Legal Clinic

I am planning to contest the rent increase initiated by my landlord as it has not been 5 years since the last increase and secondly I feel that the increase of approximately 35% is too steep for my liking –

I need to know the following:

Do I have the right to approach the honorable court?

If I stay in Salmiya which court should I approach?

What are the timings?

I normally used to pay the haris on the 4th of every month – until what date to I have to deposit my rent in court? What is the exact procedure and can it be done in one day?

Can the landlord file an eviction notice against me since my contracts are signed for one year only — if he does file a case what are the options available to me? How can I get the contact details of my landlord and his civil ID no. (excluding the Haris)?

Can I appoint a lawyer to carry out my workKD I also need to lodge a complaint against my landlord for not adhering to the 125/1992 Decree which clearly states that the flat is meant for one family only.

The landlord (it’s actually the Haris) is allowing families (in some cases three) to live in the same flat as he is getting extra money.

In my opinion, I think this is very unhygienic and needs to be reported to the Municipality for further action

Name withheld
Answer: As we have mentioned in an earlier answer, going strictly by the rental laws, the landlord can’t “technically” increase the rent for five years from the last increase (after which he has the right to even double the rent). But the situation is slightly different these days as the rents are on the upswing all over the market it is possible the landlord could also approach the court if you refuse to accept the increase. On the other hand you could also approach the Rents Court if you feel the increase is unjustified.

This means that if you feel that this hike in rent is unjustified you can approach the Rents Court with your plea. While the landlord has the right to increase the rent by 100 per cent every five years, the tenants also have the right to ensure that they are not being made to pay beyond the market rate.

But it’s not been five years so it is possible that the court may lean towards you. But you have to remember that the Rents Court will delegate an inspector to check the rents in the area of similar buildings and if it feels that the new rent is in line with the market it will sanction the increase.

This is your only hope, although all things look to be going the landlord’s way because of the market situation. In case you decide to fight the case in the Rents Court, please remember that you have to deposit your rent with the court by the 20th of each month until the case is decided.

Depositing the rent takes only a few minutes … all you need is your Civil ID with the correct building and flat details. But also remember that a court solution could take weeks or even months.

Please remember you can delegate a lawyer to fight the case on your behalf but you have to deposit the rent with the court by the 20th of each month, failing which the court could order your eviction from the premises.

Even if the landlord refuses to give you his details, your lawyer could do the same by sending a notice to him through the court. If the landlord is in violation of any law, including the fact that the haris is allowing subletting of the flats and the state of the building is unhygienic, the lawyer can point this out in a written complaint to the court.

About 2 years ago I had a car accident. It was totally the mistake of the other driver (Kuwaiti). I was waiting at red signal, and suddenly another car hit my car from the back at a very high speed. This car was a brand new Prado.

The hit completely damaged my car from the back, and surprisingly nothing happened to the other car. The police report was also against the Kuwaiti man. The insurance company estimated the cost of the damage at about KD 500 only, and they asked me to get it repaired on my own from anywhere.

When I checked the different car repair centers, all of them asked more than KD 800. Then I found one car repair center which agreed to do the repair for KD 700. I gave my car to this center. I have all the original receipts for the repair.

Now for the last 1.5 years the insurance company has been asking me to go from one office to another and every time they ask me to come some other day. I can’t tell you how much they have made me travel for this claim without any legal reason.

Now just last week they gave me KD 250, and they said that it is the law to just give only half of the estimated cost.

Can you please tell me whether there is any such law? I repaired my car at a cost of KD 700, and they just paid me KD 250, even though their own estimated cost of repairing the damage was KD 500. Moreover, over the last 1.5 years they have made me travel a lot unnecessarily and caused me a lot of trouble. Please tell me what can I do to claim the rest of the amount?

Name withheld
Answer: I think that you should take a close look at your insurance policy before you take any further step. The reason we are saying this is because of a certain clause in such policies which say how much of the damage is covered by the insurance firms. Normally, this comes in the form of a very clear “rubber stamp” on the policy. Sometimes, this “stamp” mentions 100%, mostly 75% and 50% and some even less than that. It all depends on the “age” of the car and the type of the insurance policy. On the other hand, you could also take the other driver to the Traffic Court if the mistake was totally his instead on just fighting with the insurance company because the laws of most of these companies leave you in a tangle and all you will be doing is visiting the insurance company offices for another year. Remember that you can sue the other driver for all the damage you suffered if the police report backs the fact that the accident was not your fault…in fact of the other driver.

I am staying in a flat, in Salmiya Block 10, since 1992. My contracts are mentioned as 1 year, but I used to sign contracts once in 6 years with marginal increase as given below.
In 1992 – KD 100; In 1998 – KD110; In 2004 – KD 120; In 2011 – KD 140.
Now the landlord wants to increase the rent to KD 190. Do I have a right to refuse and go to the Rents Court to pay my rent. The apartment is an old 3-storey building with no proper maintenance being carried out and no lift.
Most of the tenants are sharing the flat and hence have no issues with the increased rent.

