Rental and Tenancy Disputes in Dubai

Tenancy disputes in Dubai usually start with a notice. A rent increase arrives that seems too high. An eviction notice arrives with a date on it. Or the rent has not been paid for several months and the landlord is trying to work out what he is actually allowed to do.

I advise landlords and tenants on rent increases, eviction, notice requirements and unpaid rent, and on matters heading to the Rental Dispute Centre.

The law that applies

Dubai tenancy is governed by Law No. 26 of 2007 regulating the relationship between landlords and tenants, as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008. Rent increases are governed separately by Decree No. 43 of 2013. The Rental Dispute Settlement Centre was established by Decree No. 26 of 2013 and handles rental disputes for property in Dubai, including the free zones.

This is a distinct system. The Rental Dispute Centre is not the Dubai Courts and the procedure is not the same, which is one reason advice given by analogy to an ordinary civil claim tends to be wrong.

Rent increases

A rent increase is not a matter of what the market will bear. Decree No. 43 of 2013 ties the permitted increase to how far the current rent sits below the average for comparable property in the same area, measured against the Dubai Land Department index. Where the rent is already at or near that average, no increase is permitted at all.

A landlord who wants to increase the rent or change any term of the contract must give the tenant at least ninety days notice before the contract expires, unless the parties agreed otherwise. An increase applied without that notice is where most of these disputes begin.

Eviction, and the difference the timing makes

There are two separate routes and they are frequently confused.

During the term of the contract, a landlord may seek eviction only on specific grounds set out in Article 25(1), which include non-payment of rent after formal notice, subletting without consent, using the property for an unlawful purpose, or causing damage. These are breaches by the tenant.

At the end of the term, the grounds under Article 25(2) are different. They include the owner wanting the property for personal use or for a first-degree relative, an intention to sell, or demolition and major reconstruction. For these, the landlord must notify the tenant of the reason at least twelve months before the eviction date, and that notice must be served through a Notary Public or by registered mail.

The method of service is not a formality. A notice sent by email, message or hand delivery does not satisfy the requirement, and a landlord who serves the notice incorrectly generally cannot rely on it. The twelve months runs from the date of service rather than the date written on the notice.

When the tenant stops paying

Non-payment does not permit a landlord to change the locks, cut services or take possession. It requires formal notice and, if that does not resolve it, a claim at the Rental Dispute Centre. Landlords who act first and file afterwards frequently find that their own conduct becomes the issue rather than the unpaid rent.

What decides these matters

The registered Ejari contract, the notice and the way it was served, the payment record and the dated correspondence. Almost every tenancy dispute I see turns on one of two things: whether the required notice was given, and whether it was served the way the law requires.

Both are decided by documents created before the dispute started, which is why the position is usually fixed well before anyone decides to make a claim.