Your rent is due soon but you just lost your job after your company was negatively affected by COVID-19 – what do you do next?

In normal circumstances – pre COVID-19 – a person leasing or renting a unit in the UAE could not terminate a rental contract by law, as most contracts require the lessee to submit a few months’ notice to the landlord, informing them that they cannot renew the contract. However, the situation changed significantly after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted businesses across the world.

A recent judgement by Dubai’s Rental Dispute Management Centre (RDC) confirmed that leases can be terminated in two cases.

Force majeure or 2. ‘Emergency circumstances’

Wael El Tounsy, head of Real Estate Dispute Resolution at Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla, said that it would be best for the tenant to approach their landlord directly to inform them of the job loss and request for lease termination.

Source – Gulf News – Read the full article here