The Rental Disputes Center (RDC), the judicial arm of Dubai Land Department (DLD), succeeded in resolving 61,555 primary rental cases from 2015 to the end of 2020, representing just 2% of the total number of documented Ejari contracts (4,280,292 contracts) registered with DLD during the same period, which contributes to enhancing the community’s confidence in the laws and legislative system in the emirate.

His Excellency Judge Abdulqader Mousa, Director of RDC, said: “RDC is moving forward in performing its duties according to contemporary foundations that elevate the mechanisms of addressing this type of contractual relations through a specialised judicial system that keeps pace with the development witnessed by the emirate, where rental disputes are resolved quickly and accurately ensuring social and economic stability for all those involved in the real estate rental sector and other related sectors. The important role played by the Reconciliation Department in encouraging the disputants to settle their disputes amicably, before reaching arbitration, contributed to recording remarkable success in this regard. During H1 2021, the department managed to settle 8,713 disputes amicably, with a value of AED 2.533 billion in an average of seven days, allowing RDC to achieve its vision of being the international reference point for the resolution of rental disputes, especially in the speedy settlement of rental disputes and reducing their time period.”

Mousa added: “The guidance and support of the wise leadership constituted a major factor in RDC’s achievements and successes during its litigation journey in the real estate sector to enhance investor confidence. The series of development stages of real estate litigation has begun since RDC’s launch in 2013, when it began to implement traditional litigation mechanisms, and began to complement smart litigation mechanisms in 2015 in a paperless format. In 2018, RDC implemented the remote litigation system, without the need for the personal presence of the parties to the conflict. RDC is currently working on the completion of the globally first-of-its-kind Court Probe project, which is a litigation without a judge, using artificial intelligence technology, by providing all of RDC’s services in a smart and interactive manner, within an integrated platform and without staff.

Mousa affirmed that RDC’s success in performing its duties constituted a strong motivation, as a result of the use of modern technologies to develop the judicial system and digital transformation of all its services, which are characterised by speed and accuracy. This comes as in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to provide a distinguished work system that elevates Dubai’s position globally, especially since remote litigation now provides easy, convenient and quick alternatives for society members, which has contributed to achieving smart transformation in procedures and services to ensure customer happiness, comfort, and security in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mousa stressed that RDC’s initiative to implement the remote litigation system, at an early stage, and two years before the emergence of COVID-19, significantly contributed to dealing with the consequences of the pandemic positively and quickly, achieving RDC’s main objectives, which are the speed and accuracy of litigation, in addition to facilitating procedures for litigants.