Article 34 · Explanatory Memorandum, March 2026
Landlord Cut Your Electricity or Changed the Locks in Dubai?
Disconnecting a supply, changing a lock, or blocking your access is not a rent-collection method — it is conduct Article 34 of the tenancy law prohibits outright. Since March 2026 an official explanatory memorandum confirms Dubai Police can order it stopped and record what happened, without waiting for a court order.
Direct answer
No. A landlord in Dubai may not disconnect electricity, water or air-conditioning, change the locks, remove doors, or otherwise interfere with your use of the property — even if you owe rent, and even if your contract has expired. Article 34 of Law No. 26 of 2007 prohibits it. Your immediate route is the police, who can order the landlord to stop and record the incident; your route to money and a binding order is the Rental Disputes Centre.
Rent arrears are recovered through a case at the RDC, not through the fuse box. A landlord who cuts a supply to force a tenant out usually converts a straightforward debt claim into a second dispute they are defending.
What the law actually says
Article 34 is short, and its scope is wider than most people assume. It covers two distinct wrongs: cutting services, and any other conduct that disturbs the tenant's use of the property. The second limb is what catches lock changes, removing a door, blocking a parking bay, barring access to the building, switching off a lift, or repeatedly entering without permission.
Law No. 26 of 2007 — Article 34
The Landlord may not disconnect services from the Real Property or disturb the Tenant
in any manner that
prevents full use of the property. The tenant may report the violation to the police, and may claim damages
before the Tribunal with supporting documentation.
Two features of Article 34 matter in practice. First, it is not conditional on the tenant being up to date with rent — the article contains no such qualification. Second, it gives the tenant two separate routes that run in parallel: a report to the police, and a damages claim before the Tribunal. You are not required to choose.
The March 2026 explanatory memorandum — what changed
Article 34 uses two Arabic terms that had been read inconsistently for years: إزالة التعرض (removal of the interference) and إثبات الحالة (recording the state of affairs). Officers were unsure how far they could act before a judge was involved, and tenants were routinely told to "go to the court first" while their flat stayed dark.
On 8 March 2026 the General Secretariat of the Supreme Legislation Committee in Dubai published an official explanatory memorandum interpreting both phrases, issued at the request of Dubai Police under the powers in Law No. (14) of 2024. An explanatory memorandum is not a new law — it is a binding statement of what the existing words mean, which is precisely what was missing.
إزالة التعرض — removal of the interference
What the landlord must be made to do
- Stop the conduct that is obstructing your use of the property
- Put the position back as it was — reconnect the supply, restore the lock, reopen the access
- Immediately, not at the end of a hearing schedule
إثبات الحالة — recording the state of affairs
What must be captured while it is still true
- An official record of what happened and when
- Damage to the property, and damage suffered by the tenant
- Produced later as evidence before the competent judicial authority
The practical effect
The memorandum confirms Dubai Police may receive and verify the complaint, inspect the property where needed, order the landlord to cease the interference and draw up an official report without a prior court order, give the tenant a certified copy, and refer the matter onward where warranted. The Rental Disputes Centre then decides any compensation claim, supported by that police report.
Source: Official Gazette of the Government of Dubai, Year 60, Issue 763, 8 March 2026 — explanatory memorandum on the phrases «إزالة التعرض» and «إثبات الحالة» in Article 34 of Law No. (26) of 2007.For a tenant sitting in a flat with no power, this is the whole point. The police report is not a formality on the way to court — it is the instrument that gets the supply back on, and it is simultaneously the evidence that makes the compensation claim work later.
What counts as interference
Article 34's second limb is deliberately broad. In practice the RDC sees the same handful of behaviours:
Cutting DEWA
Electricity or water disconnected, or the account transferred out of your name while you are still in occupation.
Switching off the AC
Central cooling shut off at the building level. In Dubai's climate this is treated seriously.
Changing the locks
New cylinder, new access code, or a disabled key fob while your belongings are inside.
