Last reviewed: August 2026 · Prepared by the Taw-Theeq legal services team, Deira, Dubai
A landlord in Dubai cannot raise the rent by whatever the market will bear. The increase is capped by Decree No. 43 of 2013, it must be announced in advance, and it can only happen once in a twelve-month cycle. This article explains the three tests every increase has to pass, what changed on 1 January 2025, and how a tenant contests an increase that fails any of them.
Three tests: ① the increase must be permitted by the cap in Decree 43/2013, measured against average market rent; ② the landlord must give 90 days’ written notice before the renewal date; ③ rent may be increased only once every 12 months. Failing any one of them makes the increase contestable.
1. The cap: how far below the market is the current rent?
Decree No. 43 of 2013 does not set a single percentage. It ties the maximum permitted increase to the gap between the rent currently being paid and the average market rent for comparable units in the same area. The further below the market a tenant is sitting, the larger the increase the law allows; a rent already at or near market level cannot be increased at all under the decree.
The practical consequence is that no landlord can simply quote a percentage. The figure has to be derived from the official market reference, and that reference is set by the Dubai Land Department.
2. What changed on 1 January 2025 — the Smart Rental Index
From 1 January 2025, the Dubai Land Department’s Smart Rental Index replaced the earlier rental increase calculator as the reference used to determine market value. The index takes a more granular view of a property than the older tool, so two units in the same tower can produce different reference values.
Check the index through the official Dubai Land Department channels or the Dubai REST application before you accept or contest an increase. What the index returns — not the landlord’s asking figure, and not the price of a listing on a portal — is what the Center will weigh.
3. The 90-day notice
A landlord who wants to change the rent, or any other condition of the tenancy, must notify the tenant in writing at least 90 days before the renewal date, unless the parties have expressly agreed otherwise. Miss the deadline and the contract renews on its existing terms for another year.
A common misreading: the 90-day notice is about changing terms; it is not an eviction notice. Ending the tenancy at the expiry of the term is a separate matter that requires 12 months’ notice served through a notary public or registered mail.
4. Once every twelve months
Rent may not be increased more than once in any twelve-month period. A mid-term increase, or a second increase within the same cycle, is not enforceable — regardless of what the market has done in the meantime.
How to contest an increase
- Check the index first. Pull the Smart Rental Index result for your unit and compare it with the increase demanded.
- Check the notice. Count the days between the written notice and the renewal date. Keep the envelope, the notarised copy or the email trail that shows when it arrived.
- Reply in writing. Silence can be read as acceptance. State that you dispute the increase and on what basis.
- Keep paying the existing rent. Withholding rent while the dispute runs turns a strong case into a non-payment claim against you.
- File at the Center. If no agreement is reached, file a rent increase dispute at the Rental Disputes Center. The fee is 3.5% of the annual rent (minimum AED 500, maximum AED 20,000), and half the basic fee is refunded if the parties settle at the reconciliation stage.
Documents you will need
- The Ejari-registered tenancy contract and any renewal addenda.
- The written notice of increase and proof of when it was received.
- The Smart Rental Index output for the unit.
- Payment records — cheques, receipts, statements.
- Certified Arabic translations of any document not already in Arabic, since the Center works in Arabic.
Notes for landlords
- Serve the 90-day notice in writing and keep proof; a verbal conversation at renewal time is worth nothing in the file.
- Derive the figure from the index before you send it. An increase above the permitted cap is likely to be reduced by the Center, and you carry the filing cost.
- Register every contract and renewal with Ejari. An unregistered contract is the first obstacle you will meet.
Preparing a rent increase file for the RDC?
We translate Ejari contracts, notices, index reports and correspondence into certified Arabic accepted by the Rental Disputes Center. Office located opposite the RDC building in Deira, Dubai.
Related reading
- How to file a rental dispute case at the RDC
- Security deposit disputes
- Rental Disputes Center services
- Tenancy contract translation
- Rental Disputes Center — Dubai Land Department
- Dubai Land Department
- Dubai Law No. 26 of 2007 (as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008) — landlord and tenant relationship
- Decree No. 26 of 2013 — establishing the Rental Disputes Center
- Decree No. 43 of 2013 — rent increase percentages in the Emirate of Dubai
