Hi, We were renting a villa in Jumeirah with lease ending Oct. 19. But, there were major plumbing issues that the landlord did not take care of, so we moved out early (Aug 15). Unfortunately, we handed over the keys to the landlord at his request. We advised him that we were going to close Dewa on September 21, since we were no longer living in the villa and he had the key (and was allowing workers into the villa to renovate). So now, we have been requesting our deposit back and the landlord has not replied. I doubt the lease has been registered. Do we have any recourse???? thanks so much.
1step properties advise that the landlord is supposed to give back the security deposit within 2 months after the end of the rent. He can keep part of the security deposit to renovate in case the tenant was responsible for any damage to the property. Even if the rent was not registered they can still contact the rental committee at the Land Department, they will help you. Normally by advising the Landlord that you will go to the Rental Commitee is enough to make him change his mind…
Apologies – 1Step Properties would like to make an amendment to this answer they don’t have 2 months to give back the money the law text says exactly:
Law No 26 of 2007
“The Landlord must undertake to refund the security deposit , or any remaining part thereof, upon expiry of the period of lease.”
As advice, the text go on:
“To reduce the chance of dispute between the parties, the lease should make clear in which circumstances the Landlord can utilize the guarantee and in which circumstances the guarantee is to be returned to the Tenant”
About the Rental Committee this is fine. The Landlord is responsible to register with Ejari, so in this case, they can go to the Rental Committee and explain the problem.