Abu Dhabi tenant to pay Dh 30,000 for illegally dividing and subletting villa

A tenant in Abu Dhabi has been charged to pay Dh 300,000 in compensation for partitioning the villa he was leasing, and further subletting it to four different families. The landlord sued the tenant for damaging his villa. The grounds for damage are that the tenant illegally divided his house and rented it to four parties without his permission. The plaintiff has argued that this act violates the Abu Dhabi housing laws. 

The landlord has asked the court to forcefully evict the tenant from his villa. Additionally, he demands that the defendant pays him Dh 300,000 in reparations which amounts to the cost required to renovate and maintain the villa after the damages done by the tenant. 

The tenant denied the landlord’s claims in court and countered that this case had been dismissed by a former court order. However, the judge did not entertain this claim. 

An engineering expert reports that by dividing the villa into four portions, the defendant had made modifications and additions, the renovation and maintenance of which exceeded Dh 300,000. 

The Abu Dhabi Family Court and for Civil and Administrative Claims ruled in favour of the plaintiff and decided that the tenant had violated housing rules, and was also to be held liable for damaging the villas by the alterations made. 

As a result, the tenant was ordered to reimburse the landlord with Dh 300,000 and bear the landlord’s legal expenses. 

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