Six months ago, I rented out my villa in Dubai through a real estate office for a family’s use. Nearly two months ago, I found that the villa was in violation of Dubai Municipality rules since the original tenant had sub-leased the villa to a number of persons. The original tenant is not entitled to sub-lease the property as per the tenancy contract. Due to this violation, I asked the sub-tenants to vacate the villa but they refused stating that they had rented the villa from the original tenant. They said they had paid the rent in full to the original tenant. My questions here are: As the owner of the villa, am I entitled to file a rental case to evict the sub-tenants as the original tenant has sublet the villa without a written permission from me? Are the sub-tenants, by payment of the rent in full, entitled to stay in the villa until the end of the contract? In this case, do I have the right to cut the electricity and water supply to force them to vacate? In the tenancy contract, it is mentioned that the landlord has the right to cut the electricity and water supply in case the tenant violates the terms and condition of the tenancy contract.
The original tenant has violated the terms of the tenancy contract by sub-leasing the villa without a written permission from the landlord. Therefore, if a rental case is filed before the rental court, the court may order the original tenant to evict the sub-tenants and hand over the villa to the landlord due to this violation. However, the landlord, as per the rental law, has no right for any reason to cut the electricity and water supply even if it is mentioned so in the tenancy contract.
Arbitrary dismissal
I have been working in a company in Dubai for two years. My contract is for an unlimited period. A month ago, my employer terminated my service arbitrarily without stating any reason. In my Labour contract, the notice period mentioned is three months. The company says that I must leave immediately. My employer is ready to pay three months’ salary in compensation for unfair termination but is not ready to pay for my notice period. The company says as per the UAE Labour Law, the employee has no right to claim three months’ salary in compensation for unfair termination as well as a compensation for the notice period. As per the UAE Labour Law, do I have the right to get a compensation for the three-month notice period since I was ready to work for that period but my employer did not allow me? If my employer doesn’t pay my gratuity after my visa cancellation, how do I go about getting my dues? Is it possible for someone else to pursue the case for me after I leave the UAE because I need to go back to my country for an urgent matter? My employer terminated my service via an email and I did not reply to that email. Does the email termination considered legal?
If the questioner files a complaint against the sponsor in the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, the ministry would try to solve the complaint amicably between the questioner and employer. If that attempt fails, the questioner can ask the Ministry of Labour (Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation) to refer the complaint to the competent labour court for consideration. If the questioner is unable to stay in the country until the end of the labour case, he may submit an application at the Labour Ministry stating that the questioner has no objection to the cancellation of his visa and, accordingly, he may retain a lawyer to follow up the labour case. As per the UAE Labour Law, the questioner has the right to claim compensation for arbitrary dismissal and also for not complying with the notice period clause. Terminating the service through an email is legal as per the UAE law even if the employee does not respond to that email.
— Questions are answered by advocate Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Shaiba Advocates and Legal Consultants.
