Tenants in Sharjah complain that they are obligated to pay fees for certifying lease contracts

Residential unit tenants in Sharjah complained that real estate companies were procrastinating in implementing the provisions of the emirate’s real estate leasing law, which obligated the landlord to bear the fees for certifying lease contracts.

They told Emirates Today that real estate leasing companies impose on tenants, when renting or renewing contracts, the certification fees specified by the municipality, while some of them resort to imposing multiple additional fees with different justifications that exceed the value of the certification fees at high rates, in exchange for agreeing to undertake the certification of contracts. , stressing that they are forced to bear these fees, as most companies tend to impose them.

For their part, officials of real estate companies and brokers said that a number of companies agree with tenants to charge them the cost of ratifying consensual contracts, but if the tenants do not accept that, they have the right to resort to the competent authorities to oblige the companies to comply with the provisions of the law.

They added that there are real estate companies that set their own rental policies and conditions, including not bearing various fees such as fees for ratifying rental contracts, as some tenants accept that.

Financial burdens

In detail, the tenant, Ahmed Suleiman, said that despite the issuance of a law in Sharjah confirming the obligation of landlords and real estate companies to bear fees for certifying rental contracts, there are companies that are procrastinating in implementing the law, and obliging tenants to pay certification fees, within conditions imposed on tenants, whether when renting for the first time. The first or upon renewal, indicating that many tenants have no choice but to accept, with a large number of companies resorting to imposing these conditions on tenants.

In turn, the tenant, Muhammad Abdullah, considered that obliging landlords and real estate companies to ratify contracts is supposed to be a kind of alleviation of the financial burdens on tenants, especially in light of the successive rises in rental fees, but the companies refused to implement the law and impose certification fees on tenants while raising The rent increases the burden on tenants.

In the same context, the tenant, Hazem Mahmoud, reported that companies resort to imposing additional fees at rates higher than the value of the certification fees specified by the municipality, when they insist on asking them to undertake the certification of contracts, to compensate for the value of the certification, despite the fact that the current rental rates are high.

He said that many tenants have no choice but to respond to the demands of companies, as they are the strongest link that imposes their conditions.

As for the tenant, Alaa Ibrahim, he said that when he was looking for a new housing unit, he did not find any real estate company that would accept to pay the fees for ratifying the lease contract, according to the announced provisions of the law, indicating that companies were telling him that these were their conditions, and he must accept or not rent from them. While some companies were charging certification fees, in addition to annual fees ranging between 2,000 and 2,500 dirhams, even though rents are already high now.

The tenant, Mahmoud Ali, said that a real estate company told him that it would not bear the fees for ratifying the lease contract until the executive regulations were issued to implement the provisions of the relevant law, even though the company collects, in addition to the high rental fees, additional annual fees without any justification.

Agree and agree

For his part, the Executive Director of Al-Sum Real Estate Company, Sufyan Al-Salamat, said, “Several real estate companies tend to agree with tenants to bear the fees for certifying contracts, considering that this is part of their own policies, and therefore some tenants are forced to accept this on the basis of mutual consent.” .

He explained that some tenants do not accept to bear the fees, especially during the period of renewal of rental contracts, and with the insistence of companies, the tenant who demands the application of the provisions of the law can resort to the competent authorities represented in resolving rental disputes to seek arbitration in this regard.

In turn, the real estate broker, Abdullah Diab, said that companies charge tenants the fees for certifying rental contracts through agreement and mutual consent when signing new contracts or upon renewal, pointing out that if the tenant insists on not accepting this, companies resort to charging the fees for certifying the rental value to compensate for the rental value. Certification that you have to pay.

He added that fees in general are agreed upon between real estate companies and tenants from the beginning, and therefore tenants have the option of accepting or rejecting according to what suits them.

Special conditions

In addition, the real estate broker, Ahmed Bakr, considered that real estate companies set their own rental policies and conditions, including not bearing various fees such as fees for ratifying rental contracts, at a time when some tenants accept this, but if some of them do not accept this, they can resort to ( Dispute Resolution), the competent authorities upon renewal, or searching for other companies that provide certification on their part.

It is noteworthy that the Rental Regulation Department in Sharjah Municipality stated, in previous statements, that the decision on fees for ratifying the lease contract is on the landlord and not on the tenant, pointing out that the decision is present in the previous law, and the new law came to confirm this, stressing that there is protection specified by the law. For the tenant with the aim of creating stability for the tenant.

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Clauses of the law

Last September, His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, issued Law No. (5) of 2024 regarding real estate leasing in the Emirate of Sharjah.

The provisions of the law apply to real estate leased for residential, commercial, industrial, or professional purposes in the Emirate of Sharjah.

The law stipulates the ratification of lease contracts as follows:

The landlord is obligated to ratify the lease contract or any renewal of its term and pay the fees due to the municipality or the authorities it delegates within 15 days from the date of its issuance.

– If the lessor refuses to ratify the lease contract within the period specified in Clause No. (1) of this article, the tenant must request the urgent matters judge at the center to oblige the lessor to ratify.

– In the event that the lease contract is not certified by the municipality or the authorities it delegates, an administrative fine will be imposed on the landlord, determined by the executive regulations of this law, in addition to the due certification fees.

The municipality may request the urgent matters judge at the center to oblige the landlord to ratify the lease contract and pay the prescribed fees and fines at any time.

Real estate agents:

. If the company refuses to bear the certification fees, tenants can resort to the competent authorities to bind them to the provisions of the law.