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Friday, November 22, 2013

Abu Dhabi scraps five per cent rent cap

Abu Dhabi has removed the annual five per cent cap on rent increases, according to a resolution issued on Thursday.
The resolution issued by the Abu Dhabi Executive Council annuls the yearly rent increase and rent contract extensions from November 10, a WAM report said.
Analysts say the rents will now be determined by the market forces and the location and the neighbourhood of the buildings.
The change in rental laws comes as the property market in the capital has picked up pace.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Rental Dispute Settlement Centre operational today in Dubai

Sultan Butti bin Mejren, Director General, DLD
The Rental Dispute Settlement Centre, the judicial arm of the Dubai Land Department (DLD), begins operations today.

Established by Decree No 26, 2013, issued by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the settlement centre will be based at the department’s head office.Working hours will be 7:30am to 2:30pm and then from 4:30pm, according to the DLD.
Promising speedier resolutions to property disagreements, Sultan Butti bin Mejren, Director General, DLD, said, in a statement, "The opening of the new rental disputes settlement centre is a move aimed at delivering an improved level of services to DLD’s clients.“It will allow us to address disputes occurring from real estate issues in a timely and professional manner consistent with the department’s highest standards.”

“We have already recruited 48 legal experts for the centre,” he had said.The settlement centre has to resolve most of disputes in a maximum of 30 days.

According to the Article 16 of the decree, all committees will have to judge all rental lawsuits within a period not exceeding 30 days from the date of referral of the case to them.The deadline may, however, be extended in accordance with the rules and procedures adopted by the chairman of the Centre in this regard.

Free zones included
The settlement centre will handle all disputes arising between leaseholders and tenants located in the emirate, including its free zones.

Either party is able to file a claim with the centre and can request temporary judgments or interim relief.

They can also appeal decisions made by the centre, which implements its judgments on disputes. Judge Abdul Qader Mousa has been appointed as head of the centre.

"The Rental Disputes Settlement Centre will provide transparent resolution services that have been designed to help all parties to work and live in Dubai in an environment governed by clear rules,” said Mejren.

10 committees

In September, Mejren had said that the centre will have 10 committees, out of which eight will be committees for cases of first instances, and two for appeal.
Earlier judgments passed by Dubai Municipality Rent Committee were final and could not be appealed. The settlement centre allows an appeal only in cases where the value is over Dh100,000.In other cases, all judgments are considered final and not subject to appeal.

Fees

No fee details were given, but Mejren had said earlier the centre will charge 3.5 per cent of the annual rent as fees, similar to the fee charged by Dubai Municipality Rent Committee.

“The fee will remain the same as charged earlier by the Rent Committee for a few months until the centre revises it, if need may be.”
The settlement centre’s scope of practice does not cover rental disputes arising within Dubai’s free zones, which have their own judicial committees, or special courts, to adjudicate in such matters.

Moreover, its authority does not extend to disputes arising from contract leasing, as well as those arising from long-term leases covered by the provisions of Decree No 7 for the year 2006, which pertains to real estate registration in Dubai.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

New residence visa rules in UAE -Dh20,000 salary must to sponsor parents

The new ruling requires applicants to provide evidence of either having a minumum salary of Dh20,000 or a monthly pay of Dh19,000 plus a two-bedroom accommodation. The development has left many long-term residents here at their wits’ end.
Earlier rules
According to earlier rules (in place until a few weeks ago), someone able to provide proof of a monthly salary of Dh10,000 or Dh9,000 per month plus accommodation should have been able to sponsor either set of parents on a permanent basis
The minimum salary seems to be the only clause updated by the Ministry of Interior’s General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in the new list of pre-requisites for those seeking to obtain long-term stay for their parents under ‘Humanitarian Cases’.
A Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD) official confirmed this .
Residents wanting to sponsor their parents must also furnish proof that they are living in a an apartment that has a minumum of two bedrooms.The tenancy contract should be officially attested. Similarly, the labour contract bearing proof of salary must be attested by the Ministry of Labour.
An applicant must also pay a deposit of Dh2,000 per parent after seeking approval for sponsorship from the special committee that handles such cases.As in the past, expats must also provide documents to prove that their parents are entirely dependent on them and that there is no one to take care of them back home.

This has to be certified by a letter from the embassy or consulate of the applicant’s home country.It’s not immediately clear how the new rule will impact expats whose parents are already in the UAE on residence visas.

Monday, November 11, 2013

Get Dubai immigration token sitting at home - The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai and Du signed MOU

No more do you have to wait in long queues at the Department of Immigration and Naturalisation in Dubai as 'smart queuing' will become a reality.

The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai and Du signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the Gitex Technology Week 2013, to develop a smart app, among other areas, to simply a visit to the Directorate.
Smart queuing will be realised through time slots that can be booked by people who plan to visit the Directorate.
In order to get a token, you must select the purpose for which you plan to visit the Department, explained an official. Based on the number of people who have booked a time slot before you, you will be given a timeslot during which you are expected to visit the Department.
The timeslot can only be given on the same day of the request, and a new smart queue will be formed every day.
"This means you should be able to come to the Department on the same day, otherwise you should not book the time slot," said the official.

"We already have a queuing system in place, but the app enables customers to get a token for the queue online," explains Colonel Khalid Nasser Al Razooqi, General Director of the E-services Sector.

"The estimated time slot is based on the calculation of the average time each request is handled with. This is different for each service required, but it is never longer than 3 minutes."

Apart from the token, a general list of requirements will be provided based on the request, which will help customers prepare better for their visit to the Department.

The same information is available on the website, and customers can call the customer service desk to inquire about the required documents if they are not sure, said the Colonel.

“We are proud to support the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, by making the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai a smart establishment, with full m-government accessibility for everyone within the UAE,” said Major General Al Marri, Director of General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai.

“Through this collaboration, we aim to make our customers’ interactions even more streamlined, by rolling out various features that will add to their experience in a positive way.”

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Expatriates with traffic fines cannot leave UAE

 Expatriates who have committed road offences will not be allowed to leave the UAE unless they pay all their traffic fines in line with new Interior Ministry measures.

The ministry said the new rules would be later expanded to cover all other financial obligations by expatriates seeking to cancel their visa and leave the country.

“We have linked procedures to cancel visas for expatriates with the payment of all their traffic fines.This step is intended to ensure departing expatriates will pay all their financial dues to the state,” said Brigadier Rashid Sultan Al Khadr, Director, Legal Affairs Department at the Interior Ministry.

“This is just a first step as it affects only individuals who apply for visa cancellation and must now pay their traffic fines. The ministry is also considering expanding this experience in the near future so all visa and immigration procedures will be linked to payment of all dues, including traffic, civil defence and other fees,” he told the Dubai-based Arabic language daily Emarat Al Youm.

Khadr said the computer systems of the traffic police have already been linked to those in all immigration departments in the UAE.“This means no application for visa cancellation by expatriates will be approved and they will not be allowed to leave the UAE unless they pay all their traffic fines.”

He said the new measures are part of an overall plan designed to cope with what he described as “the new developments and changes”, adding they would help bolster security for people and protect the country’s rights.

According to Emarat Al Youm, drivers in the UAE committed around 1.95 million traffic offences in the first quarter of 2013.