Panel ready to hear rent dispute cases

TENANTS in Qatar finally have a dedicated office where they can seek recourse in case of a dispute with their landlords, as the committees for resolving such issues started functioning in Doha yesterday.

Sanctioned by the new rent law in February, the decree ordering the setting up of the committees was issued by HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani on October 8.

The Committees for Solving Rental Disputes are to take up issues emanating from contracts that have earlier been registered with the Office for the Registration of Rental Contracts.

“Today is our first day and we are ready to receive aggrieved parties,” an official at the Muntaza office of the Committee for Solving Rental Disputes told Gulf Times yesterday.

Located near the Muntaza Park, the sprawling office will function corresponding to government working hours and is manned by adequate staff, the official added.

The Offices for the Registration of Rental Contracts started functioning at all the municipalities of Qatar some three months after the new rent law was issued in February.

“We also have a team of translators for non-Arabic speakers,” he said in reply to a question related to the language barrier as all the forms to initiate any legal process are in Arabic.

As per the new rent law, both the tenant and landlord can file complaints before the committees to settle any conflict of interest. The three-member panel has been given powers to arbitrate between the rival parties. The decisions of the committees are binding and can be challenged only in a higher court.

The Emiri decree on October 8 said that five such committees be set up within the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Urban Planning.

It was, however, not clear whether all five committees – each headed by a chairman and two other members – will function from Doha. Qatar has a total of seven municipalities.

Landlords who must register tenancy contracts, as made mandatory by the rent law, can do so at the respective municipal offices – mostly located at the municipal headquarters, the official clarified.

“We will deal with the second aspect of a tenancy contract, where either of the parties have a dispute. But only registered contracts will be addressed. In Doha, a contract can be registered at the municipality office in Al Sadd,” he added.