Article 25 of Dubai Tenancy Law
Article 25 of Law No. 26 of 2007, as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008, is the eviction article of Dubai's tenancy law, and it has two very different halves. Article 25(1) lists nine breach-based grounds on which a landlord may seek to evict a tenant during the term of a running contract, while Article 25(2) sets out four no-fault grounds on which an owner may recover the property only when the contract expires — and only after a twelve-month notice served through a Notary Public or by registered mail. This page explains both halves for landlords and tenants, with worked examples and the mistakes that most often decide a case.
- Two regimes: 25(1) evicts during the term for breach; 25(2) recovers on expiry with no fault
- During-term eviction rests on nine defined grounds — not on the landlord's convenience
- On-expiry recovery has four grounds and needs 12 months' notarised or registered notice
- Rent keeps running: Article 31 requires the tenant to pay until a final award is executed
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What Article 25 actually says
Article 25 sets out when a Dubai tenant can be evicted: during the term of the contract only on one of the nine breach-based grounds in Article 25(1), and after the contract expires only on one of the four no-fault grounds in Article 25(2) — the latter requiring at least twelve months' notice served through a Notary Public or by registered mail.
The whole relationship between landlords and tenants in Dubai is governed by Law No. 26 of 2007, and Article 25 is the part of that law that answers the question everyone eventually asks: on what grounds, and in what way, can a tenant be made to leave? The 2008 amendment rewrote this article into the structure it has today, drawing a clear line between two situations that people constantly confuse — removing a tenant during a live contract, and recovering the property once the contract has ended.
The distinction is not a technicality. Eviction during the term is exceptional and always tied to a fault or a defined event — unpaid rent, illegal use, a dangerous building, and so on. Eviction on expiry needs no fault at all, but it is available on only four grounds and is hedged with the strongest safeguard in the law: a full year of formal notice. Reading Article 25 correctly means knowing which half you are in before you do anything else, because the requirements, the notice, and the outcome are completely different.
Two articles in one: 25(1) during the term, 25(2) on expiry
Article 25(1) is the during-term half. It allows a landlord to ask the Rental Disputes Centre to evict a tenant while the contract is still running, but only where the tenant has done something the law treats as serious enough to justify it — failing to pay after a notice, subletting without consent, using the property unlawfully, damaging it, and the other grounds listed below. Each ground is specific, and several of them require a prior notice and a waiting period before the landlord can act.
Article 25(2) is the on-expiry half, and it is different in kind. It does not require the tenant to have done anything wrong. It lets the owner recover the property from a well-behaved tenant when the contract ends, but on only four grounds: demolition and reconstruction, comprehensive maintenance that cannot be done while occupied, personal use by the owner or a first-degree relative, or sale. Because there is no breach, the safeguard is heavier: at least twelve months' notice of the reason, served formally.
The nine grounds to evict during the term (Article 25(1))
- Unpaid rent after a 30-day notice
- The tenant fails to pay the rent within thirty days of being served the landlord's written notice to pay. A payment made inside that window generally closes the ground for that instalment.
- Unauthorised subletting or assignment
- The tenant sublets or assigns the property, in whole or in part, without the landlord's written consent. Eviction can reach both the tenant and the sub-tenant, whose recourse is against the tenant.
- Illegal or immoral use
- The tenant uses the property, or allows it to be used, for an unlawful purpose or one contrary to public order or morals.
- A commercial unit left vacant
- A leased commercial or business unit is left empty without a valid reason for thirty consecutive days, or ninety non-consecutive days, within a single year.
- Damage or unsafe changes
- The tenant makes changes that endanger the property's safety, or damages it deliberately or through gross negligence, or fails to take a reasonable person's care to preserve it.
- Wrong use or breach of planning rules
- The tenant uses the property for a purpose other than the one leased, or in breach of the planning, building and land-use regulations.
- A building at risk of collapse
- The property is in a condition that threatens collapse, provided the landlord proves this by a technical report issued by Dubai Municipality.
