<p>Executive Council Resolution No. (4) of 2011 (&ldquo;Resolution No. (4)&rdquo;) has  clarified whether or not tenancy contracts can be registered in Abu Dubai.&nbsp;Law  No. (3) of 2005 (&ldquo;Law No. (3)&rdquo;) confirmed that leases of more than four years  must be registered with the municipalities in Abu Dhabi City, Al Ain or the  Western Region (the &ldquo;Municipalities&rdquo;).&nbsp;Law No. (3) also allowed discretion for  landlords and tenants to voluntarily register tenancy contracts of less than  four years.&nbsp; In practice however registration has only been undertaken for  leases of more than four years.&nbsp;<br /><br />Resolution No. (4) now requires the  Municipalities to establish and maintain a register of tenancy contracts.&nbsp; All  tenancy contracts of less than four years, whether existing prior to Resolution  No. (4) taking effect on 31 January 2011 or entered into after that date, must  now be registered.&nbsp; Landlords have until 31 July 2011 to ensure that all  registrations have been completed.&nbsp;<br /><br />If a tenancy contract has not been  registered then it will not be recognised for transactions involving any  government department, Abu Dhabi Distribution Company (&ldquo;ADWEC&rdquo;) or Etisalat.&nbsp; If  a tenancy contract is not correctly registered in accordance with Regulation No.  (4) then the tenant could experience difficulties when applying for commercial  licences and permits from government departments or when opening accounts with  ADWEC and Etisalat.<br /><br /><strong>Tawtheeq<br /><br /></strong>Shortly after  Resolution No. (4) was issued the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City introduced an  online system known as Tawtheeq for the registration of letting properties and  tenancy contracts throughout the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.&nbsp; The system will operate  online and information will only be available to landlords and their appointed  property managers.&nbsp; Tawtheeq will not require landlords to provide evidence of  their ownership when registering properties, for example by providing a title  deed, however cross-checks will be made with land registration  records.<br /><br /><strong>Terms of the Tenancy Contract<br /><br /></strong>All  tenancy contracts must be either in English and Arabic or in Arabic only.&nbsp;  Tenancy contracts in English only will be rejected by Tawtheeq.&nbsp; Certain key  information must be included in the tenancy contract and this will be inputted  into the Tawtheeq system.&nbsp; It is expected that Tawtheeq will publish a  compulsory standard form tenancy contract which will set out this key  information.&nbsp; Landlords and tenants remain free to negotiate the terms of their  tenancy contract and when a standard form tenancy contract is released it will  be possible to include special conditions.&nbsp; If special conditions are included  in the tenancy contract then Tawtheeq will review the special conditions to  ensure that they comply with the law.&nbsp; This review is expected to take  approximately five days.&nbsp; If the special conditions are approved then Tawtheeq  will register the tenancy contract.&nbsp; Tawtheeq will only allow registration of a  tenancy contract that breaches the rent cap, currently set at 5%, if the tenant  confirms that he understands that the tenancy contract will breach the rent  cap.<br /><br /><strong>Registration Process</strong><br /><br />Resolution No. (4)  states that it is the responsibility of the landlord to register all data  concerning their properties.&nbsp; Once the landlord has been registered to use the  Tawtheeq system and has added details of all his lettable properties the  registration process should only take a few minutes per property.&nbsp; The landlord  will input details of each tenancy contract online and upload a copy of the  signed tenancy contract.&nbsp; Tawtheeq will then send a PDF copy of the registered  tenancy contract, which will include an individual bar code, by email to the  landlord as an acknowledgement that the registration has been  completed.<br /><br /><strong>Registration Fees</strong><br /><br />When the landlord  applies to register all the properties he lets with Tawtheeq a registration fee  of AED1,000 per property will be charged.&nbsp; Once the landlord&rsquo;s properties have  been registered the grant, expiry or amendment of all tenancy contracts must be  added.&nbsp; The current fee to register the grant of a tenancy contract is AED100  and the fee to register amendments to a tenancy contract or its expiry is  AED50.&nbsp; It is the landlord&rsquo;s responsibility to pay these registration fees  however there is nothing to prevent the landlord passing on the cost to the  tenant.&nbsp; New tenants would be wise to check that the landlord has registered the  property before signing a tenancy contract in order to avoid difficulties and  delays when dealing with ADWEC, Etisalat and government  departments.<br /><br /><strong>Landlords failing to register<br /><br /></strong>If a  landlord fails to register a property, a tenancy contract or amendments to a  tenancy contract, then the tenant may apply to the Rental Disputes Settlement  Committee (&ldquo;Rent Committee&rdquo;) to issue a judgment on the validity of the tenancy  contract.&nbsp; If appropriate, the tenancy contract or amendment will then be  registered with Tawtheeq and the cost of registration will be borne by the  landlord.&nbsp; The Rent Committee will not hear any other complaint from the tenant  until judgment on validity has been issued and the registration  completed.<br /><br /><strong>Changes to Renewal Rights for  Tenants<br /><br /></strong>Executive Council Resolution No. (56) of 2010 (amending  provisions of Law No. (20) of 2006) will bring about a change in the rights of  tenants upon expiry of all tenancy contracts and leases with effect from 9  November 2011.&nbsp; Under the current law, a landlord may not request that a tenant  vacates premises at the end of the term of the tenancy contract or lease except  in very limited circumstances.&nbsp; From 9 November 2011 a landlord will be entitled  to request that a tenant vacates and may refuse to renew a tenancy contract or  lease provided that the landlord has given the prescribed notice.&nbsp; At least two  months&rsquo; written notice is required in the case of residential property and three  months&rsquo; written notice is required for commercial property.</p>