Some Landlords Resorting To Harsh Measures For Rents

Adding to the suffering of tenants, property owners and landlords have issued threats of eviction, cutting water and electricity supply, and stopping elevators in buildings, are some methods for demanding rent on time, reported Al Rai Daily. Many expats, who live in apartments, are facing a major crisis as their companies have shut, causing them to lose jobs, and others have not received their salaries while others have had their salaries deducted. Consequently, paying rents has become more difficult.

On the other hand, a large number of building owners after meeting with low-income tenants, have taken the initiative to reduce their rents to half for a period of 6 months, and have exempted others for two consecutive months from paying rents and gave others some relief till the crisis settled on a humanitarian basis.

Speaking to the daily, Lawyer Saud Al-Shammari asserted,  “The landlord has no right to cut off the water and electricity of the tenant or force him out of the house even if the tenant refuses to pay the rent, stating that there is a law regulating the relationship between the two parties (the landlord and the tenant).”

Al-Shammari said that it is permissible for the tenant to adhere to judgement by halting the enforcement of the contract and applying the decision of force majeure (act of God) or applying the proposition of emergency or exceptional circumstances with his right to demand a reduction of rent, in proportion to his conditions and the discretionary power of the judge.

Some expatriates have explained their inability to pay the monthly rents to real estate owners, due to the suspension of their work, there is no income from which they can pay the rent, and they cannot even leave their homes and travel back to their country at present due to lack of aircraft’s and airports have been shut.

Some families have filed petitions to the real estate owners for reducing the rent temporarily until the end of the crisis and their business restarts, stressing that in light of the global pandemic of the coronavirus, they’re undergoing financial challenges.

The tenants stated in their grievance petition “We, as apartment tenants, would like to ask if you can reduce the monthly rent for the coming months to help overcome these difficult circumstances as some of our monthly salary has been reduced and others have no salary at the moment at all. Kindly consider our request during these difficult times“.

Muhammad Saif, a mobile shop owner said that during partial curfew and total ban has forced him to stay in the house without an income throughout this period, stating that the current conditions drained his savings before the start of the crisis, and have exhausted everything, and to buy food is becoming a challenge.

Some realtors understood the conditions and promised to consider a reduction in rent, whereas others affirmed that they were unable to make any deductions due to their financial obligations.

Umm Ala, an employee at a beauty salon, mentioned that the current conditions made her completely unable to pay rent, as she resides with her colleagues from some Arab and Asian nationalities. She said that the financial situation of her colleagues is no better as everyone stopped working, and we cannot risk working from homes as they fear fines and deportation.

She further said “Previously, I used to save from my monthly salary to help my children who are in my homeland, but now I am almost paralyzed and bound in light of this crisis as I do not know which date the crisis will end”.

She implored the leader of this country to pay attention to her and her colleagues who work in these professions to assist them, and save them from being thrown out in the open if the landlord refused to reduce the rent.

Ismail Al-Hajj, a perfume seller, emphasized that, “From the first moment of the Cabinet’s decision to close the markets and commercial stores, we were forced to sell online, sending phone messages to our customers and advertising our products online, but unfortunately our sales have been greatly affected, especially after total lockdown was implemented”

Al Hajj added, “The current crisis has made it hard to sell products, as customers do not buy luxuries and perfumes at the present time and currently the demand is only for food. Curfews also contributed to stopping delivery requests, which are usually limited per day”

 

SOURCE : TIMESKUWAIT

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