Dubai property, explained › Renting
The Rental Dispute Centre
The Land Department’s tribunal for landlords and tenants — what it hears, what a case costs, the three stages and how long they take, what to bring, and the notice rules almost every case turns on.
Written September 2026 · 8 min read
The Rental Dispute Centre is the tribunal at the Dubai Land Department that hears cases between landlords and tenants. It was set up by Decree No. 26 of 2013 to replace the old Rent Committee, and it is where every argument about a Dubai tenancy ends up if the two sides cannot settle it themselves: a rent increase served late, a deposit that never came back, a repair nobody will pay for, a cheque that bounced, a tenant who will not leave. It is a court in everything but name, with its own judges, its own appeals bench and its own enforcement department, and it decides most cases in weeks rather than months.
Most tenancies never come near it. In the twelve months to September 2026 the Ejari register recorded 564,267 residential contracts in Dubai, 337,816 of them renewals and 226,451 new leases, and the overwhelming majority renewed or ended without a word from anyone. But the same register shows why the arguments happen: the median renewal that year was registered at AED 60,846 and the median new lease at AED 73,500. Much of that gap is the RERA rental index doing its job, holding a sitting tenant's rent below what the landlord could ask a stranger, and it is the pressure behind the two commonest cases the centre hears — an increase the tenant says is too large, and a notice to leave the tenant says is not genuine.
What it hears, and what it does not
The centre has jurisdiction over every tenancy in the emirate of Dubai, residential and commercial, in the free zones as well as outside them, with a short list of exceptions in the decree — the DIFC has its own courts, and hotel accommodation is outside it. Within that, the cases are the ordinary friction of renting:
- A rent increase at renewal, and whether the ninety days' notice and the index were respected
- A notice to leave, and whether it was served the right way, for a reason the law allows
- A security deposit withheld at the end of a lease, in whole or in part
- Maintenance the landlord will not do, or a repair bill the tenant will not pay
- Unpaid rent, a returned cheque, or a tenant who has stopped paying and stayed
- A tenant leaving early, and the penalty the contract sets for it
- Service charges a building's owners association is owed by an owner, since Law No. 6 of 2019 sent those cases here too
Two things it does not do. It will not hear a case on a tenancy that was never registered with Ejari; the registration is the ticket, and a landlord who never registered the contract has, in the centre's eyes, no contract to enforce. And it does not police estate agents. A complaint about an agent's conduct — a fee taken twice, a permit that does not exist, a deposit an agency is sitting on — goes to the regulator, RERA, through the Land Department's own complaint channels, not to the tribunal.
The three stages
A case moves through the centre in a fixed order, and the decree sets a target for each stage. The targets are the department's, not a guarantee, but in practice the centre keeps close to them.
| Stage | What happens | The decree's target |
|---|---|---|
| Conciliation | A mediator sits both sides down and tries to settle it. Many cases end here with a signed agreement, which is then binding. | Fifteen days |
| First instance | A judge, or a panel for larger claims, hears the case and rules on it. | Thirty days from the hearing |
| Appeal | Open only where the claim is above AED 100,000, or in any eviction case. Filed within fifteen days of the judgment. | Thirty days |
| Execution | The centre's own enforcement department carries the judgment out — an order to pay, or an eviction with the police in attendance. | — |
A first-instance judgment on a claim of AED 100,000 or less is final, which covers most residential rent disputes, and the case is over in the time it takes the department to issue the ruling. Eviction judgments can always be appealed, whatever the rent, because the stakes are a home rather than a sum.
What it costs
The filing fee is a percentage of the annual rent, and the schedule the centre publishes has held for years: 3.5% of the annual rent on the contract, with a floor of AED 500 and a ceiling of AED 20,000. On the median renewal in the register, AED 60,846, that is a fee of about AED 2,130 to open a case, before any translation or typing costs. An appeal carries a further fee, set as a share of the first-instance one and capped lower. The centre's fee schedule is the one that binds; check it on the day, because a schedule is a thing a department can change.
Two costs sit outside the schedule. The tribunal works in Arabic, so a contract, a notice or an email chain in English has to be accompanied by a legal translation, which a licensed translator charges per page for. And a notice to leave at the end of a tenancy has to be served through a notary public or by registered post, which is a fee the landlord pays a year before any case exists.
How to file
Register the contract on Ejari first if it is not already. Then gather what the case rests on: the tenancy contract and its Ejari certificate, the landlord's title deed or the tenant's Emirates ID and passport, every notice either side served with the date it was served, the payment record — cheque copies, transfer receipts, the returned-cheque memo from the bank — and any correspondence about the thing in dispute, translated where it is not in Arabic. The case is opened through the centre's own website and app, or in person at its offices in the Land Department's building on Baniyas Road in Deira, or through one of the legal-services offices the department licenses to file on a party's behalf. The centre issues a case number, and the case can be followed online against it from then on.
You do not need a lawyer. The centre was built so that a tenant with a contract and a folder of receipts can bring a case and be heard, and for the ordinary residential dispute — a deposit, an increase, a repair — most people represent themselves. A lawyer earns their fee where the sum is large, where the facts are contested rather than the law, or where the other side has one and the case is going to appeal.
