Law No. 19 of 2017 (the “New Law”) was promulgated in amending certain provisions of Law No. 4 of 2008 Regarding Property Leasing (the “Leasing Law”), being the fourth amendment to the law since its issuance in 2008. This continued sequence of amendments validate the vitality of the leasing business in Qatar and the importance of the relevant legislations.
The New Law specifically introduces several amendments to Article 20 of the Leasing Law, concerning the registration of a lease agreement. Under both the New Law and the Leasing Law, a lease agreement must be in writing and should include the names of the parties, their nationalities, their address, details of their legal representative, the duration of lease, the rental and the means of payment, and the purpose of the lease.
The most significant change is that the New Law reduces the fee of registering a lease agreement with the Real Estate Lease Registration Office 0.5% of the annual rental, and additionally, subjects the fee to QR 250 as a minimum and QR 2,500 as a maximum.
Further, the New Law requires the lessor to register the agreement within 60 days from the date of concluding the lease agreement, as opposed to the period under the previous provisions which was 30 days.