Another story of 'Real Estate' dispute
My earlier thread : http://www.qatarliving.com/node/359461
and now this:
Tenants hit by rent row
By Sarmad Qazi
The tenants of an eight-villa posh compound in Al Gharaffa have received eviction notices following a dispute between the landlord and the real estate agent.
The dispute arose when the agent failed to pay the rent collected from the tenants to the landlord, it is learnt.
Last Thursday, the police arrived at the compound asking the tenants to vacate.
“They said the owner had won a case against the agent of the property and they were there to evict them. It was a shocking news to us,” a tenant told Gulf Times.
Others said they moved into their villas in January 2008 after paying QR216,000 upfront each for a 24-month (QR9,000 a month) period to Consultant Decoration and Trading, the agent.
“Cheques were submitted; contracts were signed; keys were given and we moved in. The first hint of trouble came in October when the owner came telling us the agent had not paid him the rent which was QR96,000 a month @ QR12,000 for each villa,” the tenant recalled.
Following this, the tenants contacted the agent who maintained the arrears was only QR50,000 – and that too for maintenance only – and assured them that it was business as usual.
“But after the police showed up last week, we went to the agent’s office on Sunday and an official confirmed there was indeed a case which they have lost and tenants can either leave or talk directly to the owner,” a tenant said.
As far the outstanding balances of QR90,000 (worth 10 remaining months on the contract), the official of Consultant Decoration and Trading said: “They can only be paid later, in instalments, or tenants are free to go to court too.”
Court papers, obtained by Gulf Times, showed that the landlord filed the case at the Rental Dispute Resolving Committee of Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning on November 20 citing non-payment of rent. The committee decided on January 6 in favour of the owner and ordered the agent to pay arrears of QR576,000, which it never paid since the contract was signed on December 31, 2007. Eventually, the committee ordered the property to be evicted and handed back to the owner.
“The agent promised the landlord QR12,000 a month per villa but charged us only QR9,000 a month. I wonder if they ever had the intention to pay the landlord,” the tenant wondered.
A spokesman for Consultant Decoration and Trading yesterday told Gulf Times: “We were not even aware of any case. If you look at the court documents, you will notice we didn’t even show up for hearing. That proves the point.”
He added: “But we are not saying we won’t pay the tenants. We know it’s their money. We just don’t have it right now. You know the real estate situation in Qatar is bad right now.”
Yesterday, the tenants were in touch with the landlord who has shown leniency on his original demand of QR12,000 a month and hinted he would settle for QR10,000.
Source: Gulf-times.com
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Speed comments:
Don't you think that 'Real Estate' should pay the compensation to the Tenants for their loss ? Why always Tenants should suffer ???
