The Dubai landlord who reads the tenancy law once a year is the landlord who wins rent cases. The one who relies on “how it worked in London” or “how it worked in Mumbai” loses them.
A landlord in Dubai is the registered owner of a property leased out to a tenant under a registered tenancy contract. Rights and obligations are governed by Law No. 26 of 2007 and Law No. 33 of 2008, supplemented by the RERA rent-increase calculator and enforced by the Rental Dispute Center. The law is tenant-friendly in many respects: eviction requires 12 months’ notice served through notary public, rent increases are capped by published formula tied to how far current rent sits below market, and evictions for non-payment require formal process.
I had a client in 2024 who wanted to raise rent on a JVC two-bedroom by 18% because he had “just been informed by the agent” that the market had moved. The RERA calculator permitted 5%. We raised 5%.
Run every rent-increase notice through the RERA calculator before you issue it. Issuing a notice outside the legal cap is a case you lose before it starts.
Related: Tenant, Tenancy Contract, Ejari, RERA.
From first call to keys in hand
Most buyers underestimate how many decisions sit between a shortlist and a signed title deed. We handle MoU, SPA, NOC, escrow coordination, and handover inspection as a single workflow. Start with a call or see what’s on the market.
