Citizens and residents called for the introduction of legal legislation that obliges owners of residential and commercial units in the state to reduce the rental value or exemption for groups affected by the precautionary measures applied to reduce the spread of the Corona virus, while two managers at two real estate companies said that the interest of owners who They also face financial burdens and obligations for banks and government agencies, stressing the importance of shared responsibility.
For his part, the legal advisor, Dr. Youssef Al-Sharif, warned against escalating disputes between landlords and tenants to the courtyards, stressing the importance of resolving this issue by temporarily modifying rental values according to the nature of activities and the extent of their damage from these precautionary measures, in order to restore the balance between the interest of the lessor and the lessee formally To prevent parties from entering into legal disputes.
In detail, citizens and residents told «Emirates Today», they are renters of commercial and residential units, and they pay large amounts of money for the rent, but at the same time, their income has been affected during the current period, while tenants of commercial units confirmed that they did not benefit from them like the previous one.
Some of them said that they were recently affected in their field of work, which made them unable to fulfill their obligations, wondering about the legal status of lease contracts under the current circumstances.
For his part, Samer Bessar, director of "Blue Lake Properties", stressed the importance of taking into account the influence of the other party in the rental relationship, which are the owners, as many of them have financial obligations towards banks and pay the dues of real estate financing, in addition to other financial obligations, such as Commercial and industrial land rental fees.
He pointed out that the state provided a variety of support package for tenants in the commercial and industrial activity, and in return there is a need for more support for landlords and investors, which reflects positively in supporting tenants affected by the Corona virus, stressing the importance of «providing facilities in real estate financing such as deferring payments for a period of not less than A year without fees or fines. ”
For his part, the Director of Leasing at Care Real Estate Management Company, Muhammad Othman Ayoub, stated that “the spread of the Corona virus (Covid 19) and the following precautionary measures had an impact on the real estate market in general, and commercial units in particular compared to housing units, especially as the entities Concerned companies are obligated to provide housing for their employees, in addition to that there are some business parties that bear the value of the housing fee.
He pointed out that "real estate companies have recently received requests to reduce rent or postpone the payment of agreed payments, and the problem is that there are unaffected groups trying to take advantage of the current situation, so real estate companies have the right to ask tenants what proves that they are affected by the (Corona) crisis."
He pointed to the importance of taking into account that the survival of the population in their homes increased the operating expenses of buildings such as maintenance and consumption of electricity and water, which added additional burdens on the owners.
For his part, the legal advisor, Dr. Yusef Al-Sharif, said, “It seems self-evident to ask about the legal status of residential and commercial rents in light of the measures imposed by the state in the national sterilization program, which obliged the employees and workers to sit at home. The legal opinion settled on considering the current conditions General exceptional circumstances that could not be expected, and thus the implementation of the legal implications of these exceptional circumstances, which require amending the debtor’s burdensome obligation to a reasonable extent, balancing between the landlord’s right to demand for use of the landlord and taking into account the circumstances of the landlord Traction, both tenants of residential units or commercial ».
He pointed out that for the tenants of housing units, some of them can no longer fulfill their commitment to pay the rent, due to the impact on their financial income, and for the tenants of commercial units, they were subjected to stopping and stopping their activities in implementation of the state’s instructions for the national sterilization program, which led to the actual non-use of the wage, which is the responsibility The wage entitlement, especially with the collapse or near collapse of the sources of income for these tenants.
He called on the committees concerned with rental departments concerned with immediate intervention and resolving this issue with a temporary amendment of rental values according to the nature of activities and the extent of their damage from these precautionary measures, in order to restore the balance between the interest of the lessor and the lessee formally, to prevent these parties from entering into legal disputes.
He pointed out that under these circumstances and if the landlord refused to amend the rental value, he could be sued without being bound by the deadlines and procedures that cease to be activated under these emergency conditions.
Interim procedures
The legal advisor, Dr. Youssef Al-Sharif, mentioned the precautionary measures and measures taken by the state to reduce the spread of the Corona virus epidemic, and the subsequent implementation by the state of the national sterilization program which was accompanied by several measures, which led to reducing the proportions of workers in several sectors.
Adjustment of obligation
Article 249 of the Federal Civil Transactions Law, which represents the imperative to amend the exhausted obligation of the debtor to a reasonable extent, stipulates a balance between the right of the lessor to obtain a charge against the use of the lessor and taking into account the conditions of the tenant, whether the tenants of residential or commercial units.