Every year a number of Dubai landlords discover the same thing at the same moment. They are entitled to a rent increase, the index supports it, the tenant would probably have accepted it, and they cannot have it. Not because of a dispute, but because of a date.
This is the part of the renewal process that is most often handled badly, and it is entirely avoidable.
The rule itself
Under Dubai Law No. 33 of 2008, Article 14, unless your tenancy contract states otherwise, either party wanting to change any term of the lease at renewal, including the rent, must notify the other at least 90 days before the contract expires.
Ninety days. Not thirty, not at renewal, not when the tenant brings it up. If the notice is late, the contract renews on its existing terms and the increase waits another year.
It is worth being precise about what the rule covers. It is not only rent. Any change to the terms, including the number of cheques, falls under the same notice period, which catches more landlords than the rent clause does.
What you are actually allowed to increase
Dubai does not allow open ended increases. Decree No. 43 of 2013 sets the ceiling according to how far the current rent sits below the average for comparable units, as determined by the Dubai Land Department’s index.
| Current rent against the indexed average | Maximum increase |
|---|---|
| Up to 10% below | No increase |
| 11% to 20% below | 5% |
| 21% to 30% below | 10% |
| 31% to 40% below | 15% |
| More than 40% below | 20% |
Two things landlords routinely get wrong here. The percentage applies to the rent currently being paid, not to the market average. And it is a maximum rather than an entitlement, so you can agree less, and sometimes you should.
The Dubai Land Department operates a Smart Rental Index, introduced in 2025, which is the reference point for where your property sits. Check it before you decide anything, because your view of the market and the index’s view are not always the same thing.
The calculation nobody does
Say your tenant pays AED 95,000 and the index supports a 10% increase, so AED 9,500 a year. Worth having. Now suppose the tenant takes the increase badly and leaves.
You are then looking at a vacant period while the unit is remarketed, an agency letting fee, a fresh Ejari, possible repainting and a deep clean, and the chance that the new tenant pays monthly rather than in one cheque. One month vacant on a 95,000 unit is close to AED 8,000 before you have paid anybody.
So the real question at renewal is not what the index permits. It is what the increase is worth after the cost of losing a good tenant who pays on time and looks after the property. Sometimes the answer is to take the full increase. Often it is to take half of it and keep somebody reliable for another year.
A renewal process that works
Four months out, not four weeks
- 120 days before expiry: check the index, pull the comparable rents in the building, and decide what you want.
- 100 days before expiry: send the notice, in writing, with proof of delivery. Do not rely on a WhatsApp message.
- 90 days before expiry: the deadline has passed. If you have not served notice, the contract renews as it stands.
- 60 days before expiry: agree the terms and get the new contract and Ejari done, rather than leaving it to the final week.
Most landlords who miss the 90 days do so because nobody was tracking the expiry date. That is an administration failure rather than a legal one, and it is the cheapest problem in this article to fix.
One more thing worth knowing
If you intend to sell the property, or to move in yourself or house a first degree relative, the notice requirements are different and considerably longer, and the process is specific. Do not assume the 90 day rule covers it. Take proper advice well before you plan to act, because getting this wrong can cost you a year.
This article is general information about how renewals work in Dubai, not legal advice. Check your own contract and the current index, and take advice on anything contentious.