- Breach of a legal duty or lease condition
- The tenant fails to observe a legal obligation or a condition of the lease within thirty days of being served the landlord's notice to comply.
- Government-ordered demolition
- The competent government authorities require the property to be demolished or reconstructed for urban-development reasons.
The four grounds to evict on expiry (25(2)) — each needs 12 months' notarised notice
| The on-expiry ground | What the law additionally requires |
|---|---|
| Demolition to reconstruct, or new construction that prevents the tenant's use | The owner must first obtain the necessary permits for the works. |
| Comprehensive restoration or maintenance impossible while the tenant is in occupation | A technical report attested by Dubai Municipality must support the ground. |
| Recovery for the owner's or a first-degree relative's personal use | The owner must own no other property suitable for the same purpose. |
| Sale of the leased property | The sale does not shorten the notice; a valid 12-month notice on the sale ground is still required. |
What Article 25 means in practice
In day-to-day terms, Article 25 tells a landlord that eviction is never self-executing. The landlord identifies the correct ground, satisfies whatever that ground requires — a notice to pay, a Municipality report, a set of permits, or the twelve-month notice — and then applies to the Rental Disputes Centre, which alone can order and carry out the eviction. The tenant, meanwhile, keeps the property and its protections until the Centre decides, and under Article 31 must keep paying rent throughout.
For a tenant, the practical value of Article 25 is that it turns eviction into something that has to be justified and proved, on named grounds, in the right forum. A demand to leave that does not fit one of the thirteen grounds, or that skips a required notice, or that is served the wrong way, is not automatically effective — it is challengeable. Knowing exactly which ground is being used, and what that ground requires, is the first step for either side.
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What Article 25 means for each side
For the landlord
- During the term, you can only seek eviction on a specific Article 25(1) ground, and several require a prior notice and a waiting period
- On expiry, you may recover the property on one of four Article 25(2) grounds, with 12 months' notarised or registered notice stating the reason
- You cannot use self-help: only the Rental Disputes Centre can order and carry out an eviction
- After a personal-use recovery, the Article 26 re-letting restriction and possible compensation still apply; the bar does not attach to an eviction for sale, demolition or maintenance
For the tenant
- You cannot be evicted during the term unless the landlord makes out one of the nine defined grounds
- A vague or premature demand, or one served by the wrong channel, is open to challenge before the Centre
- Even after an eviction claim is filed, Article 31 requires you to keep paying rent until a final award is executed
- On a personal-use eviction, Article 26 protects you if the property is re-let too soon; it does not apply to an eviction for sale
The 12-month notice — and why it is not the 90-day notice
All four on-expiry grounds share one requirement: the owner must notify the tenant of the reason at least twelve months before the eviction date, and serve that notice through a Notary Public or by registered mail. A shorter period, or a notice sent only by email or text message, does not satisfy Article 25(2) and is open to challenge.
This 12-month eviction notice is often confused with the 90-day notice under Article 14. They are different instruments: the 90-day notice only varies the terms or the rent at renewal and evicts no one, while the 12-month notice recovers the property at the end of the term on a 25(2) ground. Using the wrong one is a common and costly error.
If the Article 25 notice needs to be drafted, notarised and served properly, MANJAZ handles that path — including the remote notary session where the conditions are met.
How we handle a rental noticeWhen a dispute arises: worked examples
A tenant misses two rent cheques and the landlord wants them out.
What is usually neededThis is an Article 25(1) during-term matter: the landlord serves a notice to pay, and the ground arises only if the rent stays unpaid for thirty days. The tenant can still cure it by paying inside that window.
An owner wants the flat back at the end of the lease to sell it.
What is usually neededThis is Article 25(2)(d): a 12-month notice on the sale ground, served by notary or registered mail and timed to the expiry date. The running lease still binds any buyer until then under Article 28.
A landlord sends an eviction message by WhatsApp ten months before expiry.
