Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation (General Assembly), Request No. 1 of 2017 (Rent), decision of 23 January 2017
Executive Council Chairman Resolution No. 4 of 2011 requires leases of up to four years under Law No. 20 of 2006 to be registered with the municipality, and provides that unregistered leases are not recognised by 'competent authorities' (government and utility bodies). It does not extend that sanction to the 'competent committees' (the rental disputes committees), and its own sanction is suspension of the landlord's transactions; the tenant may prove the lease by any means. Non-registration therefore did not make a claim before the rental committees inadmissible. A notice of non-renewal handed to an employee at the tenant's business premises was validly served.
A landlord gave written notice of non-renewal to a tenant business, handing it on 30 January 2014 to an employee at the tenant's premises, more than three months before the lease expired on 19 May 2015, and then obtained an order ending the lease and evicting the tenant. The tenant appealed in cassation (No. 56 of 2016, rent), arguing among other things that the claim was inadmissible because the lease had not been registered with the municipality, and that the notice was ineffective because the employee had no authority to receive it. The rent chamber referred the registration question to the General Assembly because of conflicting decisions.
The General Assembly examined Resolution No. 4 of 2011 of the Chairman of the Executive Council on the registration of leases in Abu Dhabi. Under Article 1 the resolution covers leases of up to four years under Law No. 20 of 2006 (longer leases being governed by Laws No. 3 of 2005 on real estate registration and No. 19 of 2005 on real property). Article 4 requires all leases to be registered and provides that only registered leases are recognised by the 'competent authorities', defined as government departments and service providers; the 'competent committees', defined as the rental disputes, appeal and cassation committees, are not mentioned. The sanction it sets is the municipality's power to suspend the landlord's transactions, and Article 5 lets the municipality register at the landlord's cost. Article 3(2) of Law No. 20 of 2006 also lets a tenant prove the lease by any means. Declaring a claim inadmissible for non-registration therefore lacked a legal basis. The General Assembly confirmed the principle in appeals 68 and 92 of 2014 that non-registration does not make the claim inadmissible.
On the merits, under Article 8 of the Civil Procedure Law service on an employee at the place of business was valid, the notice was timely, and the tenant's continued occupation was without right. The appeal was dismissed.
This decision reflects the position under the 2011 registration rules. The General Assembly later held, in Request No. 1 of 2023, that under Article 6 of Judicial Department Resolution No. 25 of 2018 a rent claim on an unregistered lease is inadmissible, so registration is now a precondition for proceedings. The service point remains useful: a notice handed to an employee at a business tenant's premises is effective.
| Articles 1, 4, 5 and 6 of Resolution No. 4 of 2011 of the Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council on the registration of leases |
| Article 3 of Abu Dhabi Law No. 20 of 2006 on the leasing of premises |
| Abu Dhabi Law No. 3 of 2005 on real estate registration and Law No. 19 of 2005 on real property |
| Articles 8 and 13 of Federal Law No. 11 of 1992 (former Civil Procedure Law) Decided under this law; it has been replaced by Civil Procedure Code. |
“أن عدم الاعتداد بالعقد غير المسجل قد اقتصر على الجهات المختصة ولا ينسحب على اللجان المختصة”Short quotation from the judgment as published by the court. The full judgment is on the court’s official service.
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