Article 14 of Dubai Tenancy Law — The 90-Day Notice to Change Terms
Article 14 is the short but pivotal provision of Dubai's tenancy law that sets the timing rule for changing a contract at renewal. It tells a landlord or a tenant who wants a different rent or a different term next year that they cannot spring the change at the last moment: the other side must be told, in good time, at least ninety days before the contract expires. This page reads the article on its own terms — what it actually says, what it means in practice, how a landlord and a tenant should each use it, how the ninety-day period is counted, and where disputes tend to arise. It is an explainer published by MANJAZ, a private service provider and not the issuing authority behind the law.
- Article 14 fixes a 90-day minimum notice to amend a lease term or the rent at renewal
- It reads with Article 13, works by agreement, and can be served by either party
- The 90 days are counted back from the contract's expiry date, not from the day you decide
- It is not an eviction notice — that is the separate 12-month notice under Article 25(2)
- Dubai-based, UAE-wide service
- Arabic & English
- Clear guidance on every document
- Direct request, no middlemen
What Article 14 requires, in one sentence
Article 14 of Dubai's tenancy law requires any landlord or tenant who wants to change the rent or another term of the contract at renewal to notify the other party at least ninety days before the current contract expires, unless the two agree on a different period.
The relationship between landlords and tenants in Dubai is governed by Law No. 26 of 2007, as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008. Within that law two articles sit together at the point of renewal. Article 13 opens the door: at renewal the parties may agree to amend the terms, and either may reconsider the rent up or down. Article 14 then adds the discipline of timing: if you want to walk through that door, you must give notice, and you must give it early.
So Article 14 does not decide what the new rent should be, and it does not decide who wins if the parties disagree. Its job is narrower and it is procedural: it fixes when a proposed change must be communicated so that the change can bind the renewed contract. Miss the timing, and the change simply does not attach to the coming renewal. Meet it, and the renewal conversation is properly on the table for both sides to negotiate — and, if they cannot agree, for the Rental Disputes Centre to resolve.
What Article 14 actually says
Read plainly, Article 14 states that where either party to the tenancy wishes to amend one of the terms of the contract pursuant to Article 13, that party must notify the other of the change no less than ninety days before the date on which the contract expires — unless the two have agreed on something else. Every part of that sentence carries weight. "Either party" means the rule is not the landlord's alone. "Amend one of the terms" ties the notice to Article 13, which is what permits the amendment. "No less than ninety days before expiry" sets a floor, not a ceiling — earlier is fine, later is not. And "unless they agree otherwise" lets the parties tailor the period by mutual consent.
This wording is the amended text: Law No. 33 of 2008 revised several articles of the 2007 law, and Article 14 is the version that has governed renewals since. It is worth stressing what the article does not contain. It does not require the notice to travel through a Notary Public or by registered mail; that strict method belongs to a different article about eviction. And it says nothing about ending the tenancy. Article 14 is, from beginning to end, a rule about giving timely notice of a proposed change — no more and no less.
What Article 14 means in practice
In everyday terms, Article 14 turns a wish into a proposal that the law will recognise. A landlord who thinks the rent should rise, or a tenant who thinks it should fall, does not have a right to impose that view — but by serving a timely notice they earn the right to have the change considered for the renewed term. Without the notice, the contract simply rolls over on its existing terms; the rent stays where it is, the clauses stay as written, and any change waits for a future renewal that is properly noticed.
Two practical consequences follow. First, timing is everything and it is objective: the ninety-day count is measured against a fixed calendar date — the day the contract expires — so it can be proved or disproved with the tenancy dates alone. Second, the notice is a beginning, not an end. It puts the proposed change on the table; it does not conclude the bargain. If the change is a rent rise, the amount is still capped by Decree No. 43 of 2013, and if the parties cannot agree the rent, the Rental Disputes Centre fixes it. Article 14 gets the conversation started on time; other rules decide how it ends.
How each side should read Article 14
For the landlord
- To raise the rent at renewal, serve the notice so it reaches the tenant at least 90 days before expiry
- State the proposed rent clearly; the increase must stay within the Decree 43/2013 ceiling
- A late notice does not bind the tenant, so the contract renews on the old rent
- This notice does not recover the property — for that you need the 12-month eviction notice
For the tenant
- You can serve the same 90-day notice to ask for a lower rent or a changed term at renewal
- Check the date on any landlord notice: if it arrived under 90 days out, the increase need not bind you
- A valid notice does not force you to accept — a disputed rent goes to the RDC to fix
- A 90-day notice can never require you to leave; only a 12-month eviction notice does that
How the ninety-day period is counted
Start from the expiry date
Find the exact date the current contract expires on the Ejari tenancy. That fixed date, not the day you make your decision, is the anchor for the whole count.
Count ninety days backwards
Measure at least ninety days back from the expiry date. The notice must reach the other party on or before that point — reaching them, not merely being posted, is what the timing is about.
Serve earlier if you can
Ninety days is a floor, not a target. Serving comfortably earlier removes any argument that the notice arrived a day or two short, which is a common way for timing disputes to start.
Keep a dated record of delivery
Although Article 14 does not require a notary, use a channel that leaves clear, dated proof the notice was received, so the ninety-day question can be answered from the record.
