My Landlord Wants to Raise My Rent and I Don't Think It's Allowed

Using the calculator. Dubai Land Department's Rental Index e-service calculates the permitted increase and the average rent for your area. You enter the lease expiry date, property type, area, number of rooms and current annual rent, and the result is immediate. It is available on the DLD website (through the Ejari system), the Dubai REST app and the DubaiNow app. Save a dated screenshot: it is the most useful single document in an increase dispute.

What the bands mean. Decree No. 43 of 2013 ties the maximum renewal increase to the gap between your rent and the average rental value of similar units in the RERA Rent Index (Article 3): nothing if your rent is within 10% of the average, then up to 5% (11–20% below), 10% (21–30%), 15% (31–40%) and 20% (more than 40% below). These are ceilings, not entitlements, and not a flat annual allowance. The decree does not separately address a rent already at or above the average, and its bands leave small gaps (between 10% and 11%, for example), so rely on the calculator rather than your own arithmetic. DLD's ‘Smart Rental Index’, launched in January 2025, classifies buildings by factors such as finishes, maintenance, location and services; its launch announcement did not change the bands, and some reports repeating it cite the decree number incorrectly.

When the index says an increase is allowed but you disagree. The index sets the ceiling; it is not the whole test. When the RDC fixes a fair rent, Article 9(2) of Law No. 26 of 2007 directs it to consider RERA's increase criteria, the economic situation, the property's condition, rents for similar properties in the area and any other factors it considers appropriate. A tenant or an owner can also apply to DLD for an official rental valuation of the unit; whether and how it is used in a dispute is for the RDC.

Article 14 of Dubai's tenancy law, as amended, requires a party who wants to change any term at renewal — the rent or anything else — to notify the other at least 90 days before the lease expires, “unless otherwise agreed”. Read your lease first: it may set a different period. The law prescribes no special delivery method for this notice; its general definition of notice covers a notary public, registered mail, hand delivery or approved electronic means. Note the date you actually received it and keep the email, letter or message.

No notice at all. The law does not say what happens if the notice was never given. What it does say, in Article 6, is that where a tenant stays on after expiry without the landlord's objection, the lease renews for the same term (or one year, if shorter) on the same terms. A tenant who received no notice can dispute the new terms at the RDC and point to that rule.

Notice given late or informally. A notice arriving inside the 90 days, or a figure mentioned in passing, is open to challenge on the same basis. Be wary of any source that says a late notice automatically settles the matter either way: the law does not state the consequence, and the outcome in a given case is for the RDC.

Reply to the landlord or agent in writing before the renewal date, and keep it factual: when you received the notice, the calculator result for your unit, and what you are willing to agree. Ask how the proposed figure was calculated. A calm, documented reply puts your position on record and often ends the matter.

Do not withhold rent. Non-payment is the most direct eviction ground in Dubai: under Article 25(1)(a), a landlord can seek eviction if rent is not paid within 30 days of a notice served through a notary public or by registered mail. If a landlord refuses your rent, the RDC's guidance is that a tenant can deposit it with the Centre under its ‘deposit and offer’ procedure.

Do not move out on impulse either. A valid lease cannot be ended unilaterally during its term (Article 7), and leaving at expiry has its own costs. If you decide to go, see our page on a security deposit not returned before you hand back the keys.

Article 13 lets landlord and tenant, before the lease expires, amend any term or reconsider increasing or reducing the rent, and most increase disputes end with agreement. A compromise figure, a phased step, a longer term or an agreed repair can all go into the renewal, which the law requires to be registered like any lease amendment.

A lawyer's letter adds weight when the landlord will not engage or insists on a figure above the calculator result. It can set out the applicable band, the notice position and the tenant's readiness to ask the RDC to determine a fair rent. It guarantees nothing, but it tends to move the discussion from assertion to evidence. If agreement still fails, the RDC process itself begins with conciliation, and a settlement approved there is enforceable.

In Dubai, the Rental Disputes Center has exclusive jurisdiction over rent disputes, and Article 13 lets it determine the fair rent where the parties cannot agree. ‘Lease renewal’ and ‘rent claim’ are among its listed claim types. File through the RDC website or a Real Estate Services Trustee centre with your Ejari lease, Emirates ID, IBAN evidence, the notice and your calculator result, all in Arabic or legally translated.

At the time of writing (September 2026), the registration fee for these claims is 3.5% of the annual rent, minimum AED 500 and maximum AED 20,000, plus small service charges — check the current schedule. Conciliation comes first, with a statutory target of 15 days from the parties' appearance, and half the fee is refunded if the case settles there. The rest depends on whether the landlord contests, how much evidence is disputed and whether either side appeals; appeal rights turn on the claim's value and the exceptions in Article 17 of the decree.

Abu Dhabi route. For an Abu Dhabi mainland tenancy, disputes go to the ADJD's Rental Dispute Settlement Committees, and Law No. 20 of 2006 lets the committee reduce an excessive increase to the legal limit and fine the landlord up to one year's rent. With the rate at 0% since 3 June 2026, ADREC also invites tenants who believe the directive is not being observed to contact it through its official channels. Abu Dhabi filing fees are not stated here; check them before filing.

Run the calculator for the unit before settling on a figure, and keep the result: the decree's band is the ceiling the RDC looks at first. Give the tenant written notice of the proposed rent at least 90 days before expiry, or within any different period the lease sets, by a method within the law's definition of notice — notary public, registered mail, hand delivery or approved electronic means — and keep proof of delivery. State the new rent, the renewal date and how you calculated it.

Do not raise the rent mid-term, and do not treat a refusal as a ground for eviction: it is not among the Article 25 grounds. If the tenant will not agree, either side can ask the RDC to determine a fair rent under Article 13. Abu Dhabi landlords should note the 0% rate in force since 3 June 2026, and DIFC landlords the Leasing Law's own 90-day rule. A landlord-side lawyer can review a notice before it goes out.