Emir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani recently issued the Law No. 19 of 2017 amending some provisions of Law No. 4 of 2008 on real estate leasing.

Under the provisions of this law, leases shall be concluded in writing. The contract shall include the name of the lessor, the tenant, their nationalities, addresses, legal representative, duration of the lease, amount of the rent and payment means and the purpose of the lease in addition to all agreed terms.

The lessor must register the lease contract with the registration office of the property leases within sixty days from the date of its conclusion.

The office will receive a fee for each property rental registration transaction equivalent to 0.5 percent of the annual rental value of each unit, with a minimum of 250 QAR and maximum of 2,500 QAR. For contracts in force at the date of issuance of this law, the law sets a period of three months for the lessors to adjust their situation. The Minister of Municipality and Environment may extend them for a similar period. The law sets a fine of not more than 10,000 QAR on anyone who violate its provisions.

The Law stipulates that it shall be implemented and published in the Official Gazette.