Lease contract: Lessor’s obligations

In this article, I will go through Qatari laws regarding lease contract. The sources of the law are the Law No (4) of 2008 Regarding Property Leasing, and Law No (22) of 2004 Regarding Promulgating the Civil Code. Both laws are available in English at www.almeezan.com Notably, most of the following rules are permissive rules. Therefore, the contracting parties can either increase or decrease the liability of the landlord. In consequence, when the contract’s terms contradict with the permissive rules of the law, the terms of the contract will prevail. Specifically, this article will demonstrate the rights of the tenant according to the law. In other words, what should the landlord provide to the tenant? First, the property owner shall deliver to the tenant the specified leased property, and therefore, cannot deliver a different property other than the one consented at the time of the contract. Moreover, the landlord must deliver the annexes of the property. According to articles 592 and 420 of the Civil Code, the annexes mean anything prepared permanently for the use of the contracted thing, according to the nature of items, practice and the intent of the contracting parties. For example, the landlord cannot deliver the leased house without toilets. Furthermore, the landlord should deliver the leased property in a condition fit for its intended use. According to article (4) of property leasing law, the lessor shall hand over the leased premises in a condition appropriate for purposes the premises are intended, which means that the tenant must be able to use the leased property according to its nature. For example, if the rented place is an apartment on the 10th floor, the building must at least have stairs.Second, the lessor shall undertake to maintain the leased property in good condition. Unless agreed otherwise, he must perform all necessary repairs during the term of the lease in accordance with common practice. According to article (5) of Property Leasing Law, if the lessor fails to carry such maintenance (after receiving a written notification), the lessee may revoke the lease. The lessee has the right also to carry out the maintenance at his expenses after obtaining permission from the Committee for Settlement of Rental Disputes at the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning. After that, he can request a rent decrease proportional to the amount he/she paid. Worth to note, the maintenance the lessor is obliged to do are the one that would keep the property in good condition. Changing light bulbs, fixing the doors or windows are not considered here, because not changing or fixing them will not lead to the demolition of the leased premises.Third, the landlord shall not interfere with the tenant’s use of the leased property throughout the term of the lease. Additionally, article 597 of the Civil Code provides that: “Any interference by any of the subordinates of the landlord shall be deemed interference by the landlord himself.” The interference of the lessor could happen, for example, if he leases the property again to another tenant. Consequently, the landlord would be liable for the interference if : 1) the interference happened. 2) during the lease period. 3) the interference may wholly or substantially prevent the lessee from using the property. 4) the interference must not be done for a legal reason. For example, if the property is in bad shape, the owner could enter and start the maintenance. Another example, if the owner suspects that the tenant is using the property for uncommon use, such as using a house for parties, here the lessor is permitted to inspect that the use is not harmful to the property. Finally, the property owner shall undertake to the tenant that the leased property is free from defects that may prevent or noticeably impair the use of the property. According to article 606 of the Civil Code, the tenant is entitled to demand termination of the contract or reduction in the rent, if the leased property lacks the specifications that the landlord had previously specified to the tenant. As a result, the defects – according to article 606 – that must be; 1) noticeable that will prevent or impair the use of the property. 2) hidden that the lessee would not notice it. 3) unknown to the tenant; otherwise, he would be obliged to honour the contract, because his knowledge about the defect did not stop him from agreeing to the rental agreement.In conclusion, all these are non-mandatory rules except for the liability of the lessor when he interferes with the tenant’s use of the property. Accordingly, the contracting parties could increase the level of what the landlord must undertake, decrease it, or even exempt him from it. For example, the lease contract could exempt the lessor from doing the necessary maintenance. The rules are permissive because Private Law must respect the will, liberty, autonomy, and freedom of the parties. Nonetheless, I advise the future lessees to take advantage of the default law when negotiating the contract’s term, as it gives the lessee excellent rights and stands in the middle between the contracting parties. The next article will deal with the tenant’s obligations.* The writer can be reached at: malkaabi@qu.edu.qa