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Rental - Agent Issue - Request guidance

4036 Views 26 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  Bigjimbo, 
A
I have rented an apartment (in Dec 2011) in Discovery Gardens through an agent. I have not been given the contact of the Landlord and I am having a tough time getting anything done through the agent, right from cleaning the apartment, fixing the repairs before I moved into the apartment. Since I did not set up the bank account at that time, I paid first rent as cash instead of cheque (45K in 3 cheques was the agreed rent), and gave him 2 cheques from my friend's bank account, with the verbal agreement that I will give my bank cheques and take my friend's cheques back.

Once I had the bank account set up in a weeks time, I asked my agent to exchange the cheques. He has been saying some stories for 3 months and been fooling me. He took my cheques 2 weeks back finally, but still has not returned my friend's cheques. He has been fooling saying that he will get it next day or in 2 days. It's almost 3 months since he has been saying some excuses. He refuses to share the landlord's contact as well and is starting to be rude, If I ask him for the cheques to be returned. I am not sure if the tenancy contract has been registered with RERA. He took 360/- initially for the registration and till date doesnt return the money (I learnt later that 160/- is the fee for Ejari registration) nor does he get me an acknowledgement for the registration.

I am afraid if Agent is playing some game and is not being transparent. He doesnt pick up the calls most of the times and has been giving me a tough time. Please suggest what I should do.

I am more worried about the issues I will face, If he continues to be the point of contact and is not transparent to either I or the landlord. Is there anyway, I can ensure that I can deal with the landlord directly.
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My friend,

please go to rent community in Dubai Municipality and submit all the documents u have, please go as soon as possible, coz he might also deposit your friend cheques .....if u have any arabic friend or colleague to go with u to Municipality it will be much better, it will be helpful.....the rent community will call the owner and solve the matter quickly....
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mukallawi said:
My friend,

please go to rent community in Dubai Municipality and submit all the documents u have, please go as soon as possible, coz he might also deposit your friend cheques .....if u have any arabic friend or colleague to go with u to Municipality it will be much better, it will be helpful.....the rent community will call the owner and solve the matter quickly....
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Thanks for the response. Will it suffice If I ask my friend to issue to 'Stop Payment' request to bank(to those 2 cheques) if the agent doesnt return well before the cheque dates?

Am more worried about how fair he will be when I go through the renewals, even though it is still far a period. Will the rent community be able to locate thw owner and get him connected to me directly? Can I insist that I will deal with the owner directly?
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R
Your immediate concern should be getting the cheques back! they are legally binding, and I do not think you can get a stop payment request (that is why they are so popular in dubai).

did you not see the title deed and the owner's passport copy before you signed the contract. In fact, even for my Dewa registration they had asked to see the title deed and the owner's passport copy.
All the best. and do not trust the agent and believe anything he says.
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B
Unfortunately in that particular area there seem to be a number of rogue agents and practices in affect. Blind rage and threats may be the best answer.
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rsinner said:
Your immediate concern should be getting the cheques back! they are legally binding, and I do not think you can get a stop payment request (that is why they are so popular in dubai).

did you not see the title deed and the owner's passport copy before you signed the contract. In fact, even for my Dewa registration they had asked to see the title deed and the owner's passport copy.
All the best. and do not trust the agent and believe anything he says.
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Am still trying to get the cheques by requesting him..

He gave me a sale deed and the owners passport copy. Doesnt have owners contact details in both. He cleverly removed those sections I guess. DEWA name transfer was done by the agent himself. He took 110 AED as charges without letting me know that he is charging additional.

