How to File a Rent Dispute in the UAE

Dubai and Abu Dhabi each run their own, separately built rental dispute infrastructure. Dubai uses Ejari, a mandatory tenancy contract registration system, feeding into the Rental Dispute Settlement Centre (RDSC), which is the body that actually hears and decides Dubai rental disputes.

Abu Dhabi uses Tawtheeq, its own tenancy contract registration system, while its rent disputes are decided by the Rental Dispute Settlement Committees of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD), each formed of one chair judge and two judge members; the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (ADREC) runs registration, not the dispute process.

These are not two names for the same process. The registration platforms are different, the deciding bodies are different, and a document or registration valid in one system has no standing in the other. If your property is in Dubai, Tawtheeq is irrelevant to you and vice versa — confirm which emirate your tenancy is actually registered in before assuming either process applies.

In Dubai, the law requires every tenancy contract to be registered through Ejari, and the RDSC’s standard filing checklist asks for the latest Ejari contract. Ejari registration is not a strict precondition, though: the Centre’s own guidance says a claim can still be registered without a contract if a request to prove the lease relationship is added.

If your tenancy was never registered through Ejari — a surprisingly common situation, particularly with informal or older arrangements — that’s usually the first thing to resolve, since an unregistered tenancy can complicate or delay a dispute filing rather than blocking it outright depending on the circumstances.

Ejari can also be closed at the end. The Dubai Land Department’s cancellation service is built for an expired tenancy contract on a vacated property: the tenant, or a representative with an official power of attorney, can apply through the Dubai REST app, the DLD website or a registration trustee centre, with the tenancy contract and the applicant’s Emirates ID, and a contract still running needs the owner’s letter requesting cancellation. Units run by a property-management company go through the manager or DLD’s other channels. If the landlord will not cooperate or disputes the end date, that is a tenancy dispute for the RDSC, which does not require an Ejari cancellation statement to register a claim. What, if anything, an uncancelled registration affects in practice is not stated on DLD’s service page, so check with DLD or a lawyer rather than assume.

A dispute — over rent increases, eviction, maintenance, deposit return, or lease termination — is filed with the RDSC, normally with the registered Ejari contract (where there is no registered contract, a request to prove the lease relationship can be added to the claim). Filing channels and the exact documentation required can change, so confirm the current process directly with the RDSC before filing.

Generally, you’ll need the registered Ejari tenancy contract, identification documents for both parties, and evidence supporting the specific dispute — for example, a rent increase notice you believe exceeds what’s permitted, photographs and correspondence documenting a maintenance issue, or records of deposit payment and any request for its return.

• Dubai Land Department ↗

The RDSC hears the dispute and issues a decision. The process is generally faster and more specialised than a general civil claim in the Dubai Courts, since the RDSC deals exclusively with tenancy matters and its procedure is built around that.

As with any UAE dispute process, evidence quality matters — clear documentation of the tenancy, the specific issue, and any prior communication between landlord and tenant tends to move a case forward more efficiently than a dispute with a thin paper trail.

RDSC decisions can generally be appealed within the RDSC’s own appellate structure in defined circumstances and within a set deadline. Confirm the current appeal route and deadline directly with the RDSC, since missing a filing window can close off an appeal regardless of the underlying merits.

In Abu Dhabi, the equivalent starting point is Tawtheeq — the tenancy contract registration system operated in Abu Dhabi. As with Ejari in Dubai, a properly registered tenancy contract is generally the foundation a rental dispute filing rests on.

Tawtheeq and Ejari are separate systems run by separate authorities in separate emirates. Registration in one has no bearing on the other, and a Dubai Ejari certificate does nothing for an Abu Dhabi tenancy or vice versa.

Abu Dhabi’s rent disputes are decided by the Rental Dispute Settlement Committees, which work under the umbrella of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD) and are each formed of one chair judge and two judge members — not by the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (ADREC), which runs registration, and not by a body called the RDSC, a name specific to Dubai. Filing routes, required documentation and the process for reaching a decision sit with the ADJD and its committees and are worth confirming directly before filing, since the specific mechanism has developed and can continue to change.

• Abu Dhabi Judicial Department – Rental Dispute Settlement Committees ↗

As in Dubai, the strength of the underlying documentation — the registered Tawtheeq contract, notices exchanged between the parties, and evidence specific to the dispute — is central to how the case is assessed. Because Abu Dhabi’s mechanism sits within a different institutional structure to Dubai’s RDSC, timelines and procedural steps shouldn’t be assumed to mirror Dubai’s process even where the underlying dispute (a rent increase, an eviction, a deposit) looks similar on paper.

Rent increase disputes, where a tenant believes a proposed increase exceeds what’s permitted under the applicable rules for that emirate.

Eviction disputes, where a landlord seeks to end a tenancy — commonly for personal use, sale, or renovation — and the tenant disputes either the grounds or the notice given.

Maintenance and habitability disputes, where a landlord’s statutory maintenance obligations haven’t been met.

Security deposit disputes, where a landlord withholds some or all of a deposit at the end of a tenancy and the tenant disputes the deduction.

Early termination and break-clause disputes, where the parties disagree over the consequences of ending a lease before its term.

The registered tenancy contract (Ejari in Dubai, Tawtheeq in Abu Dhabi), any notices served by either party (a rent increase notice, an eviction notice), payment records including bank transfers or cheques, photographs or reports documenting any maintenance issue, and a clear written timeline of the dispute. The more complete this record is at filing, the less the case depends on assertions that are hard to verify later.

A rental dispute decision, like any other, doesn’t enforce itself if the losing party doesn’t comply voluntarily — for example, a landlord who doesn’t return a deposit despite a decision ordering it, or a tenant who doesn’t vacate despite an eviction order. Enforcement runs through the relevant execution process, a separate step from the dispute decision itself. See LEXNOVA’s guide on enforcing a domestic judgment for how that generally works.

Ejari and Tawtheeq are built around residential and standard commercial tenancies in Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively. A commercial lease within DIFC or ADGM doesn’t automatically sit inside either system — DIFC and ADGM run their own property and contractual frameworks, and a lease dispute connected to a DIFC or ADGM entity may fall to the DIFC Courts or ADGM Courts rather than the RDSC or Abu Dhabi’s mechanism. If your lease involves a DIFC or ADGM-registered entity, confirm the applicable forum before assuming Ejari or Tawtheeq applies.

LEXNOVA is a lawyer-matching service, not a law firm — it doesn’t file your rental dispute or advise on the merits of your case. What it does is help you describe your situation clearly enough — which emirate, which registration system, what the dispute actually is — to be matched with a lawyer experienced in the relevant process. Every match is reviewed by a person, and the professional relationship from there is directly between you and the lawyer.