Removing doors or windows
Physically stripping the unit to force an exit.
Blocking amenities
Parking bay reassigned, gym or pool access revoked, lift card deactivated. Article 11 includes amenities in the rent unless agreed otherwise.
Entering without permission
Repeated entry, showing the unit to buyers without arrangement, or leaving people inside.
Amenities are part of what you paid for
Unless your contract says otherwise, Article 11 treats the rent as covering use of the property's amenities — pools, playgrounds, gyms and parking. The Rental Disputes Centre states in its own published FAQ that a landlord cannot stop a tenant using a facility such as the health club, and that a refusal is a ground for complaint.
Step by step: what to do
- 1
Record it before anything else
Photograph and film the meter, the fuse box, the changed lock, the notice on the door — anything that shows the state of the property. Capture a visible date. If neighbours or building security witnessed it, note their names. Evidence gathered after the supply is restored is worth far less.
- 2
Report to the police
Go to the police station for the area, or use the Dubai Police app. Say plainly that your landlord has cut a service or is interfering with your use of the property, and ask for the state of affairs to be recorded — إثبات الحالة. Under the March 2026 memorandum the officer can act without a prior court order. Take your Ejari certificate, tenancy contract and Emirates ID with you.
- 3
Keep paying the rent
This is where tenants lose otherwise strong cases. Article 31 is explicit that filing a case does not relieve you of paying rent throughout the proceedings. Withholding rent in retaliation gives your landlord a clean 30-day notice route under Article 25(1)(a) — and now you are defending an eviction instead of pursuing a claim.
- 4
Apply for an urgent order if it is still not resolved
The RDC's own guidance for a property whose electricity and water have been disconnected is to submit a petition to the Urgent Matters Judge. This is a summary route designed for exactly this situation, separate from the main case.
- 5
File the substantive claim
File at the RDC for removal of the interference and for compensation, attaching the police report, your evidence and your payment record. Every non-Arabic document must carry a certified Arabic translation before it is accepted — this is where most self-filed cases stall.
What you can claim
Article 34 gives the tenant the right to claim damages before the Tribunal with supporting documentation. There is no tariff and no statutory multiplier — the RDC assesses what you actually lost and what you can prove. In practice, claims are built from documented items:
- Hotel or alternative accommodation for the nights the property was uninhabitable, with invoices
- Spoiled food and damaged appliances caused by the outage, with receipts and photographs
- Reconnection charges, locksmith fees and emergency call-outs you paid yourself
- The cost of certified translation and filing that the interference forced on you
- Loss of business, for a commercial tenancy, where it can be evidenced
Be careful what you read elsewhere
Several Dubai property sites state that wrongful conduct by a landlord entitles a tenant to "compensation of up to 12 months' rent". No such figure exists anywhere in Law No. 26 of 2007 or its amendments. Compensation under Article 34 is assessed on evidence. The separate two-year restriction in Article 26 — where a landlord who evicted for personal use re-lets to someone else — is a different provision with a different remedy.
Documents to prepare
Identity & tenancy
- Emirates ID
- Passport copy and residence visa
- Tenancy contract
- Ejari certificate
Proof of the interference
- Police report — certified copy
- Dated photographs and video
- DEWA bills and disconnection notice
- Messages where the landlord admits or threatens the cut Admissible where receipt is acknowledged
Money & filing
- Rent payment record — receipts, transfers, cheques
- Bank letter showing your IBAN
- Invoices for every loss you are claiming
- Certified Arabic translation of every non-Arabic document
Why the Arabic translation is not optional
The RDC's published requirements state that all documents must be in Arabic or legally translated. A file submitted with an English tenancy contract, English DEWA bills and English WhatsApp screenshots is not a weak file — it is an incomplete one. Taw-Theeq's MOJ-certified translation is produced in-house, which is the part of this process we actually own.
