Find a Tenancy & Rental Disputes Lawyer

Landlord and tenant matters on both sides, for homes and business premises: eviction, rent, deposits, maintenance, renewal, early exit, registration and the lease itself. This is the work of a tenancy, rental or lease lawyer.

Buying, selling, off-plan and ownership disputes stay on our real estate page. LEXNOVA is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.

Dubai: the Rental Disputes Center (RDC), part of the Dubai Land Department, established as the Rent Disputes Settlement Centre (sometimes abbreviated RDSC) by Decree No. 26 of 2013. Article 6 of the decree gives it exclusive jurisdiction over rent disputes in the emirate, free zones included, except zones with their own rent tribunals, lease-finance contracts and long-term leases under Law No. 7 of 2006. It also hears jointly owned property disputes under Law No. 6 of 2019.

Abu Dhabi mainland: the Rental Dispute Settlement Committees, working under the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD), each with a chair judge and two judge members, applying Law No. 20 of 2006. ADREC handles registration and rent policy, not disputes.

DIFC: the DIFC Courts' Small Claims Leasing Tribunal for claims up to AED 1,000,000 under DIFC Law No. 1 of 2020, with higher-value claims in the DIFC Courts' main court. ADGM (Al Maryah and Al Reem Islands): the ADGM Courts. Sharjah: its own Rental Disputes Center. Where the lease is registered is usually the quickest clue.

Tenant matters usually start with a document: an eviction notice, a higher renewal rent or a deposit statement. In Dubai the landlord must maintain the property unless agreed otherwise (Article 16), may not cut services or disturb your use in any manner (Article 34), and cannot end a valid lease unilaterally mid-term (Article 7).

See our pages my landlord is trying to evict me, rent increase dispute, security deposit not returned, and landlord ending your business lease.

Unpaid rent and bounced cheques, a tenant who will not leave, damage, unauthorised subletting, or recovering the property for sale, own use or redevelopment. Order matters: skipping the notarised or registered-mail notice, or changing locks instead of going to the RDC, costs time and can expose the landlord to a damages claim.

See my tenant is not paying rent and how to evict a tenant in Dubai. Owners abroad often act through a property manager or attorney; the RDC's filing checklist asks for the power of attorney or management contract.

In Dubai, Article 25(1) of Law No. 26 of 2007 (as replaced by Law No. 33 of 2008) lists the only mid-lease eviction grounds, including rent unpaid 30 days after a notice requesting payment, subletting without written approval, illegal use, deliberate or grossly negligent damage, and other breaches not remedied within 30 days of notice. Article 25(2) lists the only grounds at expiry: demolition with permits, comprehensive restoration confirmed by a Dubai Municipality report, own or first-degree-relative use where the owner has no suitable alternative, and sale, each needing at least 12 months' notice before the eviction date. Notices under both paragraphs must be served through a Notary Public or by registered mail.

If you are the tenant: expiry alone is not a ground, you keep paying rent while an eviction claim runs (Article 31), and a sale does not end a fixed-term lease (Article 28). If the RDC lets a landlord retake the unit for own use and it is let to someone else within two years (residential) or three (non-residential) of retaking possession, you may ask the RDC for fair compensation (Article 26).

If you are the landlord: the RDC's eviction filing asks for the notarised notice with the officer's report, or registered-post proof. An eviction judgment can be appealed within 15 days whatever its value, and the RDC enforces it itself.

In Dubai, rent changes at renewal. A party wanting new terms must give notice at least 90 days before expiry unless the lease says otherwise (Article 14). Decree No. 43 of 2013 caps the increase by comparing the rent with the average for similar units in RERA's Rent Index: none if the rent is up to 10% below the average; 5% at 11–20% below; 10% at 21–30%; 15% at 31–40%; and 20% at more than 40% below. DLD's Rental Index calculator works out the permitted increase.

Disputes go to the RDC, which also weighs the property's condition (Article 9(2)). In Abu Dhabi, the increase percentage, normally 5% a year, has been 0% since 3 June 2026 until further notice (as at September 2026); no Dubai equivalent has been announced. See rent increase dispute.

Dubai's law allows a deposit to secure maintenance and requires it, or its remainder, to be refunded on expiry (Article 20), with no cap and no refund deadline. The tenant must return the property in the condition received, except ordinary wear and tear, and condition disputes go to the RDC (Article 21).

Photos and a handover record decide most cases. The DIFC caps residential deposits at 10% of annual rent, lodged with its Registrar; Abu Dhabi's Law No. 20 of 2006, as published by DARI, has no deposit article, so the contract governs. See security deposit not returned.

Track 1: leaving a residential lease early. A valid Dubai lease ends mid-term only by mutual consent or under the law (Article 7), and the law sets no early-exit penalty, so the cost depends on your contract's clause, negotiation and the deposit. Heirs may end a deceased tenant's lease on at least 30 days' notice (Article 27).

