Article 1: The Name and Scope of Dubai's Tenancy Law
Before any question of rent, renewal or eviction can be answered in Dubai, one thing has to be settled: which law governs the relationship between the landlord and the tenant. Article 1 of Law No. 26 of 2007 performs that foundational job — it gives the statute its official name and short citation, and it is immediately followed by Article 2, which fixes the defined terms on which every later article rests. That law, as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008, is the primary legal reference for every residential and commercial tenancy of real property in the Emirate of Dubai. This page explains what Article 1 establishes, what it means for the law to have a fixed name and scope, and how the later decrees build on it without replacing it.
- Article 1 gives the law its official name and short citation
- That law is Law No. 26 of 2007, as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008
- It is the primary reference for residential and commercial tenancies in Dubai
- Decrees 43/2013 and 26/2013 build on it; no newer primary law has replaced it
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What Article 1 actually does
Article 1 gives Dubai's tenancy law its official name — it provides that the statute is cited as "Law No. (26) of 2007 Regulating the Relationship between Landlords and Tenants in the Emirate of Dubai" — while the defined terms the rest of the law uses are fixed immediately after it, in Article 2. It is the naming-and-framing article: short in words, but the anchor for everything that follows.
The relationship between landlords and tenants in Dubai is governed by Law No. 26 of 2007, amended by Law No. 33 of 2008. Every law opens by naming itself, and Article 1 does exactly that: it sets the short citation by which the statute is referred to in contracts, in formal notices, and in any claim before the Rental Disputes Centre. Getting that name right matters, because it is the reference that tells everyone which body of rules is in play.
Alongside the name, the opening of the law fixes the vocabulary it will use throughout — terms such as the leased property, the rent, the regulator (RERA) and the tribunal that decides disputes. The practical reading of who the law treats as a landlord and a tenant, and what counts as a tenancy contract, is examined closely in the next explainer in this series. Here the focus is narrower and deliberately so: the name of the law and the scope it claims.
What the article says, in plain terms
In substance, Article 1 does one thing: it fixes the official short citation of the statute, so that the full formal name — "Law No. (26) of 2007 Regulating the Relationship between Landlords and Tenants in the Emirate of Dubai" — can be used consistently wherever the law is invoked. The defined terms that the articles that follow depend on come immediately after it, in Article 2, so that words used later carry a settled meaning rather than an everyday one.
That may sound like housekeeping, but it is the reason the whole law reads as a single instrument. When a later article speaks of "the rent", "the leased property" or "the tribunal", it is drawing on the meanings anchored at the start. The law is also read together with its 2008 amendment: several articles were revised by Law No. 33 of 2008, and the two texts are applied as one. So the correct way to name the governing statute in 2026 is "Law No. 26 of 2007, as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008".
Terms the law fixes at the outset
- The short citation
- The official name by which the law is cited — Law No. 26 of 2007 — used in contracts, notices and any claim so that everyone refers to the same instrument.
- Real property (the leased property)
- Land and buildings within Dubai. The law governs tenancies of real property located in the Emirate — the physical subject of every tenancy it regulates.
- RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Agency)
- The regulator within the Dubai Land Department that oversees the rental sector and maintains the rent index used to assess permitted increases.
- The tribunal (Rental Disputes Centre)
- The judicial body that decides tenancy disputes. The law refers to the competent tribunal; today that body is the Rental Disputes Centre, part of the Dubai Land Department.
- The rent and the rent index
- The agreed consideration for the tenancy, and the official index of average market rents against which any permitted increase at renewal is measured.
- "As amended"
- A signal that the law is not read alone: Law No. 33 of 2008 revised several articles, and the amended text governs. Citing the law without the amendment is incomplete.
Why the name and scope matter in practice
In everyday terms, Article 1 is what lets everyone point to the same rulebook. A landlord raising the rent, a tenant contesting a notice, and the Rental Disputes Centre hearing a claim are all working from one named statute rather than from private preferences or half-remembered advice. That shared reference is the quiet value of a naming article: it removes the argument about which rules apply before the argument about the facts even begins.
Scope matters just as much as name. The law reaches tenancies of real property in Dubai for both residential and commercial purposes, and it is applied together with the decrees that operationalise it — Decree No. 43 of 2013 for permitted rent increases and Decree No. 26 of 2013 for the Rental Disputes Centre. Knowing that the law itself sets the outer frame, and that the decrees fill in specific mechanics, is what stops readers from treating a decree as a stand-alone law or ignoring one part of the framework.
What the framework means for each side
For the landlord
- The law is the single reference that defines the landlord's rights on rent, renewal and — in limited cases — recovery of the property
- Every notice, increase or claim must fit within this law and its decrees, not within private house rules
- Citing the correct instruments keeps a claim on solid ground before the Rental Disputes Centre
- Relying on outdated or foreign-law assumptions is a common way landlords weaken their own position
For the tenant
- The same law is the tenant's baseline protection against arbitrary increases or eviction
- It confirms which body — the Rental Disputes Centre — hears any dispute, so the tenant is never left without a forum
- Knowing the correct law helps a tenant recognise when a demand has no legal basis
- The protections apply to residential and commercial tenants alike across Dubai
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How the framework was built, in order
2007 — the primary law
Law No. 26 of 2007 is issued as the primary statute regulating the landlord–tenant relationship, coming into force sixty days after publication in the Official Gazette.
2008 — the amendment
Law No. 33 of 2008 amends several articles — including rent-fixing, the notice to vary terms, the eviction grounds and the re-letting restriction — and is read together with the 2007 law.
2013 — rent increases
Decree No. 43 of 2013 sets the stepped brackets that cap how much rent may rise at renewal, tied to how far the current rent sits below the market average.
