law 33 of 2008 did away with this requirement. In theory, a tenant does not (by law) have to give any notice if they no longer wish to renew their tenancy agreement. In practice, however, it is always good manners to give as much notice as possible to a landlord (for reason of not renewing) in order for him or her to then be able to find another tenant.
The landlord is not allowed to withhold the deposit for the reason given in your email. The deposit can only be used to bring back the property to the condition it was given at the start of the agreement or if any repairs or maintenance is required. If the landlord insists on his terms, you would be within your rights to file a case at the RDSC; this will cost 3.5 per cent of the annual rent to do so. You will have to weigh this cost against the actual deposit amount to see if it is economically viable to pursue the landlord.
Mario Volpi is the chief sales officer for Kensington Exclusive Properties and has worked in the property industry for over 30 years in London and Dubai. The opinions expressed do not constitute legal advice and are provided for information only. Please send any questions to mario.volpi@kensington.ae
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Engine: 2.3-litre, turbo four-cylinder
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Power: 300hp
Torque: 420Nm
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Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
Mane points for safe home colouring
- Natural and grey hair takes colour differently than chemically treated hair
- Taking hair from a dark to a light colour should involve a slow transition through warmer stages of colour
- When choosing a colour (especially a lighter tone), allow for a natural lift of warmth
- Most modern hair colours are technique-based, in that they require a confident hand and taught skills
- If you decide to be brave and go for it, seek professional advice and use a semi-permanent colour