Relocation or job loss gives no automatic right to leave. The Civil Transactions Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025, in force since 1 June 2026) lets a court ease or rescind a contract made onerous by exceptional, general and unforeseeable circumstances; the law does not apply retroactively unless it provides otherwise, and whether it could ever reach a lease is for a lawyer.

Track 2: commercial early exit. Fit-out, remaining rent and guarantees raise the stakes. If your landlord is ending your business lease, see commercial lease termination.

Tenant breaches run through the Article 25(1) grounds, with a notice and a 30-day window for unpaid rent and general breaches. Landlord breaches, such as ignored maintenance or cut services, can go to the RDC for an order or damages. In Dubai both are RDC matters, not ordinary civil claims.

At renewal, a tenant who stays on without objection is renewed on the same terms (Article 6). The law does not say what follows a late or missing 90-day notice; a tenant can dispute new terms at the RDC and rely on that rule.

Dubai leases are registered on DLD's Unified Tenancy Contract, and Article 4 requires the lease to describe the property, purpose, term, rent and payment method. Many statutory rules apply unless otherwise agreed, including maintenance, the 90-day notice, subletting and payment dates, so the wording matters.

A review checks term and renewal, increases, early termination, maintenance, deposit, use, subletting and any arbitration clause; even then, the RDC can still grant interim relief (Article 32).

Routine Ejari registration is administrative and open to tenants, landlords or their attorneys through DLD's channels. Abu Dhabi tenancies are registered in Tawtheeq through ADREC's DARI platform.

A lawyer helps when the other side will not cooperate. No Ejari does not stop a Dubai claim: the RDC registers one without a contract if you add a request to prove the lease relationship.

Shops and retail units: unless agreed otherwise, a landlord may seek eviction where business premises stand unoccupied without valid reason for 30 consecutive or 90 non-consecutive days a year (Article 25(1)(d)), and tenants may not remove leasehold improvements unless the lease allows (Article 23).

Offices: the landlord must provide the approvals the tenant needs to submit to official entities (Article 18). Warehouses and industrial units: Abu Dhabi's Law No. 20 of 2006 expressly covers industrial leases, and the 0% measure extends to them.

Free-zone leases vs onshore Dubai: the RDC hears Dubai free-zone disputes unless the zone has its own rent tribunal, as the DIFC does. For JAFZA, DMCC and others, check the zone's own rules.

Sharjah: Sharjah Law No. 2 of 2007 was repealed by Sharjah Law No. 5 of 2024, in force since 19 September 2024. Disputes go to the Rental Disputes Center in the Emirate of Sharjah (Sharjah Law No. 6 of 2024), a judicial centre affiliated to Sharjah City Municipality and separate from Dubai's RDC. Landlords must attest leases within 15 days of drafting, and tenants can ask the Centre's Urgent Matters Judge to compel attestation.

Rent may not rise within three years of the tenancy's start unless agreed, and eviction in the first three years (homes) or five (business premises) is limited to listed grounds, such as rent unpaid 15 days after falling due. Dubai's 12-month notarised notice does not apply.

Ajman and the other Northern Emirates: each has its own arrangements, not described here; see our Sharjah and Ajman location pages.

LEXNOVA does not publish lawyers' fees. Cost depends on whether the case is contested or settles at mediation, your side, the claim value, notices, powers of attorney and Arabic translation, and any appeal or enforcement.

At the time of writing (September 2026), the RDC charged 3.5% of annual rent for non-monetary claims such as eviction (AED 500 to AED 20,000) and 3.5% of the amount claimed for monetary claims (AED 500 to AED 15,000), refunding half on settlement at mediation. Check the current schedule.

The best rental dispute lawyer is the best fit: compare the side a lawyer usually acts for, RDC or forum experience, residential or commercial focus, languages and emirate, and ask how they would handle the first step.

Bring the lease, the Ejari or Tawtheeq certificate, payment records and cheque copies, notices with proof of delivery, condition photos and correspondence; the RDC may rely on WhatsApp messages and emails as evidence where the parties acknowledge them.

Ejari: DLD's register of Dubai tenancy contracts, required by Article 4.

Tawtheeq: Abu Dhabi's tenancy register, run through ADREC's DARI platform.

RDC / RDSC: Dubai's Rental Disputes Center, established as the Rent Disputes Settlement Centre. In DIFC Courts documents, RDC means the Rules of the DIFC Courts.

Rental index: RERA's Rent Index, the benchmark for Decree No. 43 of 2013.

Notarised notice: a notice served through a Notary Public, one of two permitted methods for Dubai eviction notices.

Holdover: a tenant staying on after expiry; absent the landlord's objection, the lease renews on the same terms (Article 6).

Self-help eviction: changing locks or cutting services instead of going to the RDC, prohibited by Article 34.

Tell us your side, the emirate, what happened and how urgent it is. A person reviews every request and considers potentially suitable lawyers; you then deal with the lawyer directly.

LEXNOVA is not a law firm, does not give legal advice, serve notices or file claims, and cannot promise an outcome.