Tenants Rights When Ending Tenancy Agreement Early

A lease is a legal agreement between a landlord and a tenant for the use of a particular property for a specific period. However, sometimes situations may arise that make it necessary to end tenancy agreement early before its term expires. In the UAE, the laws stipulate certain procedures that must be followed to break a lease before its term expires.

Contents:

Common reasons for end tenancy agreement early:

•  A new job contract that you can’t miss.
•  You’re annoyed by some neighbours or a crowded neighborhood.
•  You want to change your lifestyle and discover a new community.
• Tired of the long commute between home and work.
•  Suddenly travelling within days to your country again due to personal circumstances.

On the other hand, the reason could be the termination of a lease and the landlord’s request for the tenant to vacate the property before the lease expires. Therefore, whatever the reason for terminating the lease, the tenant needs to be familiar with the Dubai Tenancy Law, Abu Dhabi Rental Law, Sharjah Rental Law, or Ras Al Khaimah Real Estate Registration Laws, depending on the state in which he or she resides. To avoid any legal issues, this article focuses on the things to consider when deciding to break a lease. 

Does the tenant have the right to end the tenancy agreement early?

Law No. 26 issued by the Real Estate Regulatory Agency in 2007 regulates the relationship between landlords and tenants, as it does not stipulate any clause regarding early termination of contracts, but it does regulate the relationship between the two contracting parties as long as this contract is valid.

The laws of the UAE – Dubai Land Department, Abu Dhabi Municipality, and other governmental organizations – stipulate the following:

• A certain agreed-upon period must be set for renting the property and signed in the lease contract extracted from the Ejari platform. The contract will expire at the end of the specified period.
• Once the fixed term expires and the landlord has not canceled the apartment lease, the contract is automatically renewed unless you are notified of the termination.

If a tenant wishes to terminate the tenancy agreement before the agreed period, they must negotiate with the landlord to reach a mutual settlement that ensures all rights and obligations are properly addressed.

Article 7 of Law No. 26 states, “If the lease contract is legally valid, the decision to terminate it may not be taken unilaterally during its validity period; it may only be taken in the case of mutual consent and payment of fines due accordingly.”

What are the consequences of terminating lease early by the tenant?

The tenant must be aware of the conditions included in the rental laws and the lease contract before deciding to terminate the contract. They should pay attention to the following: 

The tenant must pay the remaining months’ rent until the end of the contract, or pay a certain amount that you agree with the landlord to avoid being held legally liable. Thus, if you have already paid the rent in advance, the landlord is not legally required to refund any rental allowances to the tenant unless the contract stipulates this in a special clause. 

In this case, Masaakin advises you to pay attention to the following: 

1. Determine the value of the penalty for termination of the lease by the tenant before the end of the term, and the value of the compensation for termination of the lease by the landlord in the lease contract before signing or registering the contract officially.

2. Include a clause in the lease that specifies the notice period, not less than (90) days. Whether to terminate the contract or to make amendments to it. 

What are the steps to terminate a lease before its expiration? 

1.  Check the terms of the contract

After familiarizing yourself with the rental law in the emirate you live in and what it says about early termination of the contract. As a tenant, you should now go back to your rental contract and check if there are any clauses related to the termination of the contract or penalties for breach of any pre-agreed term or condition. 

Moreover, unless the landlord has included a break clause in the lease agreement for the unit you are living in, the landlord is not legally obligated to make any accommodations for you if you evict before the lease expires.

2. Negotiating with your landlord

If you decide to break your lease, we advise you to contact your landlord and start negotiating with them to reach the best agreement that suits both parties. You have one of two options:

Either pay the fine to compensate for breaking the lease or offer the landlord the possibility of finding a replacement tenant before you leave the property, in which case you will not incur any loss and may result in the fine being waived.

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3. Find a replacement property

Here… Negotiate with the landlord on how long you need to stay in the property until you find a new place to live. You can find apartments for rent on Masaakin, the options are varied and the prices are affordable.

Choose the method of terminating the contract either through the “Ejari” application in the Emirate of Dubai, the “Tawtheeq” application in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, or the real estate services trustee centers. You should pay attention to the following:

4. Cancellation of rental agreement

• The contract is terminated immediately in the event of cancellation via the website or app.
• Online services do not require payment of any fees.
• The service takes a maximum of 4 hours for cancellation through the CustodianCentres
• CustodianCentres requires a cancellation fee of AED 40.

It is worth mentioning that if the contract expires on time, the lease will be automatically terminated.

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