Calculators / Property
Dubai Rent Increase
In Dubai a landlord cannot raise the rent by whatever the market will bear. Decree No. 43 of 2013 sets a ceiling, and the ceiling depends on one thing only: how far the current rent already sits below the average for comparable units in the RERA rental index. A rent close to the index cannot be raised at all, however long the tenant has been there and whatever has happened to the market.
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This applies to residential renewals in Dubai. The RERA rental index is the authority on the market average, and this calculator uses whatever figure you enter for it , it does not look the index up for you, and it is not a substitute for the official RERA calculator. A change of terms also requires ninety days' written notice before expiry, under Law No. 26 of 2007 as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Read the rule, the arithmetic and the honest list of where this breaks.
Open the playbookQuestions people ask
My rent has not gone up in four years. Can the landlord catch up all at once?
No. The cap depends only on where the rent sits against the index today, not on how long it has been unchanged. If four flat years have left the rent more than forty percent below the index, the ceiling is twenty percent at this renewal and the rest has to wait for the next one.
What counts as the market rent for a comparable unit?
The RERA rental index, which is built from tenancy contracts actually registered through Ejari rather than from asking prices. Advertised rents for similar flats are not the test, and they are usually higher than what has been registered.
The landlord told me about the increase two weeks before renewal. Does that stand?
Changing the terms of a tenancy, the rent included, requires ninety days' written notice before the contract expires under Law No. 26 of 2007 as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008, unless both sides agree otherwise. Short notice does not make an otherwise lawful increase enforceable.
What if we cannot agree?
The Rental Disputes Centre at the Dubai Land Department hears rental disputes, and the index is what it works from. Bring the Ejari contract and the index figure for the unit rather than an argument about what the market is doing.
Does this apply outside Dubai?
No. Decree No. 43 of 2013 is a Dubai instrument. The other emirates set their own rules, and several have introduced, changed and removed caps over the years, so check the current position for the emirate you are actually in.
Investments Playbook publishes educational research and general information. Nothing on this site is personal investment advice, a solicitation, or a recommendation to buy or sell any asset. Property and securities can fall in value. Past performance does not predict future returns. Figures shown are indicative and may be delayed. Always take regulated professional advice before acting.
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