Dubai rent increase rules: how much can your landlord raise the rent?

Finding the average for your property

The average is specific to your area, property type and size — a two-bedroom flat in one community has a different benchmark from a villa in another. Look up the index figure for comparable units through the Dubai Land Department, then enter it with your current rent in the rent increase calculator.

Save a copy of the result when you look it up. If your landlord proposes an increase, the index figure for the date of renewal is what both sides will be measured against.

Worked examples

Suppose the index average for comparable units is AED 100,000 a year:

A two-bedroom flat at AED 72,000

The index average for similar flats is AED 96,000. The rent is 25% below the average, which falls in the 10% band. The most the landlord can ask at renewal is AED 7,200 more — a new rent of AED 79,200.

Notice that even the largest step leaves a big gap below the average. The decree is designed to move rents towards the market gradually, renewal by renewal.

Over several renewals: how a low rent catches up

Each renewal is assessed afresh against the index. If the average stayed at AED 100,000 and your landlord took the maximum every year, a rent starting at AED 60,000 would move like this:

The steps shrink as the gap closes, and stop once the rent is within 10% of the average. In reality the index moves too — up or down — so check the current figure at every renewal rather than assuming last year's band still applies.

Notice periods and what the landlord must do

Under Law No. 26 of 2007 as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008, either party who wants to change any terms of the lease at renewal — including the rent — must notify the other at least 90 days before the contract expires, unless the contract says otherwise (Art. 14). Check your tenancy contract: if it sets a different notice period, that agreement applies.

Before the contract expires, landlord and tenant may agree to change terms or to increase or reduce the rent (Art. 13). A rent cut is possible too — useful if the index has fallen.

A landlord who wants the property back at the end of the lease is a different matter: eviction at expiry needs one of the reasons in the law and at least 12 months' notice, served through a notary public or by registered mail (Art. 25).

If you can't agree

If landlord and tenant don't reach agreement on renewal terms, the law lets the Tribunal — the Special Tribunal to Determine Disputes between Landlords and Tenants — determine the fair rent (Art. 13). In practice that means filing a rental dispute with the Dubai Land Department's rental disputes body.

Before you get there, it helps to have:

• your current tenancy contract and Ejari registration;
• the index figure for comparable units, saved on the date you checked it;
• the landlord's notice, with the date it was received;
• the calculator result showing the maximum allowed increase.

Common mistakes

• Comparing with the wrong units. The benchmark is similar units — same area, type and size — not the building's newest listing.
• Applying the percentage to the average. The cap is a percentage of your current rent.
• Not checking the notice date. Compare when you received the proposal with the period in your contract — 90 days before expiry unless the contract says otherwise.
• Assuming free zones are exempt. Decree 43 expressly covers free zones such as the DIFC.