The rules it applies
The centre rules on Law No. 26 of 2007 as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008, the law that governs every Dubai tenancy, and on Decree No. 43 of 2013, which sets the rent-increase bands. Most cases turn on three notice periods in those texts, and whether they were kept.
| The step | What the law requires |
|---|---|
| Raising the rent at renewal | Ninety days' written notice before the contract expires, and an increase no larger than the index allows |
| Ending the tenancy at expiry | Twelve months' notice, served through a notary public or by registered post, for one of four reasons only: the owner intends to demolish or rebuild; the property needs renovation that cannot be done with a tenant in it; the owner, or a first-degree relative, will live in it and owns no other suitable home; or the owner intends to sell |
| Eviction during the term | Only on the grounds the law lists — rent unpaid thirty days after a written demand, subletting without consent, damage or illegal use, breach of a term after thirty days' notice — and never simply because the landlord wants the property back |
Beneath those, the law places maintenance on the landlord unless the contract says otherwise, requires the deposit to come back at the end less only what is needed to repair damage beyond ordinary wear, and fixes the rent for the term of the contract so that nothing changes mid-lease. A landlord who serves the twelve months' notice to sell or to move in, and then relets the property instead, can be ordered to compensate the tenant who left. The centre sees that argument often enough to check.
While the case runs
The tenancy continues. A tenant in a dispute goes on paying the rent — the undisputed part of it at the least — and a tenant who stops paying because a case is open hands the landlord the one ground for eviction that the law makes simple. A landlord in a dispute does not change the locks, cut the power or move the tenant's belongings; the tribunal, not the landlord, ends a tenancy, and a landlord who tries to do it himself has started a second case against himself. When the ruling comes, the centre's execution department enforces it, and a judgment for a sum can be enforced against a bank account or a salary the way any court's can.
Before you file
Most rent disputes end at the calculator. The department's rental increase calculator prints the figure the centre will apply, free, on the Land Department's site and in the Dubai REST app; once that figure is on the table there is usually nothing left to argue about, and this site's own rent increase calculator will show you the bands worked on your figures, and the date the notice was due by, before you look it up. For the rest, the community rent reports here keep renewals and new leases apart, from the same Ejari records the centre reads, so both sides can see what a renewal in their building actually landed at this year. A landlord who knows the market rent and a tenant who knows the index tend to settle in an email, which is the cheapest tribunal there is.
Where this leads
The pages that pick up from here
The RERA rental index →
The rule the centre applies to a rent increase — the five bands, and the ninety days’ notice that makes one stick.
The rent increase calculator →
The bands worked on your own figures, with the date the notice was due by — the sum to do before anyone files.
Ejari →
The registration the centre will not hear a case without, and the record it reads the rent from.
Ejari renewal and cancellation →
What may change at renewal and what needs both signatures — where most disputes start.
Dubai property prices and rents →
Registered rents by community, renewals and new leases kept apart — what the other side’s figure is really worth.
Service charges →
The other kind of case the centre hears: an owner’s unpaid building charges.
Property management in Dubai →
For the landlord: the notices and the procedure a manager serves so a case never needs the centre, and what a manager costs.
Questions people ask
The Rental Dispute Centre, answered
What is the Rental Dispute Centre in Dubai?
The tribunal at the Dubai Land Department that hears disputes between landlords and tenants, set up by Decree No. 26 of 2013 in place of the old Rent Committee. It has its own judges, an appeals bench and an enforcement department, and it covers every tenancy in the emirate except a short list in the decree — the DIFC, which has its own courts, among them.
How much does it cost to file a rental dispute in Dubai?
3.5% of the annual rent on the contract, with a floor of AED 500 and a ceiling of AED 20,000, on the schedule the centre publishes. On a rent of AED 60,000 that is AED 2,100. Translation of any document not in Arabic and, for an appeal, a further fee sit on top. Check the centre’s schedule on the day.
How do I file a rental dispute in Dubai?
Make sure the tenancy is registered on Ejari, gather the contract, the notices, the payment record and the correspondence, translate anything not in Arabic, and open the case through the centre’s website or app, at its offices in the Land Department building in Deira, or through a licensed filing office. You get a case number and can follow the case online against it.
Where can I complain about a landlord in Dubai?
A dispute about the tenancy itself — the rent, a notice, the deposit, repairs — goes to the Rental Dispute Centre. A complaint about an estate agent’s conduct goes to RERA, the regulator, through the Land Department’s complaint channels; the tribunal does not police agents.
Do I need a lawyer for the Rental Dispute Centre?
No. The centre was built for parties to represent themselves, and for the ordinary residential case — a deposit, an increase, a repair — most do. A lawyer earns their fee where the sum is large, the facts rather than the law are contested, or the case is going to appeal.
How long does a rental dispute take in Dubai?
The decree sets targets: fifteen days for conciliation, thirty days for a first-instance judgment, thirty for an appeal. Many cases settle at conciliation. A judgment on a claim of AED 100,000 or less is final, so most residential cases end at first instance, in weeks rather than months.
Can a landlord evict a tenant in Dubai?
At the end of the tenancy, only with twelve months’ notice through a notary public or registered post, and only to demolish or rebuild, to renovate where the work cannot be done with a tenant in place, to live in it themselves or house a first-degree relative, or to sell. During the term, only on the grounds the law lists — rent unpaid thirty days after a written demand, subletting without consent, damage or illegal use. Wanting the property back is not one of them.
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.