23 March 2017

The Cabinet yesterday approved a draft law amending some provisions of law regarding property leasing. Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani chaired the weekly Cabinet meeting at Emiri Diwan.

The meeting approved a draft law amending some provisions of the Law No. 4 of 2008 regarding property leasing, and decided to refer it to the Advisory Council.

Under this amendment, Leases governed by the present law shall be drawn up in writing. The lease shall incorporate the names, nationalities and addresses of the property owner and the tenant. The lease agreements should also have addresses any legal representatives of both the owner and the tenant, the lease term, the rent and mode of payment, a description of the leased premises and the purpose of the lease in addition to all terms and conditions agreed upon.

The owner shall, within thirty days of the effective date of the Lease agreement, register the lease at the Real Estate Lease Registration Office.

Applications submitted by the tenant to The Committee or to the judicial authorities shall not be considered unless the lease is registered at the office. 

Registration fee to be charged

The office will charge an annual registration fee of 0.5% of the annual rental value as per residential or commercial premises or other units referred to in the building permit, not less than QR250 but not exceeding QR2500. The rate of fee can be amended by the council of ministers upon a proposal by the Minister of the Municipality and Environment.

Meanwhile, the meeting also approved a draft law amending some provisions of the Law No. 11 of 1990 establishing Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and decided to refer it to the Advisory Council.

The Cabinet approved accession to the 1961 Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations.

The meeting also reviewed the second annual report of the national committee on explosives affairs for the period from January 1 to December 31, 2016. The tasks of this committee, established within the Ministry of Interior, include the provision of advice to the competent authorities in all matters relating to explosives and raw materials used in their manufacture, control over the import, export, production etc.

During the meeting, the Minister of Development Planning and Statistics made a presentation on the population situation, control of population growth, proposed solutions and implementation mechanisms.

The cabinet took appropriate decision in this regard.

© The Peninsula 2017