2013 — the Rental Disputes Centre
Decree No. 26 of 2013 establishes the Rental Disputes Centre as the specialised judicial body for tenancy disputes, within the Dubai Land Department.
2019 — wider jurisdiction
Law No. 6 of 2019 extends the Centre's jurisdiction to include certain jointly-owned-property disputes, broadening the range of matters it can hear.
2025 — the Smart Rental Index
The Dubai Land Department launches the Smart Rental Index — an AI valuation tool that updates how average market rent is measured. It is not a new law and does not change the brackets.
Is there a newer tenancy law? The position in 2026
As of August 2026, Law No. 26 of 2007 — as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008 — remains the primary tenancy law in Dubai. No newer primary statute has replaced it. Decree No. 43 of 2013 (rent increases) and Decree No. 26 of 2013 (the Rental Disputes Centre) still operate under and alongside it, and Law No. 6 of 2019 extended the Centre's jurisdiction. The Smart Rental Index, launched on 2 January 2025, is an AI valuation tool that updates how average market rent is calculated; it did not change the law or the Decree No. 43 of 2013 brackets. Law No. 4 of 2026 on shared housing regulates a separate subject — permits and management of shared accommodation — and operates alongside Law No. 26 of 2007 without amending it.
How the name and scope play out
A landlord plans to raise the rent at renewal.
What is usually neededThe increase is not a free choice; it is governed by Law No. 26 of 2007 and capped by Decree No. 43 of 2013. Working from the framework, rather than a private figure, is what keeps the increase lawful.
A tenant is told "a new 2025 law changed everything".
What is usually neededThe 2025 change was the Smart Rental Index, a valuation tool — not a new statute. The governing law is still Law No. 26 of 2007, as amended, so the tenant can weigh any claim against the actual framework.
A shop owner is unsure whether the law covers commercial premises.
What is usually neededIt does. The law governs tenancies of real property in Dubai for both residential and commercial purposes, so a commercial tenant relies on the same statute and the same Centre for disputes.
A clause in a draft contract cites "the Dubai rental law".
What is usually neededA loose reference invites confusion. The clause should cite the correct short citation — Law No. 26 of 2007, as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008 — so the contract points unmistakably to the right instrument.
Common mistakes about the law itself
The mistakeTreating a broker blog, forum post or agent's word as "the law".
The fixCheck the actual articles on the official Dubai Legislation portal; secondary summaries often simplify or misstate the rules.
The mistakeMis-citing the rent-increase decree with the wrong number.
The fixThe correct rent-increase instrument is Decree No. 43 of 2013; some secondary write-ups quote a different number by mistake.
The mistakeConfusing the 2025 Smart Rental Index with a change in the law.
The fixThe index updated the valuation tool, not the legal brackets; Law No. 26 of 2007 and Decree No. 43 of 2013 continue to govern.
The mistakeAssuming another emirate's or country's rental rules apply in Dubai.
The fixDubai has its own tenancy law; the relationship in the Emirate is governed by Law No. 26 of 2007, as amended, and its decrees.
Questions and answers
It is Law No. 26 of 2007 Regulating the Relationship between Landlords and Tenants in the Emirate of Dubai, as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008. That is the primary statute, and Article 1 fixes this official short citation.
Article 1 gives the law its official short citation; the defined terms used throughout the statute follow immediately in Article 2. It is the naming article: it does not decide rent or eviction itself, but it fixes the name every later article relies on.
Yes. As of August 2026 it remains the primary tenancy law in Dubai, as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008. No newer primary statute has replaced it, and its supporting decrees continue to apply.
Yes. The law governs tenancies of real property located in Dubai for both residential and commercial purposes, so landlords and tenants of homes, shops and offices all rely on the same framework and the same Rental Disputes Centre.
The law is the primary statute that sets the overall framework, while the decrees operationalise parts of it: Decree No. 43 of 2013 sets rent-increase limits and Decree No. 26 of 2013 established the Rental Disputes Centre. The decrees work under and alongside the law, not in place of it.
No. The Smart Rental Index, launched on 2 January 2025, is an AI valuation tool that updates how average market rent is measured. It did not change Law No. 26 of 2007 or the rent-increase brackets in Decree No. 43 of 2013.
On the official Dubai Legislation portal (dlp.dubai.gov.ae), which publishes Law No. 26 of 2007 and its amendment. The official sources for this page are listed at the foot of the page, and reading the actual articles is always safer than a secondary summary.
Where MANJAZ fits in
MANJAZ is a publisher and service provider. It is not a court, a government body, or a law firm, and it never guarantees a particular outcome. What we do is practical: explain the law in plain language, check a contract or a notice against the correct provisions, help prepare and organise the documents and applications a matter needs, follow up procedures, and provide certified and legal translation where a contract or notice must move between Arabic and other languages.
For a foundational article like this one, the value is simply getting the reference right from the start. When a landlord or a tenant knows exactly which law governs — its correct name, its scope, and the decrees that sit under it — every later question about rent, renewal, notice and eviction rests on solid ground rather than on assumptions.
Official sources
- Dubai Legislation — Law No. 26 of 2007 (landlord & tenant) — original text; Arts 2, 3, 4, 9, 13, 14, 15, 25, 26, 29, 36 amended by Law 33/2008
- Dubai Legislation — Law No. 33 of 2008 amending Law 26/2007
- Dubai Legislation — Decree No. 43 of 2013 (rent increase)
- Dubai Legislation — Decree No. 26 of 2013 (Rental Disputes Centre)
- Rental Disputes Centre — About the Centre
This content is for general information and awareness. It is based on the legislation and official sources available at the time of the last review, and procedures may differ according to the facts of each case and updates issued by the competent authorities. It is not legal advice, and MANJAZ is the publisher of this explanation, not the authority that issued the legislation.
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