29 May 2016
If you are facing a huge increase in rent, you're not alone. Apartment rental rates have skyrocketed across Kuwait even as summer approaches. Though most apartment dwellers have not seen salaries rise, landlords are looking for ever higher returns. Some landlords even ignore the five-year rule and raise rents against the law. Many tenants are ignorant or unsure of what to do, but a growing number of both local and expat tenants in Kuwait are not ready to give up without a fight.

The law stipulates that a landlord can raise the rent once every five years, and any increase other than this is illegal. At times, tenants are unaware of their legal rights and so they agree to pay higher rents after every year or two. But the landlord can only increase the rent if the tenant agrees to the proposed increase, five years have passed since the last increase and the contract has ended, and if the rent is 50 percent less than the market rate.

According to article 11 of legislative decree no. 35 of 1978 on real estate lease, the law clearly states that the period stipulated in the contract must be respected and followed by both parties, the landlord is not entitled to evict the tenant and the tenant cannot vacate the premises before the end of the contract term. In all cases, the rent increase should not exceed 100 percent of the amount agreed between the two parties. This percentage may be modified by a decree.

Some landlords prepare a one-year contract to get around the law to ensure they have the power to renew it and increase the rent. Some landlords and companies disregard the law and try to take the tenant for a ride. Unfortunately, they get lucky sometimes, especially since most expats are foreigners and aren't fluent in Arabic. More often than not, there is no English version of the contract, so foreigners fall victim to their ploy and don't have the courage to fight for their rights.

Kuwait Times has detailed the steps to deal with landlords who raise the rent against the law:

1- The tenant must go the court in his/her area.

2- The tenant should file the complaint form about raising the rent, which will be submitted to the court.

3- Go to the information section inside the court.

4- The mandoub of the court will go to the haris (janitor) of the building to give him the 'old' rent.

5- If the haris does not take the rent, the court will be reported of the non-receipt and this proves the case.

6- A complaint will be submitted to the court to be presented to a judge.

7- The old rent amount should be paid to the court (the tenant should check every month if the landlord has filed a complaint against him).

8- Attend the scheduled sentencing hearings.

9- The case will be sent to a technical expert.

10- The technical expert will go to the apartment for examination.

11- The technical expert will decide the right amount of rent to increase.

12- At the last sentencing hearing, the judge will review the technical expert's report and accept, change or reject the rent increase.

13- If the landlord does not take the exact amount of rent decided by the court, the tenant has to file another complaint, but this time at the court in the company of landlord's area.

14- Keep paying the 'new' rent at the court.

© Kuwait Times 2016