Few areas of Dubai law touch as many people as the tenancy relationship — and few are as widely misunderstood. The rules are precise, the forum is specialised, and the difference between a valid eviction and a void one often turns on a single letter sent the right way.
The governing framework
The landlord–tenant relationship for real property in Dubai is regulated by Law No. 26 of 2007, as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008. Together these instruments define the anatomy of a lawful lease, the circumstances in which rent may be revised, and — critically — the closed list of grounds on which a tenant may be evicted. They apply across the Emirate, including within many free-zone communities. The architecture is deliberately protective of the tenant in possession, while giving the landlord defined, enforceable exits. Understanding where those two logics meet is the whole of the practice.
A valid lease under the Law describes the property with certainty, states its permitted use, fixes the term, and sets the rent and its payment mechanism. These are not formalities. When a dispute crystallises, the tribunal reads the contract first, and gaps in the contract become gaps in a party's protection.
The forum: the Rental Dispute Centre
Rental disputes in Dubai are not heard in the ordinary civil courts. By Decree No. 26 of 2013, the Rental Dispute Settlement Centre (RDC) was established as a specialised judicial body with exclusive jurisdiction over disputes between landlords and tenants of property in the Emirate — including counterclaims, and provisional and summary applications. The Centre is structured in two tiers: a First Instance Division and an Appellate Division. Appeals from first instance run to the Appellate Division, whose judgments are final. There is, however, a monetary filter: claims below a defined threshold — currently in the region of AED 100,000 — are decided finally at first instance and are not subject to appeal, and the appeal window is short, measured in a matter of days from judgment.
The RDC's appeal is its speed and specialisation. A claimant registers the case, pays a fee (typically calculated as a percentage of the annual rent), and the matter is set down before adjudicators who do nothing but tenancy law. Conciliation is attempted first; if it fails, the matter proceeds to judgment and, ultimately, to execution through the Centre's enforcement arm.
The lease is read first, the notice is read second, and the manner of service is read as closely as the words themselves.
Rent increases and the RERA index
The single most litigated question in Dubai tenancy is whether a proposed rent increase is lawful. The answer is governed by Decree No. 43 of 2013, which ties permissible increases to the RERA rental index — a published benchmark of average market rents by area and property type. The mechanism is a sliding scale measured against how far the current rent sits below the index average:
- If the current rent is up to 10% below the average, no increase is permitted.
- Between 11% and 20% below, an increase of up to 5%.
- Between 21% and 30% below, up to 10%.
- Between 31% and 40% below, up to 15%.
- More than 40% below, up to 20% — the statutory ceiling.
Two practical points follow. First, a landlord who wishes to increase rent on renewal must give the tenant notice of the proposed change — as a matter of good practice and to preserve the position, at least 90 days before expiry unless the parties agree otherwise. Second, the calculation is only as good as the index reading on the day; the RERA index is periodically updated, so a figure that was correct last quarter may not be correct now. The Centre applies the index, not the landlord's aspiration.
Eviction: during the term and at its end
Here the distinction is fundamental. During a running tenancy, a landlord may seek eviction only on the specific grounds in Article 25(1) — chief among them non-payment of rent (where the tenant fails to pay within 30 days of a formal written demand), unlawful subletting, use of the premises for illegal or damaging purposes, or a material breach of the lease. These are fault-based; the tenant has done something.
At the end of the tenancy, the landlord may recover possession on the no-fault grounds in Article 25(2): that the owner wishes to sell the property, or requires it for personal use by himself or a first-degree relative (and owns no other suitable property for that purpose), or intends demolition or comprehensive reconstruction. These grounds carry the pivotal safeguard of the framework:
The 12-month notice
To evict on an end-of-tenancy ground, the landlord must serve not less than 12 months' notice, and that notice must be delivered through the Notary Public or by registered mail. This is not a drafting preference — it is a validity condition. Notice by email, SMS or messaging application does not satisfy the Law, and a case built on defective service will fail at the Centre regardless of the genuineness of the landlord's intention. For landlords, the discipline of proper service is everything; for tenants, the first line of defence is almost always to test how — and when — the notice was given.
Ejari: the evidential backbone
Registration of the tenancy through the Ejari system is more than an administrative step. A registered contract is the primary evidence of the terms, the rent and the parties before the RDC, and registration is practically required to access many government and utility services. An unregistered or inconsistently registered tenancy weakens a party's evidential footing precisely when it matters most. Register early, register accurately, and keep the certificate.
Strategy, in short
For landlords: document everything, register through Ejari, calculate increases strictly against the current RERA index, and — above all — serve any eviction notice through the Notary Public or registered mail with a clear paper trail. Intention without correct service is worthless. For tenants: know the index band that applies to you, insist on proper written notice, and remember that a 12-month notice period is a floor, not a courtesy. In a well-run tenancy, the Law rewards the party who was careful with paper.
Instruments referenced: Law No. 26 of 2007 (as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008) regulating the landlord–tenant relationship in Dubai; Decree No. 26 of 2013 establishing the Rental Dispute Settlement Centre; Decree No. 43 of 2013 on permissible rent increases and the RERA rental index; and the Ejari registration system. This is general information, not legal advice.