Apart from the cheques (which I am planning to reach out to RERA if I dont get the same in next couple of days), not having the owners contact and this guy not respondng at all, I wont have anyone answer any issues/ concerns If I may have. Can I insist him to get any document from the owner that he will be the point of contact for any issues, failing which I will stop dealing with him and approach RERA directly for issues and renewals if owner's contact is not shared.
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Toon
A sorry situation. How do you know the apartment is the landlords own, or that the agent has the right to market it? I'd be sorting this out as a matter of urgency if I were you cos it looks to me like you could well have been conned. Who were the checks made out to? Please don't say you left them blank.
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Toon said:
A sorry situation. How do you know the apartment is the landlords own, or that the agent has the right to market it? I'd be sorting this out as a matter of urgency if I were you cos it looks to me like you could well have been conned. Who were the checks made out to? Please don't say you left them blank.
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I had made the checks to the owners name which is mentioned in the tenancy contract
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BedouGirl
Have you tried to google the owner's name? Incidentally, the AED 110.00 is the DEWA fee for connection.
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BedouGirl said:
Have you tried to google the owner's name? Incidentally, the AED 110.00 is the DEWA fee for connection.
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Tried googling.. couldn't locate.. I have his passport copy.

I paid 1300 in total.. Believe, he has taken 190 in excess... Apart from this, he took 360 for RERA registration, which I dont tihnk he has done.
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Jynxgirl
What nationality is this person? Dubai really isnt a very large place when it comes to family names..... If this person is local, isnt too hard to figure out the family business/location/contact if you know ONE local.
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Jynxgirl said:
What nationality is this person? Dubai really isnt a very large place when it comes to family names..... If this person is local, isnt too hard to figure out the family business/location/contact if you know ONE local.
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Thanks. He is an Indian and am told by the agent that he resides here. Am not sure If I can believe him. Will try to see If I can locate him.. Else, am planning to approach RERA.
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Managed to find this so far.

Owner is living in UK. Trying to connect to him. Couldnt find his email address or any other contact. Contact details given in the Sale Deed is of a Real Estate company in Dubai. Trying to connect to these guys to understand who the right person is. Broker whom am having a problem with, is from a different Real Estate Broker firm and not the same as the contact mentioned in the Sale deed.
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Finally, managed to get my friend's cheques back. Had sent an email to him with the sequence of events and had mentioned that he will be held responsible if the cheques are misused. Also, mentioned that my friend wants to report this to police. He started saying some stories again and finally gave the cheques back.

He is now telling me that owner has asked me to vacate the apartment at the end of this contract, which am sure is not true. Else, I may have to pay 60K if i want to renew. currently, I am paying 45K for ths year.

Any suggestions on how I should handle when it comes to the renewals? I have told him that I need a written communication from landlord If am asked to vacate or the rent is increased. I have told him that I will not deal with him unless I get an authorization letter from the landlord. I am still skeptical about how the renewals will happen. Can I be asked to vacate without giving any reason?
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D
What is actually the responsibility of a real estate agent for renting property?
Can the tenant delay payment of agents commision after moving in if for example maintenance & repairs has not been made or the original tenancy contract with landlord signature has not been provided?
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Desertrose70 said:
What is actually the responsibility of a real estate agent for renting property?
Can the tenant delay payment of agents commision after moving in if for example maintenance & repairs has not been made or the original tenancy contract with landlord signature has not been provided?
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Strictly speaking the agents commission becomes payable at the point of signed contracts. You should withhold commission until you have these. As for maintenance issues there is limited scope for the agent to affect these as the landlord needs to get these seen to. A good agent will try to make sure these are done before you move in.
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Thanks Bigjimbo!
The agent did email me 2 scanned pages of the 6 page tenancy contract with landlord signature. But my understanding is that every page should be signed and I need the original tenancy contract for registering at RERA and other purposes. Now it is 3 weeks after I signed the contract and the agent still hasn't send this original contract signed by me in 2 copies to the landlord, so I am with holding the commision for this reason.

Further there are still some minor maintenance issues pending which I notified the agent before and after one day of moving in and agent confirmed to take care of it.

