Abu Dhabi suspends all rental evictions for two months

On Monday, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, instructed the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department to halt all rental eviction cases currently underway, along with executive procedures like imprisonment, blocking of bank accounts, seizure of vehicles, stocks and assets for a period of two months, reported official news agency WAM.

The decision exempts cases related to alimony and labour disputes.

Read: UAE boosts stimulus to $34bn to fend off virus impact

The decision comes at a time when the UAE government has introduced $34bn economic stimulus relief packages for businesses to offset the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Other emirates in the UAE have also taken steps to reduce the financial burden on tenants.

Read: Sharjah issues three-month rent waiver for commercial tenants

On Sunday, the Sharjah Asset Management, the investment wing of the Sharjah Government, decided to waive the rent for all tenants of Haraj and Jubil markets for three months.

Read: UAE’s Al-Futtaim to provide mall tenants three-month free occupancy

Meanwhile on March 19, the Al-Futtaim Group said that it would offer three months’ worth of rental relief to tenants across its two malls in Dubai including Dubai Festival City Mall and Festival Plaza mall.

On March 23, the UAE also decided to close all commercial centres and shopping malls along with fish, meat and vegetables markets within the next 48 hours for a renewable period of two weeks.