Real estate agents emphasized that real estate management companies collect fees with different names from the things that are currently prevalent in the market, stressing that these companies impose any updated and unpaid fees without justification or services; They are reputational practices, but they are individual behaviors by some offices.
They stressed that the tenant has the right to reject these fees if they were not documented in the contracts from the beginning.
Residential unit tenants told «Emirates Today» that the rental and management offices of real estate impose annual fees on them when renewing the residential lease, under items such as “administrative fees”, rental office fees, or services and maintenance.
Contract renewal fee
In detail, the tenant Wael Youssef said that there are clear gaps in the rental contract for housing units, the most prominent of which is the collection of fees for renewing the rental contract, under the heading: “administrative fees” or “office fees”.
In turn, the tenant, Mohamed Al-Gohary, said that the housing unit management company in which he resides, imposed fees on him under the heading of "administrative fees", pointing out that the company informed him that it is the fee for renewing the rental contract for the housing unit.
The tenant Lamia Al-Amoudi agreed that the residential rental offices exaggerate their fees when renewing the lease, and place them in the contract under various names, noting also the imposition of exaggerated fines related to returned checks, or delaying the lease payment, up to 1000 dirhams.
For his part, the tenant, Ahmed Sultan, stated that the Real Estate Rental Office obliged him to pay 500 dirhams, fees for renewing the lease, despite the absence of a clause in the contract stipulating this.
As for the tenant, Muhammad Al-Ansari, he said that the owner of the housing unit considers the contract renewal fee an annual right that the tenant must pay, although the fee is not announced, and is included under other clauses in the rental contract such as "administrative fee".
In turn, the tenant, Ayman Kamal, confirmed that he pays 500 dirhams annually to renew the rental contract for the housing unit, even though this clause is not already in the contract.
Services and maintenance
In the same context, the tenant, Alaa Mohamed, said that the company that manages its building obligated it when renewing the lease to pay an updated fee of 1000 dirhams, in the name of “services and maintenance” fees, although these fees were not imposed within four years, considering that these fees Get around the price correction of rents, and increase corporate profits.
Tenant Ibrahim Laith agreed that fees increase the burdens of families, and limit tenants' benefit from the price correction of rental values in the market. He said that the Real Estate Management Company imposed an administrative fee of 2000 dirhams as a prerequisite for renewing the lease.
As for the tenant, Mohamed Samir, he confirmed the imposition of a fee of 1,000 dirhams in the name of "administrative fees", in addition to 500 dirhams for services and maintenance fees, even though the maintenance according to the blogger in the rental contracts is the responsibility of the owner.
The parties agree
To that, Sufian Al Salamat, CEO of Al Soom Real Estate Company, said that the financial amounts that some companies require under different names when renewing contracts, and without providing services in return for that, although they are not documented in the contracts from the beginning, are practices and abuses to collect additional amounts .
He added that the imposition of any fees is subject to the agreement of the parties from the beginning, and must be at an appropriate value, estimated at 500 dirhams and not more, with the provision of services in exchange for that, such as the ratification of contracts.
He explained that imposing new fees and not agreed upon in large proportions without justification, or services, is one of the practices that harm the reputation of the companies that practice these policies, and in the long term lose their old tenants.
Non-binding fees
For his part, Chairman of the Representative Committee for the Real Estate Sector in the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Chairman of Al-Ghanim Real Estate Company, Saeed Ghanem Al-Suwaidi, said that some companies or real estate owners impose new fees when renewing contracts, as an alternative to annual rental commissions, which are not binding for tenants in the event of failure Agreed upon in advance, or was not codified in the basic contracts that define the relationship between the two parties.
He stressed that the tenants have the right to reject these fees if they were not documented in the contracts from the beginning, and when companies insist on them, the tenants can pay the rental fees in the municipality department according to the agreed upon.
He pointed out that some tenants are subject to these practices for fear of not renewing the rental contract, although the law preserves the rights of tenants, and prevents landlords from being arbitrarily evicted as long as the rent is paid on time, and there is no proven personal need from the owners to use the real estate unit on his part, with no The presence of an alternative drug.
Increase profits
As for real estate broker Majdi Abdulaziz, he said that the fees imposed by some companies when renewing rental contracts in a new way, and without prior agreement, or codification in contracts, is a way to increase profits and returns, especially with the stability or price correction of rents, and the inability to impose new increases.
Real estate broker Mohamed Bashir agreed that collecting fees in different names is one of the things that are prevalent in the markets today, with the inability of real estate management companies to impose new increases, pointing out that some companies rely on these fees to compensate for the double return provided by the owners to manage buildings.
Zarouni: harmful individual behaviors
"There are some leasing offices and real estate management companies that come with behaviors that harm the market, and you can put them under the jurisdiction of the law," said Walid al-Zarouni, CEO of "W Capital" Real Estate Brokerage.
He continued: «But they remain individual behaviors by some offices, as there are good offices that maintain their tenants and cooperate with them in the matter of renewing the lease, as they do not impose any fees on the tenants.
Ramadan: The owner is the loser
The real estate expert, Dr. Raad Ramadan, said that such behaviors harm the property more than you add to it. The smart property manager is the one who keeps his old tenants by observing that they do not exceed the rental value, because the owner is the loser in the outcome.
He stressed that there are abuses by some real estate owners, or their representatives in rental offices and real estate management companies, that take place during the writing of the lease contract, especially when renewing the contract annually, pointing out that such behaviors push the tenant to search for another place.
One-time fee
The Rental Dispute Resolution Center, the judicial arm of the Dubai Land and Property Department, confirmed that some impose fees on the tenant after they are included in the contract, under clauses that correspond to the nature of the lease, indicating that these terms are not supposed to be present at all, because these fees or Commissions are charged once when writing the lease for the first time.