How Taw-Theeq helps
We are a legal support services provider, not a law firm. What that means concretely for a case like this: we review what happened and identify which RDC route fits, tell you exactly which documents you need and which are missing, produce the MOJ-certified Arabic translation of your contract, bills, notices and messages, assemble and submit the filing under the correct case category, and track it through to the hearing. For legal advice or representation at a hearing, engage a UAE-licensed lawyer — we work alongside them on the documents and the filing.
Your power is off. Start the file today.
Send us what you have — photographs, the contract, the police report if you already have one — and we will come back with the exact document list for your situation and what has to be translated.
Frequently asked questions
Can my landlord cut the electricity if I have not paid rent?
No. Article 34 contains no exception for rent arrears. A landlord who is owed rent has a clear remedy — a 30-day notice under Article 25(1)(a) and then a case at the RDC. Cutting the supply instead is a separate breach that you can claim against, and it does not extinguish the rent debt either.
My contract expired. Does Article 34 still protect me?
Yes, while you are still in occupation. Under Article 6, if you remain in the property after expiry without the landlord objecting, the contract renews automatically for the same term or one year, whichever is shorter. Even where renewal is disputed, possession must be recovered through the RDC and its execution department — not by cutting a supply.
The landlord changed the locks while I was away. What do I do?
Do not force entry. Photograph the door and the new lock, then report it to the police and ask for the state of affairs to be recorded. Under the March 2026 memorandum the officer can order the landlord to restore your access and draw up the report without waiting for a court order. Your belongings being inside strengthens the urgency of the complaint.
Do I have to go to the police, or can I go straight to the RDC?
You can do both, and usually should. Article 34 gives two parallel routes. The police route is faster and is what actually gets the supply restored; the RDC route is what produces a binding order and compensation. The police report becomes the core evidence in the RDC file.
What is a petition to the Urgent Matters Judge?
It is a summary application for an immediate order, separate from the main case. The RDC identifies it as the route where electricity and water have been disconnected from a property. It is registered as a Petition Order through the RDC's services.
My landlord refuses to accept my rent. Am I in default?
Not if you deposit it correctly. The RDC operates an Offer and Deposit service that lets you pay the rent into the Centre's treasury when the landlord refuses to take it. This preserves your position and removes any argument that you failed to pay.
Are WhatsApp messages accepted as evidence?
Yes. The RDC accepts modern communication such as WhatsApp messages and email as evidence where the parties acknowledge receipt. Preserve the full thread rather than isolated screenshots, and have the relevant messages translated into Arabic with the rest of your file.
How much does it cost to file?
For a rental case the RDC fee is 3.5% of the annual rent, with a minimum of AED 500 and a maximum of AED 20,000. For a purely monetary claim it is 3.5% of the amount claimed, minimum AED 500 and maximum AED 15,000. Add AED 100 process service, AED 10 knowledge fee, AED 10 innovation fee, and AED 25 if a power of attorney is registered. Filing through a Real Estate Services Trustee centre adds AED 130 plus VAT.
How long will it take?
Conciliation at the RDC is capped at 15 days under Decree No. 26 of 2013, extendable for equal periods. A First Instance determination must be made within 30 days of referral, extendable once by a further 30 days. The police route on the interference itself is far faster — that is its purpose. No one can promise you a date, and you should be wary of anyone who does.
Is Taw-Theeq a law firm?
No. Taw-Theeq Corporate Services and Legal Translation LLC is a legal support services provider. We prepare and translate your documents and handle the RDC filing and follow-up. We do not give legal advice and we do not represent clients at hearings — for that, engage a UAE-licensed lawyer.
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Disclaimer. This page is general information about Dubai tenancy law and is not legal advice. Taw-Theeq Corporate Services and Legal Translation LLC is a legal support services provider — not a law firm and not a government authority. Legislation is cited from the Dubai Legislation Portal and procedural detail from the Rental Disputes Centre as published at the date of writing. For advice on your own circumstances, or representation at a hearing, engage a UAE-licensed lawyer.