An eviction lawsuit for non-payment of rent in the UAE is one of the most common types of cases heard before the Rental Disputes Settlement Committees in the country.

What is an eviction lawsuit for non-payment of rent in the UAE? And what rental law governs it? This article will address these questions.

An eviction lawsuit for non-payment of rent in the UAE varies from one emirate to another, according to the local law that regulates the rental relationship between the landlord and the tenant.

In this article, we will compare the eviction lawsuit for non-payment of rent in the two emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Eviction Lawsuit for Non-Payment of Rent in Abu Dhabi

According to the provisions of the Rental Law in Abu Dhabi, the tenant is obligated to pay the agreed-upon rent in the lease agreement to the landlord as follows:

• The tenant must pay the rent within 21 days from the written agreed-upon due date if the purpose of the lease is residential.
• If the purpose of the lease is for commercial, industrial, or professional activities, the tenant must pay the rent within 30 days from the written agreed-upon due date.
• The Abu Dhabi Rental Law considers a receipt showing the rent value and date as prima facie evidence of payment for all previous periods.
• In the absence of a written agreement on the rent payment date, the first day of every month is considered the due date.

Consequently, if the tenant fails to pay the rent on the scheduled dates, the landlord has the right to request the eviction of the tenant from the leased property before the Rental Disputes Settlement Committee in Abu Dhabi.

This committee must hear the case as quickly as possible and issue a judgment, either for eviction or to allow the tenant to remain if they prove that they have paid the rent due or provide justifications acceptable to the court.

Furthermore, both the landlord and the tenant have the possibility to appeal the judgment issued by the Rental Disputes Settlement Committee before the Appeals Committee, provided that the value of the lawsuit exceeds AED 100,000.

This is done in accordance with the procedures of the UAE Civil Procedures Law, i.e., within 15 days from the date of the judgment’s pronouncement in the defendant’s presence, or from the date of its notification to the absent convicted party.

Eviction Lawsuit for Non-Payment of Rent in Dubai

The Dubai Rental Law has specified the cases in which a landlord has the right to request the eviction of a tenant from a property before the end of the lease term.

Among these cases is when the tenant fails to pay the rent within 30 days from the date the landlord notifies them to pay, unless the two parties have agreed otherwise.

The landlord files the eviction lawsuit before the Rental Disputes Settlement Centre in Dubai, which is obligated to hear the case expeditiously.

Decree No. 26 of 2013 regarding the Commercial Disputes Settlement Centre in the Emirate of Dubai obligates the committees formed under its provisions to rule on lawsuits within a period not exceeding 30 days from the date the lawsuit is referred to them, unless there are compelling reasons to extend it further.

It also gives both the landlord and the tenant the possibility to appeal judgments issued by these committees if the value of the lawsuit exceeds AED 100,000.

However, an exception is made for cases where a judgment of eviction is issued, regardless of the lawsuit’s value. In such cases, both the tenant and the landlord have the possibility to appeal the eviction judgment before the appellate division, even if it is for less than AED 100,000.

Rental Law in the UAE

The UAE legislator has not issued a federal law to regulate rentals at the state level.
Instead, it has given each emirate the freedom to do so. Each of the seven emirates has issued its own law or decree to regulate the rental relationship between the landlord and the tenant within its territory.

To study an eviction lawsuit for non-payment of rent in the UAE, we must examine it according to the local rental law in each emirate.

However, the different rental laws in the UAE agree on the reasons that necessitate the eviction of a tenant due to non-payment of rent.

In most cases, they obligate the landlord to notify the tenant to pay the rent within a specified period, which is often 30 days from the due date agreed upon in the contract. If there is no payment date, the first of every month is considered the due date.

The landlord has the right to request eviction if the tenant does not pay the rent after the notice period has expired.

The procedures for filing a lawsuit before the Rental Disputes Settlement Committee in each emirate are almost identical, as the general law to be applied is the UAE Civil Procedures Law for the necessary procedures for litigation before these committees, in case there is no specific provision in the local rental laws.

The appeal period is almost uniform among all local laws, as the parties to the dispute must appeal judgments issued by the first-instance committees within 15 days from the date of the judgment’s pronouncement in the defendant’s presence, or from the date of its notification to the absent convicted party.

Thus, we have reached the end of our article on eviction lawsuits for non-payment of rent in the UAE.

We, Samaha Law Firm, have clarified the differences in this lawsuit among the seven emirates according to the local law governing the rental relationship in each emirate, and the connection of these laws with the UAE Civil Procedures Law. Contact Us.