Case studiesRental2026
Tenant's lease ended for defects; rent cheques and deposit ordered returned
Al Faisal acted for a tenant who had left a furnished apartment about a month into the lease, because of defects the landlord had not fixed. The Rental Disputes Settlement Committee ended the lease and ordered the remaining rent cheques and the deposit returned, with expedited enforcement; the damages appeal did not succeed, and a petition by the landlord later changed the deposit order to return of the deposit cheque.
Handled by Faysel Al-Mohannadi
The judgment
- Result
- Lease ended. Remaining rent cheques and the deposit ordered returned, with costs and expedited enforcement. Appeal for damages rejected. On the landlord's petition, the deposit order became return of the deposit cheque.
- Court
- Rental Disputes Settlement Committee, then the Court of Appeal and the Enforcement Court
- Time
- About a month from filing to the committee's decision; about 3 months in all
- What was at stake
- Almost a year's rent in post-dated cheques (a five-figure sum), and the deposit
- Our client
- An individual tenant of a furnished apartment
The case
In 2025 our client rented a furnished apartment for just over a year from a company that let it but did not own the building. The rent was paid by post-dated cheques, with a deposit of one month's rent.
From the first day, the bedroom window and the balcony doors had gaps. Cold air, dust and heavy noise from building work next door came in. Our client reported it repeatedly by message and email, with photos and videos. The maintenance team called the fittings satisfactory, then made a partial repair. After about a month our client moved out. The landlord refused to take back the key.
What was at stake
Unless the lease was ended, rent would keep falling due for a home our client had left, and the landlord held post-dated cheques for almost the whole term.
The landlord's defences: the tenant had accepted the unit in good condition, maintenance was done at once, there was no engineering report, and it only held the unit from the owner.
What we did
Built the claim on our client's own records.We sought termination because the unit was not fit for its purpose (Law No. 4 of 2008, Art. 4), relying on our client's dated messages, emails, photos and videos and the maintenance team's own replies. Our reply to its defences showed that the defects dated from the first day, were reported at once and were only partly repaired.
Asked for every cheque back.We asked for an urgent order stopping payment of the remaining cheques, with the bank joined, and for the return of the deposit and of each cheque, listed one by one.
Tendered the key at the hearing.When the landlord's representative refused it, we asked for leave to deposit it with the committee (Civil and Commercial Procedure Law, Art. 521). That fixed the date after which no rent was due.
Appealed on damages.We appealed on damages only, for material and moral harm, relying on Civil Code Art. 591, which allows damages with termination, and Court of Cassation ruling No. 89 of 2016. The appeal did not succeed.
Opened enforcement within about two weeks.Enquiries went to government bodies.
What the court held
The committee needed no expert: the photos and messages showed window and door defects that greatly reduced the use of the apartment and drove the tenant out. A landlord must carry out necessary maintenance after written notice (Law No. 4 of 2008, Art. 5), and where use is greatly reduced the tenant may seek termination (Civil Code Art. 591). As the lessor under the lease, the landlord answered to its tenant even though it held the unit from the owner (Civil Code Art. 623).
Ending a lease does not reach back: rent before our client moved out stayed due, and later rent was not owed (Civil Code Arts. 171(1), 185 and 582). The committee recorded the date our client left and ordered the cheques for the later months returned, or their value if cashed, with the deposit, costs and expedited enforcement.
The Court of Appeal affirmed. It held that the damages claim was a new request, which cannot be raised on appeal (Procedure Law, Art. 172(1)), so it did not decide whether damages were due.
The landlord then showed that the deposit had been paid by cheque, not in cash. On its petition for reconsideration, an exceptional remedy limited to the cases the law lists (Procedure Law, Art. 178; Court of Cassation ruling No. 1 of 2006), the committee changed the deposit order to return of the deposit cheque, with the petition's costs on our client.
Why this result matters
Serious defects that a landlord does not fix can end a lease early, and here the tenant's own dated records proved them. Depositing the key fixed the date the rent stopped; no damages were awarded.
If you are in a similar position
- Report defects in writing from the first day, with dated photos and videos, and keep every reply.
- If you move out and the landlord refuses the key, ask the committee for leave to deposit it. That fixes the date the rent stops.
- Keep the deposit receipt, and note whether you paid in cash or by cheque.
Who handled it
Faysel Al-Mohannadilawyer admitted before the Court of CassationAn associate of the firm attended a hearing.
Defects your landlord will not fix, or post-dated cheques held for a home you have left? Bring the lease, copies of the cheques, the deposit receipt, and your messages, photos and videos.