Dubai property, explained › Renting
Ejari renewal and cancellation
The two ends of the record: registering the renewed year with the new rent, and cancelling it when you leave so the next tenant can register theirs.
Written September 2026 · 3 min read
An Ejari lasts as long as the contract it registers, which in Dubai is almost always a year. When the tenancy renews, the registration is done again, with the renewed contract and the same fee, and the new certificate carries the new term and the new rent. When the tenancy ends, the registration is cancelled, and until it is, the next tenant cannot register theirs. Renewal and cancellation are the two ends of one record, and both are worth doing on time, because everything else in the city that asks for an Ejari wants one with this year's dates on it.
When to renew
After the renewal is signed by both sides and before the old registration lapses. A renewal is either a fresh unified Ejari contract with the new dates and rent, or the old one with a signed addendum, and either way the department wants the renewed term on the register promptly once it begins. A registration left months out of date is a problem in slow motion: the DEWA account, the family visa renewal, the school form and the parking permit all ask for a current Ejari, and last year's certificate satisfies none of them.
What it costs
| Route | Fee | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai REST app | AED 120 + AED 20 | The department's fee, plus the AED 10 knowledge and AED 10 innovation fees, the same as a first registration |
| Typing centre or trustee office | Typically around AED 220 | The same fee plus the centre's service charge |
| Cancellation | No departmental fee | A typing centre may charge for doing it; through the app it is free |
The fee is conventionally the tenant's, as at the first registration, unless the contract says otherwise.
What you need
- The renewed contract, signed by both parties, or the previous one with its signed renewal addendum
- The previous Ejari certificate number
- The tenant's Emirates ID, and a passport and visa copy if the ID itself is being renewed
- The landlord's title deed and ID, which the system usually holds against the property already
- A recent DEWA bill, for the premise number
Through the Dubai REST app the renewal is filed against the existing registration, so most of that is already on file and the new contract is the only real upload. At a typing centre, bring all of it.
What can change at renewal
The rent, within what the RERA rental index allows and only with ninety days' written notice before the old contract expired. Anything else, the cheque count, a clause about pets or maintenance, needs both signatures on the renewal. What matters here is that the registered rent is the rent: the figure on the new Ejari is what the index reads at the next renewal, and what the Rental Dispute Centre reads if there is ever a dispute. If the landlord agreed a lower figure than the notice asked, make sure the contract and the registration both say so.
Cancellation
A property holds one active Ejari at a time, so when a tenancy ends the registration has to be cancelled before the next tenant's can go on. The landlord or the managing agent cancels it, through the Dubai REST app or a typing centre, once the tenant has handed over and the final DEWA reading is taken. It is the landlord's job, and it is the tenant's interest: an uncancelled Ejari in your name is a tenancy you still appear to hold, and it can surface later in a visa or a dispute. Ask for a copy of the cancellation when you leave, as you asked for a copy of the registration when you arrived.
A tenant leaving before the contract ends is a different matter. The registration follows the contract, and cancelling it early needs the landlord's agreement to end the tenancy, on whatever terms the contract sets for early termination, conventionally a penalty of two months' rent unless the contract says otherwise.
The order of things when you leave
- Give notice in writing, by the date and in the way the contract says
- Agree the final inspection and any deductions from the deposit
- Take the final DEWA reading, settle the bill, and request the move-out so the deposit comes back
- Hand over the keys and the access cards
- The landlord cancels the Ejari, and you keep a copy of the cancellation
- The deposit is returned, conventionally within a few weeks, less any agreed deductions
Each step waits on the one before it, which is why a move-out that starts the week the contract ends usually runs a week late.
Where this leads
The pages that pick up from here
Ejari →
The registration itself: what it is for, who files it, and what you cannot do without it.
The RERA rental index →
The only rule under which the rent can change at renewal, and the ninety days’ notice it needs.
DEWA move-in and move-out →
The other account that has to be closed the week you leave, and the deposit that comes back.
Property for rent →
What is on the market with McCone today.
Questions people ask
Ejari renewal and cancellation, answered
Do I need to renew Ejari every year?
Yes. The registration covers the contract’s term, and a renewed tenancy is registered again with the renewed contract and the new rent. Everything that asks for an Ejari, from DEWA to a visa renewal, wants one with the current year’s dates.
How much does Ejari renewal cost?
The same as a first registration: AED 120 plus the AED 10 knowledge and AED 10 innovation fees through the Dubai REST app, or typically around AED 220 through a typing centre once its service charge is added. The fee is conventionally the tenant’s.
What documents do I need to renew Ejari?
The renewed contract signed by both parties, or the old one with a signed renewal addendum; the previous Ejari number; the tenant’s Emirates ID; and a recent DEWA bill for the premise number. The landlord’s deed and ID are usually already on file against the property.
Can my landlord change the rent at renewal?
Only within what the RERA rental index allows, and only with ninety days’ written notice before the old contract expired. The rent on the new Ejari is the rent the index reads next year, so make sure it says the figure you actually agreed.
How do I cancel an Ejari?
The landlord or managing agent cancels it through the Dubai REST app or a typing centre once the tenant has handed over and the final DEWA reading is taken. There is no departmental fee. Ask for a copy of the cancellation: a property holds one active Ejari at a time, and an uncancelled one stays in your name.
Can I cancel Ejari early if I leave before the contract ends?
Only with the landlord’s agreement to end the tenancy, on the early-termination terms the contract sets, conventionally a penalty of two months’ rent unless it says otherwise. The registration follows the contract, so the contract has to end first.
Regulation here is stated as regulation, and what the market merely does is marked as convention. Figures were checked in September 2026; the rest of the set is written the same way.