There are a lot of misconceptions in regard to feasible solutions to seek out when a building catches fire and this article will highlight all necessary steps to be taken in case your building catches fire. Firstly God forbid any such instance and this is just an informative article to make residents/landlords aware of what legal steps are available for them.
General Information
Around 70% of building in Dubai has non fire resistant cladding excluding the building built before 2009. As per the 2011 Fire and Safety Code; an infrastructure which falls over 15m tall are obligated to use fire resistant cladding, however building constructed before 2009 do not follow the above stated code but will have comply with the code when the building are supposedly undergoing maintenance.
Coverage
When a building catches fire there is lot of misery, frustration and panicking; when the worrisome situation is settled people look out for solutions and most of the time both tenants and landlords are unsure on whom the coverage falls. Based on a recent survey the participants results turned out to be a misconception that the coverage falls on the landlord. Be mindful the coverage do not fall on the landlord. The owner is responsible for public areas and specific maintenance but the responsibility does not extend to tenants personal possessions or living space. The coverage falls on the tenant and in order to avail an appropriate cover the tenant need to choose an insurance policy, in the instance where a tenant does not have any cover they will own the cost incurred due to the damage caused due to fire.
UAE Civil Transaction Law
As per the UAE civil transaction law No.55 of 1985 (Civil Code) has modulated responsibilities and liabilities that of the insurance provider when an infrastructure has undergoes damaged due to fire. The law states that all damages caused by the fire regardless of the cause should be paid by the insurance provider, however the cause of damage should be due to fire and not caused from some fraudulent activity. The type of cost structure and benefits provided by insurance will depend on the type of insurance policy chose by you.
Cancellation of Lease Agreement
You have an option to cancel the lease agreement when the building which you reside becomes inhabitable, following a mutual agreement from both landlord and tenant you will can cancel the lease agreement or you can seek a court order to cancel your lease agreement. In order to cancel your situation should fall under the regulation set by Civil Code, if you are eligible under the civil code regulation you can submit a letter to landlord stating the situation, at what day the damage happened, when you would like to cancel, state the return of post dated cheques and prepaid rent also any deposit paid by you.
No Insurance Cover?
In case where you have no insurance cover you will have to pay for all damages, also pay rent till the lease cancellation. Please appoint a legal lawyer to be sure take the entire matter in a effectual way.
