Rental Disputes in Dubai: How the Process Works

Rental disputes over property in Dubai are heard by the Rental Disputes Centre, which has exclusive jurisdiction over landlord and tenant claims in the emirate, including in most free zones. It is a specialist tribunal, not a division of the ordinary civil courts, and it runs its own reconciliation, first instance, appeal and enforcement stages.

The Centre was created by Decree No. 26 of 2013. The substantive law it applies is Law No. 26 of 2007 on the relationship between landlords and tenants, as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008, together with Decree No. 43 of 2013 on rent increases and the general principles of the UAE civil code, now recodified in Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025.

Most cases are decided on documents. Before anything else, the question to ask is what you can prove: the tenancy contract, the Ejari registration, the payment record, and the notice.

What does the Rental Disputes Centre have jurisdiction over?

The Centre determines rent disputes between landlords and tenants of real property situated in Dubai, including property in free zones, along with related counterclaims, appeals and enforcement of its own judgments.

Several categories fall outside it:

• Disputes in free zones that have their own judicial authority. The Dubai International Financial Centre is the practical example, and property within it is dealt with under DIFC law and the DIFC Courts.
• Finance lease contracts, which are governed by their own legislation.
• Disputes arising from long-term leases registered under the Dubai real property registration regime, which are a property law matter rather than a tenancy dispute.

Getting the forum wrong costs months. If the property sits in DIFC, or if the arrangement is a registered long lease rather than an annual tenancy, check jurisdiction before filing anything.

How do you file a rental case, and what does it cost?

A claim is filed with the Centre, in Arabic, with supporting documents. Cases normally pass first through the Centre’s reconciliation stage, which attempts a settlement within a short window before the matter is referred to a first instance tribunal. The tribunal is chaired by a judge sitting with specialist members.

Filing fees are calculated as a percentage of the annual rent, subject to a minimum and a maximum set by Dubai’s fee schedule, with additional fees for particular applications. The schedule changes, so check the current figures with the Centre rather than relying on a published guide.

The documents that decide most cases are predictable:

• The signed tenancy contract and any addenda or renewal.
• The Ejari registration certificate.
• The title deed, and the landlord’s identification or trade licence.
• The tenant’s passport, visa page and Emirates ID, or trade licence for a commercial tenancy.
• Proof of payment: cheques, bank statements, receipts, and any returned cheque advice.
• Any notice served, together with proof of how and when it was served.
• Correspondence, photographs and inspection reports where condition or maintenance is in issue.

Documents not in Arabic need a legal translation. A case with a clean Ejari registration and a documented notice is in a materially different position from one relying on an unregistered arrangement and a WhatsApp thread.

What are the most common rental disputes?

The Centre’s workload is concentrated in a small number of categories:

• Non-payment of rent, including returned cheques, which is the largest single category.
• Eviction at the end of the term, where the landlord wants the property back for sale, personal use, demolition or major renovation.
• Rent increases, where the parties disagree about what the applicable cap permits at renewal.
• Security deposits, and the scope of deductions for damage as against fair wear and tear.
• Maintenance and repair, where the contract is silent or inconsistent with the default position that major maintenance rests with the landlord.
• Unauthorised subletting, and short-term letting without the landlord’s written consent.
• Early termination, and what compensation the contract actually provides for.

On rent increases, Decree No. 43 of 2013 sets the permitted increase by reference to how far the current rent sits below the average for comparable property, measured against Dubai’s rental index. Dubai has since moved to a smart rental index, which changed the underlying valuation method, so a calculation done a year ago should be redone. A landlord who wants to change any term at renewal, including the rent, must generally give at least 90 days’ notice before the expiry date unless the parties agree otherwise.

How does an eviction notice actually work?

The law separates termination during the term from eviction at the end of the term, and the two are constantly confused.

During the term, a landlord may seek eviction only on the limited grounds in Article 25(1). They include failure to pay rent within 30 days of a demand, unauthorised subletting, using the property for an illegal purpose or in a way that breaches the contract, causing damage through negligence, and certain vacancy and demolition situations. Most of these require notice and an opportunity to remedy.

At the end of the term, Article 25(2) allows eviction on four grounds only: the landlord intends to demolish and rebuild; the property requires restoration or major maintenance that cannot be carried out with the tenant in occupation, supported by a technical report attested by Dubai Municipality; the owner wants the property for personal use or for a first-degree relative and has no other suitable property; or the owner wants to sell.

Three practical points follow:

• The notice must give at least 12 months before the proposed eviction date, and it must state the ground relied on.
• It must be served through a notary public or by registered mail. Email, WhatsApp and hand delivery have caused notices to fail.
• A notice is not an eviction order. If the tenant does not leave, the landlord still has to obtain a judgment from the Centre, and the tenant can challenge whether the ground was genuine.

The timing of service, and whether a notice can be given during the term rather than only near its end, has been the subject of litigation in Dubai. It is a point on which the position has moved, so take advice on the current approach before serving.

Can you appeal a rental judgment?

Not always. Under Decree No. 26 of 2013, judgments in claims below AED 100,000 in value are generally final and not open to appeal. There are exceptions, including judgments ordering eviction, judgments where the tribunal exceeded its jurisdiction, and cases involving forged documents or evidence discovered after the judgment.

Where an appeal is available, the appeal period is short, stated in the Decree as 15 days. Appeals go to the Centre’s appellate division, which sits with judges and a property expert, and its judgments are final. Enforcement of final judgments is handled by the Centre’s own execution directorate rather than by the general courts.

Because the window is measured in days and not months, a party that waits to take advice after judgment has often already lost the right to challenge it.

Where do landlords and tenants get caught out?

The failures repeat. A tenancy is never registered on Ejari, which weakens the tenant’s position and complicates the landlord’s claim. A 12-month notice is served by email and is treated as no notice at all. A notice states no ground, or states a ground the landlord cannot evidence. A landlord relies on the sale ground and then does not sell, which can expose them to a claim from the former tenant. A property is sold mid-term and the buyer assumes the lease ended with the transfer, which it does not.

On the tenant side: leaving before the notice period expires and then trying to recover rent already paid; treating an unsigned renewal as no contract; and withholding rent to force action on an unresolved maintenance complaint, which converts a strong maintenance argument into a weak non-payment defence.

The reliable protection on both sides is unglamorous. Register the tenancy. Keep the payment record. Serve notices through a notary or registered mail and keep the proof. Diarise the 90-day and 12-month points. And check which forum has jurisdiction before filing.

This article is general information about UAE law as at September 2026 and is not legal advice. The position varies by emirate and by free zone, and it changes often. Take advice on your own facts before acting.

Legal Desire has published legal industry news and analysis since 2012. This article is part of our UAE desk, which tracks the laws, courts and regulators of the Emirates for lawyers and in-house teams.