It is very common for a landlord and their tenant to fall into a dispute, however, mostly a tenant and landlord have already included a clause for dispute resolution. A few of the processes include arbitration and mediation. A lawsuit can also be filed against either party by either party. These types of legal disputes require a lawyer with expertise in property disputes. Regardless, it is advised that the dispute be resolved without involving legal authorities. This method saves time and resources for both the tenant and the landlord. Lawyers in Dubai can offer their services to tenants and landlords.
We shall explain the methods that can be adopted for conflict resolution between tenant and landlord.
Arbitration
Arbitration is a method that involves both parties submitting their respective disputes to a neutral body. The neutral party is known as the arbitrator. This method is adopted when the tenant and the landlord cannot resolve their dispute among themselves. Arbitrators are presented with a dispute from both the tenant and landlord. After that, the arbitrator must provide a solution to the dispute. The arbitrator is required to present a fair and just solution that is unbiased. It should offer no favors to either the tenant or the landlord. As in most legal proceedings a fee is to be paid to the arbitrator. Lawyers in Dubai provide such services.
Mediation
Mediation is not legally binding, but similar to the arbitration method the mediation method also involves a third neutral unbiased personnel. Which decides and concludes the dispute on the basis of provided evidence and facts. The mediation method, just like the arbitration method, is an inexpensive method that avoids the hassle and time consumption endeavors of filing a lawsuit in a court.
Filing a Lawsuit
This method is considered an extreme measure in comparison to arbitration and mediation. When a lawsuit is filed and the judge presides, all the proceedings of the lawsuit take their regular course. In UAE each jurisdiction has a unique set of rules regarding property disputes and may slightly differ from other jurisdictions.
However, filing a lawsuit is not advised and should be considered as a last resort, as this method involves many complexities.
The local courts are responsible for hearing a civil case. Therefore before filing a lawsuit or a court order, it is recommended that a property lawyer is consulted. A tenant may file a lawsuit against the landlord on the basis of any unlawful act, which includes discrimination, sub-standard basic services such as electricity and water supply, blackmail, or harassment of any kind or in any form. Similarly, the landlord can file a lawsuit against the tenant if the tenant acts unlawfully, such as not paying rent and damaging or altering property without permission, etc. In a tenant and a landlord agreement, the tenant is always advised to consult a property lawyer before signing any kind of lease agreement to avoid situations such as this.
How Lawyers in Dubai can help?
Our associates are trained to understand and research the applicable laws that are specific to landlord and tenant disputes. All lawyers in Dubai have easy access to the entire legal databases of UAE, this helps in researching cases quickly and effectively. If you feel that your case has many complexities, hiring/consulting a lawyer is a very crucial step.
As a tenant you must be aware that there is a clause that is usually in the lease/rental agreement, this clause states that the fee, of any legal proceeding of the landlord or the tenant themselves, will be paid by the tenant in the event the tenant loses the case filed against the landlord. Otherwise, if the tenant wins the case the fees will be paid by the landlord of both parties. This clause is added in order to avoid any frivolous lawsuit. Hence if an issue arises that is authentic and the tenant feels discriminated against or harassed, they would file a lawsuit, and winning that suit should not be any problem.
The laws regarding the rental agreement in the UAE are somewhat complicated. However, any violation that goes against the Sharia law will result in heavy fines and penalties. Before entering any kind of agreement as a tenant or when drafting a contract/lease agreement as a landlord it is advised that a lawyer is consulted. We at Lawyers in Dubai are available for arbitration, mediation, and court for your needs so that you can feel secure in your home.
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