Dubai tenant and landlord rights in 2023
Whether you’re a tenant or a landlord, it’s important to know your rights when renting a property. RERA, Dubai’s real estate regulatory agency, have created laws including No. 26 of 2007, No. 33 of 2008, and Decree No. 2 of 2011, which outline the roles and responsibilities of tenants and landlords. To save you time, this handy guide will give you a great introduction to tenant and landlord rights in Dubai in 2023, including: Tenant frequently asked questions How many cheques are usually needed? In Dubai, rent is usually paid in the form of cheques. The number of cheques will be agreed upon between you and the landlord when negotiating the rental. The total rent is then divided by the number of cheques and paid at intervals throughout the rental. The number of cheques typically varies between one and six payments. Landlords typically prefer a lower number of cheques, but your real estate agent will be able to help you negotiate this based upon your circumstances. If paying by one cheque, the total rent will be paid via one payment at the start of the rental. If you were to pay by four cheques, you would give the landlord four different cheques. One for the first day of the tenancy, and three post-dated cheques at 3-month intervals during the tenancy. The Dubai Land Department recently announced plans for tenants to be able to pay via online banking rather than cheques in future, which would move Dubai more in line with many developed economies around the globe. How do you negotiate a better rate? In general, paying via one cheque (a one-off payment for the full amount) will get you the best rental rate. Landlords will often charge a higher rent to tenants wishing to pay with more cheques, so paying with fewer cheques or making a larger initial payment should get you a better deal. Does the landlord have a right to ask for a security deposit? In Dubai, landlords can require tenants to pay a security deposit at the beginning of a tenancy agreement. This is almost always the case, so you should expect this whenever searching for a rental property. The security deposit is typically 5% of the annual rent for an unfurnished property, or 10% of the annual rent for a furnished property. As long as the property is returned to the landlord in good condition at the end of the tenancy, the security deposit should be returned partially or in full to the tenant upon vacating the premises. Who pays for repairs if something within the property breaks during my tenancy? When renting a property, the chances are you’ll experience something breaking or requiring maintenance during your tenancy. In general, maintenance and repairs are the responsibility of the property owner. However, it is very common for tenancy contracts to state that the landlord will only cover major repairs that cost more than a certain amount. For example, the landlord may only cover the cost of repairs if they exceed AED 1,000, with any less expensive repairs being paid for by the tenant. You should therefore be careful to check this in your tenancy contract prior to signing for a rental property. Are there any clauses I can use if I need to break my contract? Whether there are any clauses you can use to break your contract early will depend on the specific terms and conditions of your tenancy contract. You should therefore check if your contract includes an exit or early termination clause. Without this, your landlord might ask for compensation. Some contracts include break clauses where you pay your landlord a certain amount as a penalty for terminating early. If the option to end the contract early is important to you, then you should discuss this with your agent prior to agreeing to a tenancy, to ensure it is negotiated and included in the tenancy agreement. Can my landlord evict me before my tenancy agreement is completed? No, your landlord cannot evict you prior to your tenancy agreement being completed. Your landlord can only ask you to vacate through a 12-month written notice via registered mail or notary public. My landlord wants to increase my rent. How much can they increase it legally? For a comprehensive overview, check out our post: Can my landlord increase my rent in Dubai in 2023? But in short, yes the landlord can increase your rent. But, this can only happen when your tenancy renews (not at any time during the tenancy) and the landlord must give you 90 days’ written notice prior to the renewal date. The landlord can also only increase the rent by a certain amount, which is dictated by the DLD’s Rental Index. I am unable to use the communal areas of my building because my landlord has not paid the service charges. What can I do about this? if your landlord has failed to pay the service charges, then the first step is to contact them to discuss the problem. In the event that they fail to make the payment, you may be able to seek legal recourse. The Dubai Rental Disputes Settlement Centre can be contacted at 600 555 556. It seems that all the rental properties I am interested in are going very quickly. When I put a deposit on a property, how can I be sure nobody will undercut me 24 hours later? The Dubai real estate market moves very quickly, so it’s very normal to enquire about properties only to find that they have already been rented out. Once you find a property that you wish to rent and have negotiated the tenancy, the agent will collect a deposit from you. As soon as your deposit has been received, the property should be reserved for you and removed from the market. However, to be absolutely certain that the rental does not fall through, you should sign a tenancy contract as soon as possible with the landlord to