The agent told me to pay now or he will take legal action against me for not paying the commision on the date of moving in (which was 16 days ago). Landlord has already cashed the cheques for deposit & annual rent before & on date of moving in.
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Desertrose70 said:
Thanks Bigjimbo!
The agent did email me 2 scanned pages of the 6 page tenancy contract with landlord signature. But my understanding is that every page should be signed and I need the original tenancy contract for registering at RERA and other purposes. Now it is 3 weeks after I signed the contract and the agent still hasn't send this original contract signed by me in 2 copies to the landlord, so I am with holding the commision for this reason.

Further there are still some minor maintenance issues pending which I notified the agent before and after one day of moving in and agent confirmed to take care of it.

The agent told me to pay now or he will take legal action against me for not paying the commision on the date of moving in (which was 16 days ago). Landlord has already cashed the cheques for deposit & annual rent before & on date of moving in.
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I'd be very surprised if they did take legal action. Its lenghty and expensive. As long as you have the front page signed if it is a standard RERA issue contract then that will suffice. If its 6 pages then that sounds like the landlord has their own contract and generally speaking the last page being signed should be enough. If you have turned on the DEWA then you definitely have enough and should pay the fee.
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Guys - I just want to check if someone's confident about how to avoid getting screwed up by rogue estate agents.

1) When can one register their contract with RERA - before or after sign-off? and as a tenant can I do this or is the agent only entitled to do this?
2) Am I right in saying any cheque or any deposit must only be paid once the contract is signed by both parties? Has anyone been pressured in to doing otherwise?
3) Do agents work late on weekdays or the weekend (fri, sat)? Can you recommend any professional agents?
4) Is there a check-in report that states the condition of the property when you move in? If this practice does not exist then how can you assure to get the security deposit back?
5) Can you expect the landlord to undertake repairs or white-paint the property to move in? I'm assuming this is all negotiable?
6) Is it true that legally you can extend a contract to two years without an increase in rent? Whereas I heard another contradiction that landlords are entitled up to the higher of 5% of £5k rent increase annually.
7) Is the rental contract going to be in Arabic or English?

Thanks in advance for any useful responses

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BedouGirl
Oz_n_Bee said:
Guys - I just want to check if someone's confident about how to avoid getting screwed up by rogue estate agents.

1) When can one register their contract with RERA - before or after sign-off? and as a tenant can I do this or is the agent only entitled to do this?
2) Am I right in saying any cheque or any deposit must only be paid once the contract is signed by both parties? Has anyone been pressured in to doing otherwise?
3) Do agents work late on weekdays or the weekend (fri, sat)? Can you recommend any professional agents?
4) Is there a check-in report that states the condition of the property when you move in? If this practice does not exist then how can you assure to get the security deposit back?
5) Can you expect the landlord to undertake repairs or white-paint the property to move in? I'm assuming this is all negotiable?
6) Is it true that legally you can extend a contract to two years without an increase in rent? Whereas I heard another contradiction that landlords are entitled up to the higher of 5% of £5k rent increase annually.
7) Is the rental contract going to be in Arabic or English?

Thanks in advance for any useful responses

Sent from my iPad using ExpatForum
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1 it is the landlord's responsibility to register the lease with RERA, not the tenant.
2 the deposit is paid before the contract is signed. This holds the property. The deposit turns into a refundable security deposit once the paperwork is complete. Look after the receipt to make sure you can hand it over when you want to move out. Deductions will be made for damage, etc at that time.
3 some do, some don't - no hard and fast rule. There is a poster on here who is an agent, who is highly recommended by regular posters. His name is Jim.
4 again, not a regular practice, some places have it, some don't. We tell our staff to take photographic records and lodge them with us (as the tenant) and we make sure they are sent to the landlord and the agent with a covering letter requesting their acknowledgement of receipt.
5 yes, make a list with the agent
6 yes rent can only increase every two years legally. You don't need to sign a two year contract, one year at a time is sufficient
7 sometimes both, sometimes just English - depends.

Just so you know, I am not in the property game nor an expert, but in my work, as employers, we often have to rent accommodation for new members of staff for their first year here.
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