Hi Louise, we are a British family in desperate need of advice. We rented a furnished house in Jumeirah Village Triangle two years ago. We have a small puppy and a baby. The furniture was of bad quality and when it came to the end of our two years when we were ready to move on we told the landlord we would like to leave. She had visited two months before and told us that the property was in good nick.  However, it has come to discussing our deposit (AED 7000) and they are now saying they want all of it plus more due to damages. We admit to breaking a lamp and plates and glasses but AED 7000 worth?? She says that the garden furniture we need to replace as its broken, the mattress has a small stain on it and needs to be replaced (the list goes on). They also say that we need to pay two months extra rent as we are in breech of our contract. This means we need to pay AED 28000 they say if we don’t pay we will be taken to court and could then have to pay for their lawyers fees if we loose. As they have these picture of the items we have damaged in the property we are scared they will win. They say as we had a dog we are in trouble too.

Our experts and 1Step Properties advise that in this case you should open a case with the rental committee located at the Dubai Land Department. You will have to speak in front of the rental committee (who is in general in favor of the tenant) to explain that the furniture has been damaged (which is normal in a fully furnished as there is normally a clause in the contract about” wear & tear”).  For costs of going to the rental committee please click here

Your landlord should also give you detailed invoices of the items they have to buy to replace the damaged ones.

With regards to the dog it is difficult to advise on this matter as we do not know if pets were or were not permitted in the property as per the contract.