Name withheld

Answer: Going strictly by the rental laws, the landlord can’t increase the rent for five years from the last increase (after which he has the right to even double the rent) but with the rents on the upswing all over the market it is possible he could approach the court if you refuse to accept the increase.

On the other hand you could also approach the Rents Court if you feel the state of the building makes the increase unjustified.

This means that if you feel that this hike in rent is unjustified you can approach the Rents Court with your plea. While the landlord has the right to increase the rent by 100 per cent every five years, the tenants also have the right to ensure that they are not being made to pay beyond the market rate. But it’s not been five years so it is possible that the court may lean towards you.

But you have to remember that the Rents Court will delegate an inspector to check the rents in the area of similar buildings and if it feels that the new rent is in line with the market it will sanction the increase.
This is your only hope, although all things look to be going the landlord’s way because of the market situation.

In case you decide to fight the case in the Rents Court , please remember that you have to deposit your rent with the court by the 20th of each month until the case is decided.

I am in this country on an Article 20 residence. I didn’t go to any country but now I want to renew my residency permit … is it compulsory to do a medical test.

Name withheld

Answer: First of all you have not mentioned your nationality but we would like to clear that expatriates from the following countries have to undergo medical exams every year.

In some cases exceptions are made and the exams done only on renewal of residence: Somalia, Thailand, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Eritrea, Senegal, Kenya, Chad, South Africa, Ghana, Tanzania, Mauritania, Benin, Niger, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Gambia, Mauritius, Bhutan, Zaire, Guinea, Togo, Mali, Seychelles, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Malawi, Malta, Guinea-Bissau, Fiji, Cuba, Haiti, Zambia, Angola, Congo and Namibia.

In some cases, for some countries, the tests are only mandatory if a person visits his country and not otherwise. As you have not mentioned your nationality we can’t comment further on the issue. You are requested to check with the Immigration Department.

I came to Kuwait through a company and am working as a Software Architect for one of the ministries in Kuwait. My company is paying me my indemnity every month as part of my salary so now if my salary is KD 600 they say KD 550 is the salary and KD 50 the indemnity. Is this how it’s supposed to be done? This is causing other issues like bank accounts getting blocked

Name withheld

Answer: First of all you need to know that the Kuwait Labor is for the private sector and does not affect the working of the government sector, especially the ministries. As such all the ministries are allowed to have their own special contracts and if your ministry says that a part of the salary is your indemnity then the law stands with the ministry … If this is mentioned in your contract. If this is not mentioned in your contract then you can take the ministry to court over the issue, provided your contract says that you are entitled to end of service benefits. Some ministries have special contracts these days which clearly mention that your lump-sum pay is all that you will receive. You have to be watchful while signing the contract because there is nothing you can do later.

I am in this country on an Article 20 residence. I didn’t go to any country but now I want to renew my residency permit … is it compulsory to do a medical test.

Name withheld

Answer: First of all you have not mentioned your nationality but we would like to clear that expatriates from the following countries have to undergo medical exams every year.

In some cases exceptions are made and the exams done only on renewal of residence: Somalia, Thailand, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Eritrea, Senegal, Kenya, Chad, South Africa, Ghana, Tanzania, Mauritania, Benin, Niger, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Gambia, Mauritius, Bhutan, Zaire, Guinea, Togo, Mali, Seychelles, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Malawi, Malta, Guinea-Bissau, Fiji, Cuba, Haiti, Zambia, Angola, Congo and Namibia.

In some cases, for some countries, the tests are only mandatory if a person visits his country and not otherwise. As you have not mentioned your nationality we can’t comment further on the issue. You are requested to check with the Immigration Department.

I am working in a private company. I would like to know the correct calculation for the overtime done over the public holidays. My salary is KD 299 per month. If I work 8 hours on a public holiday what will be my overtime amount for that day? Can you please specify?

Name withheld
Answer: There is a lot of misunderstanding as far as the Kuwait Labor Law on this issue is concerned. Some experts are of the view that an employee must get one day’s additional salary for working the whole 8 hours on a public holiday while others believe that the employee who works on such a day must get two days additional salary.

Before we pass a verdict on the issue we would like to focus on the law, Article 68, which states as follows: “In the event where the worker is required to work during any of the official days , he shall be entitled to a double remuneration and an additional day off”.

Although there is nothing ambiguous about this law, the part about the “additional day off” is the one these experts are confused about and miss in their calculation of the overtime pay as the previous law (before the current one was enacted on Feb 20, 2010) just mentioned an additional day’s pay or two day’s additional pay. But now the employee must get one day’s additional pay and he must also be given an additional day off.

If this additional off day is not given, then the employee must get another day’s pay. So, this means in your case when your pay is KD 299 your daily pay works out to be 299/26 (only working days are counted) = KD 11.5 This means you should get an additional KD 11.5 plus one additional day off for working on a public holiday. But if you are not given an additional day off, you should get KD23 in addition to your pay.

