Legally fight against Rent Increase

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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.

This news has been read 6933 times!

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