What is usually neededThe channel and the timing are both suspect: a notice not served by notary or registered mail, or shorter than twelve months, can be challenged before the Rental Disputes Centre.
A commercial tenant leaves the shop shuttered for two months without explanation.
What is usually neededProlonged unexplained vacancy of a commercial unit is an Article 25(1) ground; the landlord should document the vacancy period, and the tenant should be ready to show a valid reason.
Common mistakes on both sides
The mistakeTreating any late payment as instant grounds for eviction.
The fixArticle 25(1) requires a notice to pay and a thirty-day window before the non-payment ground is made out.
The mistakeServing a 12-month eviction notice by email or text message.
The fixArticle 25(2) requires service through a Notary Public or by registered mail; an informal channel is open to challenge.
The mistakeConfusing the 90-day notice with the 12-month eviction notice.
The fixThe 90-day notice under Article 14 only changes terms at renewal; it cannot evict a tenant.
The mistakeChanging the locks or cutting utilities to force a tenant out.
The fixOnly the Centre can order and execute an eviction; Article 34 forbids disconnecting utilities, and self-help exposes the landlord to liability.
The mistakeA tenant stopping rent altogether once an eviction case begins.
The fixArticle 31 requires the tenant to keep paying until a final award is issued and executed.
The mistakeRecovering a property for personal use and re-letting it too soon.
The fixArticle 26 bars re-letting for two years (residential) or three (non-residential) and may entitle the evicted tenant to fair compensation.
Documents usually prepared for an Article 25 matter
- The Ejari-registered tenancy contract and any renewals or addenda
- Emirates ID for individuals, or a valid trade licence for companies
- The notice relied on and proof of how it was served — a notary record or registered-mail receipt
- Payment records: rent receipts, cheques and bank transfers
- Evidence for the specific ground: a Municipality technical report, permits, photos, correspondence, or a sale agreement
- An accurate legal translation into Arabic of any document not already in Arabic
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. What we do is practical: read the notice and the tenancy file against the right half of Article 25, help identify which ground actually applies, prepare and organise the documents each side needs, arrange certified and legal translation where the file moves between Arabic and other languages, and follow up procedures at the Rental Disputes Centre.
Whether you are a landlord who wants an eviction to hold up — the right ground, the right notice, served the right way — or a tenant who has received a demand to leave and is unsure whether it fits Article 25 at all, the value is in getting the details right early. The choice of half, the wording of the notice, and the way it is served are what most often decide a case before it is ever argued.
Questions and answers
During the term only on one of the nine breach-based grounds in Article 25(1), and after the contract expires only on one of the four grounds in Article 25(2). Article 25(2) also requires at least twelve months' notarised or registered notice.
Article 25(1) covers eviction during the term and is breach-based — nine grounds such as non-payment, illegal use, or unauthorised subletting. Article 25(2) covers eviction on expiry and is no-fault — four grounds: demolition or reconstruction, comprehensive maintenance, personal use, or sale.
At least twelve months before the eviction date, served through a Notary Public or by registered mail, and stating the specific ground. A shorter period or an informal channel does not satisfy Article 25(2).
Yes, under Article 25(1), but only after the landlord serves a notice to pay and the rent stays unpaid for thirty days. Paying within that window generally removes the ground for that instalment.
No. Article 31 requires the tenant to keep paying rent until a final award is issued and executed, even while an eviction claim is pending.
Yes, sale is one of the four on-expiry grounds in Article 25(2), but the sale does not shorten the notice — a valid twelve-month notice is still required, and the existing lease binds any buyer until it expires under Article 28.
No. Only the Rental Disputes Centre can order and carry out an eviction. Article 34 forbids disconnecting utilities or disturbing the tenant, who may report it to the police and claim damages.
Article 26 bars the owner from re-letting the property to a new tenant for two years if it is residential, or three years if it is not; re-letting inside that period may entitle the evicted tenant to fair compensation.
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. 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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