Sharjah expats: Irked by unjustified rent hikes? Municipality will help you

Sharjah Municipality has issued various notifications to safeguard the tenants' interest. In case of dispute, tenant can approach Rent Dispute Committee.

Expats living in Sharjah in rented accommodation should be aware of the Sharjah Municipality regulations and the Rent Dispute Committee to avoid inconvenience. Rental accommodations have various issues including the terms and condition of living, maintenance charges, parking arrangements and so on and so forth. 

However, rent is the biggest issue that bothers the tenants anywhere in the world. Though in most cases the rent is fixed through a tenancy/lease contract, but landlords often take the liberty of increasing the rent as per their whims and fancies. If you are in Sharjah and facing this issue of the rent hike, then Sharjah Municipality is there for your rescue. 

The Municipality has issued various notifications to ensure that tenants are not unnecessarily harassed by the landlord. As per one of the notifications, the rent of a lease property can only be increased after three years from the date of commencement of the tenancy period as per the contract. Therefore, any rent hike may be implemented after completion of two years. 

There is also the possibility that the landlord may break up the rent and add different charges for different facilities like parking, maintenance, etc. Later on, the landlord may not increase the rent directly but in increase the charge of these additional facilities. 

To settle any of such disputes, there is the Rent Dispute Committee. In case, the tenant is facing any trouble that cannot be amicably settled,  one can approach the committee.