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TENANCY
Do you know your rights?

The laws of the United Arab Emirates contain a variety of peculiarities for both tenants and landlords. We undertake the following tasks for you so that you will not stumble over potential pitfalls:

Drafting and reviewing tenancy contracts for commercial and residential premises
Consulting on tenancy-related questions, such as termination, rent increase, sublease and change of ownership
Assisting in registering tenancy contracts (EJARI)
Liaising with brokers

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a residence visa in order to rent an apartment or villa?

In order to rent an apartment or a villa in the Emirate of Dubai, you must generally be the holder of a valid residence visa and a valid Emirates ID card. Exceptions can occur when hotel apartments or holiday homes are rented. When renting such premises, aforementioned documents are usually not mandatory. In such cases, a valid passport copy is sufficient.

Which aspects must be considered when concluding a tenancy contract?

The parties to a tenancy contract in the Emirate of Dubai generally have to make use of the so-called EJARI tenancy contract. Exceptions might apply in free zones. The EJARI tenancy contract is a standardised contract which is drafted in a very generic manner and does not leave much room for individual stipulations. Consequently, you should always conclude additional terms complementing the EJARI tenancy contract. By these means, you can agree on matters concerning the handover of the premises, the security deposit, repair and maintenance as well as the termination of the tenancy.

What is EJARI?

All tenancy contracts concluded in the Emirate of Dubai which have a duration of at least one year and not more than ten years must be registered and cancelled upon termination in the so-called EJARI system. The EJARI system is maintained by the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA), which is the authority responsible for tenancy related matters. The EJARI registration is, amongst others, a prerequisite to connect utilities, such as water and electricity. Also, an EJARI registration must be presented when sponsoring family members for residence visas or in order to file a case before the Rental Disputes Center, i.e. the competent court responsible for tenancy related disputes in the Emirate of Dubai.

Can my landlord increase the rent as he wishes?

A landlord in the Emirate of Dubai can only increase the rent if he is allowed to do so pursuant to the applicable laws. This is the case when the landlord has firstly informed the tenant of his intention to increase the rent at least 90 days prior to the expiry of the current tenancy contract, provided the contract does not stipulate a different period, and secondly the currently paid rent is significantly below average. The latter requirement is met in case that the rent is at least 11% lower than the average rents payable in the same neighbourhood. Depending on how great this deviation between the rent paid and the average rent is, the landlord can raise the annual rent by a maximum of 20%. If and at what rate a rental increase is permitted, can be verified through the so-called Rental Index Calculator, which is accessible through the website of the Dubai Land Department.

How much is the security deposit and is my landlord allowed to keep it once I move out?

In the Emirate of Dubai, landlords generally request the tenant to pay a security deposit of 5% of the annual rent for unfurnished and 10% for furnished properties. The security deposit is paid at the beginning of the tenancy and must be returned to the tenant, fully or partially, upon vacating the premises. The law does not provide for regulations regarding permissible deductible items or the period during which security deposits must be returned. At any rate, the security deposit may only be used for repairs necessary upon the tenant vacating the premises, but not for maintenance works occurring during the tenancy.

Overview

Tenancy Law in the Emirate of Dubai

General provisions regarding lease can be found in the UAE Civil Code. However, each Emirate has issued its own laws concerning the relationship of landlords and tenants of residential and commercial premises.

The following legal framework is applicable in the Emirate of Dubai.

Legal Basis

Law No. 26 of 2007 as amended ("Dubai Landlord and Tenant Law") constitutes the primary legal basis in the Emirate of Dubai. In addition, several complementary regulations and by-laws apply.

Constituting a Landlord and Tenant Relation

Before signing a tenancy contract, the designated tenant should determine whether his future landlord is undoubtedly the owner of the property.

a. Rental Period

It is common practice to define a rental period in the tenancy contract. Usually, the rental periods range from one year up to three years. Contrary to popular belief, the legislator does not treat a provision on a certain rental period as a fixed-term tenancy contract. Instead, the stipulation of a rental period shall enable the contracting parties to renegotiate the terms of the lease at the end of the period, most notably the increase of rent.

b. Rent

According to the Dubai Landlord and Tenant Law, the rent is to be paid every quarter in advance unless the parties have mutually agreed upon other terms. In practice, the annual rent is usually divided into up to four instalments and payable by post-dated cheques.

When renegotiating the rent for the purpose of renewing the tenancy contract, the tenant's interests in the Emirate of Dubai are protected by Decree No. 43 of 2013. According to this law, the landlord may not increase the rent arbitrarily but has to abide by statutory provisions.

c. Registration

It is mandatory to register all tenancy contracts with the database EJARI, which is operated by the Dubai Land Department ("DLD"). The standard tenancy contract issued by the DLD must be used when concluding a lease. All other tenancy contract forms cannot be registered and are generally rejected by the DLD as insufficient. It is, however, advisable to agree on additional terms supplementing the standard tenancy contract.

On the basis of the incoming data, the DLD compiles a rent index. The rent index is accessible to the public through the so-called Rental Index Calculator. Thus, the tenant is able to determine upon the expiration of his tenancy contract whether the landlord is entitled to increase the rent.

Termination

According to the Dubai Landlord and Tenant Law, the termination of a lease is only possible within strict legal prerequisites. Tenants and landlords have different rights in this respect.

For the tenant, the law does not provide for the right to terminate the contract before the expiry of the current rental period. If the tenant wishes to terminate the contractual relationship at the end of the current rental period, he is obliged to inform the landlord at least 90 days before the end of the contractual period unless another deadline has been specified in the tenancy contract.

The landlord, in contrast, does not have this simple option for terminating the tenancy. Instead, one of the reasons expressly stated in the law must exist and a formal eviction notice must be issued.

The parties may agree on additional termination clauses upon concluding the tenancy contract. However, in the event of a dispute, there is a risk that corresponding provisions will be deemed invalid, in particular those in favour of the landlord.

Legal Disputes

The Rental Disputes Center, which is part of the DLD, has jurisdiction over all tenancy-related disputes unless the parties agreed to refer any dispute to arbitration.