Dubai landlords, tenants duped by real estate firms

At least two dodgy companies in Dubai have duped hundreds of landlords of their rental income as the post-dated cheques issued by them have bounced.

Emirates 24|7 received a number of calls from property owners, who alleged the cheques issued by the two companies, had bounced. Some of the owners said they were in the process of filing police complaints, while some reported the matter to the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera).

Owners also claim that these companies did not have property management licence as the companies have to furnish a guarantee of Dh5 million to run property management business.

Tenants say they are being forced by landlords to vacate their houses, as they never signed any official agreement with them.

The modus operandi followed by the two companies is similar. The companies would take an apartment/villa from the owner and issue four post-dated cheques. Though they would orally tell the owners that they were renting the property for their staff, a clause to sub-lease would be added in the addendum. In most cases, the original contract was never registered on Ejari system, which is mandatory in Dubai. The companies would then lease the unit to a third person for a rent lower than the market rate, with the renter having to cough up the annual rent in a single cheque