If the timing is short, it does not bind
A notice that reaches the other party fewer than ninety days before expiry does not attach the change to that renewal; the contract renews on its existing terms unless both sides agree otherwise.
Have a question about your case?
Two things the wording allows — and one it forbids
The phrase "unless they agree otherwise" is a genuine flexibility: the parties can, by mutual agreement, set a notice period different from ninety days when they contract. What one side cannot do is shorten the period unilaterally after the fact. The second thing the wording allows is service in writing by any reliable means — Article 14, unlike the eviction article, does not lock the notice to a Notary Public or registered mail. The one thing the wording forbids is using this notice to end the tenancy. It changes terms; it never removes a tenant. Eviction on expiry is the separate 12-month notice under Article 25(2), on one of four defined grounds, served by notary or registered mail — a different instrument with a different purpose.
When Article 14 applies: worked examples
A landlord decides in March to raise the rent on a contract that expires at the end of August.
What is usually neededThere is time: a written notice served now reaches the tenant well over ninety days before expiry, so the proposed increase can bind the renewal — provided the figure stays within the Decree 43/2013 ceiling.
A tenant wants to switch from one cheque to four at renewal and keep the rent unchanged.
What is usually neededThat is a term change under Article 13, so the tenant serves their own 90-day notice proposing it. It is a proposal to be agreed, not imposed; if the landlord refuses, the term stays as it was.
A landlord sends a rent-increase message that reaches the tenant sixty days before expiry.
What is usually neededThe notice is short of the ninety-day minimum, so it does not bind the coming renewal; the contract renews on the existing rent unless the tenant chooses to accept the change.
The contract itself sets a sixty-day notice window that both parties signed.
What is usually neededThis is the "unless they agree otherwise" exception. Because both sides agreed a different period in advance, the sixty-day window governs — an agreed variation is exactly what Article 14 permits.
Where Article 14 disputes come from
The mistakeTreating the 90-day notice as if it evicted the tenant.
The fixArticle 14 only varies terms at renewal; recovering the property needs the separate 12-month notice under Article 25(2).
The mistakeAnnouncing a change fewer than ninety days before expiry.
The fixA late notice does not bind the renewal; serve comfortably early so the timing cannot be challenged.
The mistakeAssuming a valid notice fixes the amount of the increase.
The fixThe notice opens the change; Decree 43/2013 caps any rise, and a disputed rent is fixed by the RDC.
The mistakeSending the notice with no proof it was received.
The fixKeep a dated delivery record; if the other side denies timely receipt, the record is what answers the question.
The mistakeBelieving silence from the other side means the change is accepted.
The fixArticle 13 works by agreement; if the parties do not agree, the disputed point is decided by the Rental Disputes Centre.
Key terms in Article 14
- Renewal
- The point at which a fixed-term tenancy rolls into a new term. It is the only window in which Article 13 lets the parties revisit the rent or the terms, which is why the notice is timed to expiry.
- Expiry date
- The fixed date on which the current contract ends, as recorded on the Ejari tenancy. The ninety-day period is counted back from this date, which makes the timing objective and provable.
- Notify / serve
- To communicate the proposed change to the other party in a way that reaches them. Article 14 requires it in good time but does not fix a channel, so a method that leaves a dated record is best.
- Either party
- The notice belongs to both the landlord and the tenant. A tenant may use it to seek a reduction or a term change just as a landlord may use it to propose an increase.
Where MANJAZ fits in
MANJAZ is a publisher and service provider, not a court and not a law firm, and it never guarantees a particular result. On an Article 14 matter our help is practical: reviewing a notice and the tenancy file against the Article 13 and 14 requirements, checking that a proposed rent change respects the Decree 43/2013 ceiling and the Smart Rental Index, drafting or responding to a notice so its wording and timing are sound, organising the supporting documents, arranging certified and legal translation where the file must move between Arabic and other languages, and following up procedures at the Rental Disputes Centre. Getting the article right, the timing right and the record clean at the notice stage is what most often prevents a dispute later.
Questions and answers
Article 14 says that a party wishing to amend a term of the contract at renewal, under Article 13, must notify the other party at least ninety days before the contract expires, unless they agree otherwise. It sets the timing for a change; it does not end the tenancy.
No. The Article 14 notice only varies the rent or the terms at renewal; it cannot make anyone leave. Eviction on expiry is governed by Article 25(2), which requires a separate 12-month notice on one of four grounds, served by notary or registered mail.
Yes. Article 14 applies to either party. A tenant can serve the 90-day notice to propose a rent reduction or a change of terms at renewal, giving the landlord at least ninety days before the contract expires.
The ninety days are counted back from the contract's expiry date, not from the day you decide to change the terms. The notice must reach the other party on or before the ninety-day mark for the change to bind the renewal.
Yes. Article 14 sets ninety days "unless the parties agree otherwise", so a different notice period agreed by both sides — for example in the contract itself — governs instead. One party cannot shorten the period on its own.
If no valid, timely notice is served, the change cannot bind the coming renewal, so the contract renews on its existing terms — same rent, same clauses. The proposed change then waits for a future renewal that is properly noticed.
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)
- Rental Disputes Centre — About the Centre
- Dubai Land Department — Smart Rental Index announcement
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.
Have a rental dispute in Dubai?
Send your case details and the documents you have — tenancy contract, Ejari, notices, correspondence — and MANJAZ will help you identify the right service and step.