I joined my previous company on Aug 1, 2011. The salary mentioned in the offer letter was KD 750 as a complete amount, with an annual leave of 30 days and probation period of 100 days. The company stamped my residence on Jan 1, 2012 and to my surprise they had mentioned an amount of KD 600 only on the work. They used to give me KD 150 sometimes in cash and sometimes by cheque.

In 2013 they gave me an increment of KD 100. On Jan 18, 2015 I had sent a mail that I would like to resign and requested if I could be relived with only one month’s notice.

On Jan 19, 2015 I received an email from the company which stated that my resignation had been accepted. On Jan 20, 2015 the company sent me another email asking me to send a formal letter of resignation and with a relieving date of Jan 31, 2015.

Now my previous company has done a calculation and is instructing me to pay back an amount equal to 83 days for not serving my notice period — something about which they did not inform me in advance.

Please let me know how the company should handle me in this situation as they had agreed to relieve me without raising any objection to the transfer of my residence and now they are asking me to pay back my notice period amount of 83 days.

Please let me know what is the correct calculation. My final salary at the time of resignation was KD 850.

Name withheld
Answer: We answered this question very recently but just in case you did not see the Arab Times on that day the same is being republished for your information. You are not making things very clear. From your letter it seems that you were paid your salary for the additional 83 days of the notice period that you did not serve.

If this is the case, you are obligated to return the salary that you received for this period. On the other hand, if you are trying to say that the company is just asking you for payment for the unserved period of the “ 3- month notice period” then the company is wrong on the issue.

The company allowed you to leave earlier and did not even ask you to serve the one-month notice period you had requested. So, the company can’t ask you to pay for the 83 days. If it had wanted the payment it should have asked to for it when it accepted your resignation. It should have said clearly that you had to pay for any duration of the unserved notice period. If the company insists on the payment, you should file a complaint with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, through the Labor Office in your area.

I have been working in a private company for 8 years 11 months. I went for an annual leave from 25/08/2015 to 17/09/2015 and extended my leave from 18/09/2015 to 30/09/2015 (13 days).

On the issue of those 13 days my company considered 5 days as paid leave (which was available in my account) and 8 days as unpaid leave (as I didn’t have a further balance at that time) There were Eid holidays from Sept 23 to Sept 27 (5 days) for my company.

So I asked my company that my unpaid leave should be 3 days and not 8 days. But personnel department told me that as per Kuwait Labour Law, holidays can be credited only, if I had annual leave balance that time.

Kindly let me know whether the statement of my company is correct. If not, what should I do to get the payment for those 5 days or get those days credited in my leave account.

Name withheld

Answer: Both of you are wrong.

First of all official holidays are the “property” of the employee — unless the company wants him to perform duty on that day — and he can do anything with those days, stay in the country or go out of the state.

Secondly, for Eid Al Adha and Hajj, the total holidays are four and not five.

Regardless of the fact whether you have a balance of leave or not you can be considered absent for those four days unless all these days fall within the unpaid leave which is not the case here.

This is because you had five days balance of annual leave — let’s consider that from Sept 18 to 22. And immediately after these come your four days of Eid holidays (not five because five for the govt sector only), from Sept 23 to Sept 26.

So, your unpaid leave will be for 4 days — Sept 27 to Sept 30. So, the company can deduct your pay for only 4 days.

I am an engineer (with the same profession mentioned on the work permit) working in a private company. I locally transferred my residence (general visa, not project visa) to one of the private companies in January 2015.

I could not continue working in the company due to some reasons and left the company before completion of the probation period (100 days). I managed to get an opportunity in a private company and transferred my residence to them in April 2015. Now am on probation with this firm. I got a very good opportunity to work in Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) on secondment.

Hence, I want to leave the current company before completion of the probation period so that I can join KOC. Am I eligible for another transfer? Is there any condition in the Kuwait labor law which states the number of transfers that are permitted in one year?

Name withheld

Answer: According to the Kuwait Labor Law, there is no limit on the number of transfers that are permitted in a year … the rule is simply, if there is no violation of the law the transfer in done. Having said that, there is a little difference between what is mentioned on paper with what is actually implemented by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, which sanctions the transfer because the role of the Manpower Authority so far has not been properly explained nor is it properly understood as there seems to be a lot of duplication of the work process of these two departments.

Anyway, it has been left to the authority of the officers of the ministry to decide whether to sanction a certain transfer or not .If the officers feel that an expatriate is seeking too many transfers they put their foot down and reject the transfer.

You did two transfers within three months, the second without completing the probation and now you want to do the same thing again. While the law is not against your transfer – in principle, you could face a “rejection” against such a move from the ministry. But you will only learn the fate of your application on applying for the transfer, although such moves are easier when you want to join government establishments such as the KOC.

In fact, in most cases, even if there are some hurdles these are removed in such transactions. So if you want, you can try your luck by submitting an application for the transfer. But you have to be careful because if you resign, your current company might not want you back if your transfer application is rejected.