On September 15, 2024, the Council of Ministers issued Decree No. 95 of 2024, which amends certain provisions Decree Law No. 35 of 1978, known as the Lease Law.  The new amendments aim to facilitate legal procedures for lease disputes and enhance the enforcement of lease contracts. The amendments introduced a new provision, Article 11 Bis and revised Article 26.

Article 11 Bis establishes the following requirements:

• Lease contracts must be in writing and signed by both the landlord and tenant.
• The rent amount must be specified in the lease contract and payable on a set date.
• Lease contracts must be notarised and stamped with a writ of execution language.

Notarising the lease contract and stamping it with a writ of execution should facilitate the immediate enforcement of the lease contract, allowing for the eviction of tenants or collection of tenant debts without requiring a preliminary court claim to establish the existence or amount of the debt.

Revisions to Article 26 introduce new procedures for appealing lease dispute judgments to clarify and expedite the appeals process; addressing the high volume of cases handled by the Court of Appeal. The added paragraph now specifies that “Appeals of judgments issued by the rental divisions shall be filed before the Court of First Instance in its appellate capacity.” This change is expected to reduce the Court of Appeal’s caseload and speed up the scheduling of appeal hearing dates.

These amendments are effective from the date of publication in the Kuwait Official Gazette on September 15, 2024, and apply to both new and existing lease contracts.

For more detailed information or if you have specific questions about how these changes, please contact our team Luis Cunha (Partner), Edlyn Verzola (Consultant), and Ahmed Bahgat (Associate). We are here to provide expert guidance and support tailored to your needs.