Sharjah: If I terminate the lease early, can I get a refund of the prepaid rent? – information

Question: I live in a hotel apartment in Sharjah and signed a one-year contract. I have paid the rent for the year in advance, but my understanding is that if I do not stay in the room throughout the year, I will refund the remaining amount. I vacated my room in May, but I have not yet received more than AED 7,800. Please tell me how to get the amount.

Reply: According to your inquiry, because you live in a hotel apartment for rent in Sharjah, the Sharjah Law No. 2 of 2007 regulates the relationship between landlords and tenants in the Sharjah Emirate (Sharjah Tenancy Law) and the 2010 Sharjah Executive Committee No. (2) (The Revised Sharjah Lease Law) applies.

It should be noted that in Sharjah, tenants are not allowed to terminate the lease agreement with the landlord, and the lease contract will last until the end of the contract period. If the tenant terminates the contract early, he/she is obliged to compensate the landlord. This is in line with Article 22 of the revised Sharjah Tenancy Law, which stipulates:

“Without prejudice to Article 22 of the Sharjah Lease Law:

1. If the lease term is a fixed term, and the lessee proves that the lessee is unable to perform due to force majeure, the lessee may request the termination of the lease before the lease term expires;

2. If the committee is satisfied with such a force majeure event, it can terminate the contract by requiring the lessee to pay the landlord not less than thirty percent (30%) of the rent for the remaining term of the lease, unless the parties agree otherwise;

3. The plaintiff shall pay the compensation stipulated in the above paragraph (1). The committee shall not direct the delivery of overdue cheques or prepayment of rent to the tenant unless the tenant delivers the leased house without any items on the date determined by the committee;

4. If the landlord is the person requesting the termination of the contract, the tenant will not be forced to return the rented house until he receives compensation or obtains sufficient security as determined by the committee after considering the humanitarian conditions.

5. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the lease contract shall be terminated according to law after the plaintiff has paid all the compensation specified in item (1) of the preceding paragraph.If the plaintiff fails to pay the damages within the deadline, the Commission shall dismiss the claim and order the plaintiff to pay the previous rent to the landlord, unless the plaintiff has paid these rents (the landlord) by check or rent owned by the defendant; and

6. The provisions of this resolution apply to all claims for which a final judgment has not been made on the date of this resolution.

According to the above-mentioned laws and regulations, if you and your landlord agree in the lease contract to refund the prepaid rent during the unused period, you must refund the amount. However, if it is not in writing, you are obliged to compensate the landlord for terminating the lease contract early. For more clarification on the above issues, we recommend that you contact the rent supervision department in Sharjah City.

Ashish Mehta is the founder and managing partner of Ashish Mehta & Associates. He is qualified to practice in Dubai, the UK and India. For complete details of his company, please visit: www.amalawyers.com. Readers can email their questions to: news@khaleejtimes.com or to Legal View, Khaleej Times, PO Box 11243, Dubai.