Article 31 of Dubai Tenancy Law: Paying Rent During an Eviction Case
Many tenants believe that once an eviction case is filed, the rent somehow stops — that the dispute freezes the obligation to pay until a judge decides. Article 31 of Dubai's tenancy law says the opposite. Raising or facing an eviction claim does not exempt the tenant from paying the rent; it keeps falling due, and it must be paid, right up to the moment a final award is issued and carried out. This page explains that rule in plain terms for both sides: why it exists, why withholding rent during a case is one of the costliest mistakes a tenant can make, how paying is not an admission of the landlord's case, and what to do when a landlord refuses to accept the rent while the matter is being decided.
- Filing an eviction case does not suspend the rent — it stays due throughout
- The tenant must keep paying until a final award is rendered and executed
- Withholding rent to make a point can create a fresh non-payment ground
- If the landlord refuses the rent, use the offer-and-deposit route — do not just stop
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Do you keep paying rent during an eviction case?
Yes. Under Article 31 of Dubai's tenancy law, filing an eviction claim does not exempt the tenant from paying the rent; the rent keeps falling due and must be paid until a final award is issued and executed. Being in a dispute — even one where the tenant firmly believes the landlord is wrong — does not pause the obligation to pay for the property while the tenant still occupies it.
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, Article 31 addresses a very practical question that arises the moment a case is filed: does the argument about eviction put the rent on hold? The answer the law gives is no. The eviction claim decides who is entitled to the property and on what terms; it does not, in the meantime, relieve the tenant of the ordinary duty to pay the agreed rent for continuing to hold and use the premises.
This single rule protects both sides at once. It protects the landlord, who is not left without any rent for the months — sometimes many — that a contested case can take. And, less obviously, it protects the tenant, because the most common way a tenant weakens an otherwise defensible position is by stopping payment to "send a message." Non-payment is itself a ground for eviction, so a tenant who withholds rent during a dispute can hand the landlord a fresh, clean reason to seek their removal. Understanding Article 31 early is what keeps a tenant on solid ground.
What the article actually provides
Stated plainly, Article 31 provides that a claim for eviction does not exempt the tenant from paying the rent, and that the tenant remains bound to pay it until a final award is rendered and executed. Two elements do the work. First, the filing of a case has no exempting effect: the lawsuit is not a licence to stop paying. Second, the obligation runs to a defined end point — not the day the case is filed, not the day of a first decision, but the point at which a final, unappealable award is actually carried out. Until then, if the tenant is still in the property, the rent is due.
The logic is that rent is the price of occupation. For as long as the tenant physically holds the property and enjoys its use, the consideration for that use — the rent — continues to accrue, regardless of any parallel argument about whether the tenant should ultimately be allowed to stay. The dispute concerns the future of the tenancy; the rent concerns the present benefit of living in or trading from the property. The law keeps the two separate so that neither side can use the case itself as leverage: the landlord cannot claim rent has stopped, and the tenant cannot treat the case as a rent holiday.
Article 31 does not create a new eviction ground and it does not change how a case is decided. It simply settles what happens to the rent in the meantime. It sits alongside the eviction grounds in Article 25 — the during-term grounds in Article 25(1), including non-payment after a thirty-day notice, and the on-expiry grounds in Article 25(2) that require a twelve-month notice — and it applies whichever route the eviction claim travels.
The words behind the rule
- Article 31
- The provision that an eviction claim does not exempt the tenant from paying rent; the tenant must keep paying until a final award is rendered and executed.
- Eviction claim
- A case a landlord files at the Rental Disputes Centre to recover the property on a ground in Article 25. Filing it starts a case; it does not, by itself, end the tenancy or the rent.
- Final award (rendered and executed)
- A decision that is no longer open to appeal and has actually been carried out, for example by returning possession of the property. Rent runs up to this point, not merely to the first decision.
- Rent (payment for occupation)
- The agreed price of using the property. Because the tenant keeps using it during the case, the rent keeps accruing, separately from the question of who is ultimately entitled to stay.
- Arrears
- Rent that has fallen due but has not been paid. Arrears continue to build during a case and are usually decided in it, which is why Article 31 matters so much to both sides.
- Offer and deposit
- The formal route a tenant uses when a landlord refuses to accept the rent: the tenant places the rent on record instead of simply stopping, preserving the position under Article 31.
What Article 31 means day to day
In practice, Article 31 means the tenant should keep the normal payment routine going exactly as the contract requires — the same cheques, transfers or instalments, on the same dates — even after a case is filed and even while relations with the landlord are tense. A live eviction dispute changes nothing about when this month's rent is due. If the tenant is still in the property, this month's rent is owed like any other, and continuing to pay it is simply compliance with the law, not a favour to the landlord.
A worry many tenants raise is whether paying rent during the case looks like giving in — an admission that the landlord is right. It is not. Paying rent is payment for the occupation the tenant is actually enjoying month by month; it answers the present duty to pay, and it says nothing about the separate question the case will decide, namely whether the eviction ground is made out. A tenant can, and often should, pay the rent on time and still contest the eviction fully. What a tenant should not do is confuse the two and stop paying to protest the claim.
Rent runs until the award is executed — not just until a first decision
Article 31 fixes the end point deliberately: the tenant pays until a final award is rendered and executed. This is more than a technicality. A first-instance decision may be appealed; even after a decision becomes final, there is an execution stage before possession actually changes hands. Throughout that whole period, if the tenant remains in occupation, the rent keeps accruing. A tenant who receives a first eviction order and assumes the rent clock has stopped can find that months of rent have quietly built up by the time the property is handed back. Equally, a landlord should understand that the rent owed in a successful case usually runs to the day possession is recovered, not the day the first order was signed.
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What Article 31 means for each side
If you are the landlord
- You are entitled to receive the rent while the case runs; the claim does not put your income on hold
- Accept and record rent tendered during the case; refusing it needlessly can complicate your own claim
- Claim the arrears alongside eviction so the debt and possession are decided together
- Never treat the deposit as a rent substitute or resort to self-help such as cutting utilities
- Remember the rent usually runs until possession is actually recovered, not just to the first order
If you are the tenant
- Keep paying the rent on its due dates throughout the case — Article 31 requires it
- Do not withhold rent to pressure the landlord; non-payment is itself a ground for eviction
- Understand that paying is not admitting the claim; you can pay and still contest the eviction
- If the landlord refuses your rent, use the offer-and-deposit route to place it on record
- Keep every receipt and transfer record; the Centre decides on dates and amounts
How the rent obligation tracks the case
The eviction claim is filed
The landlord lodges the claim at the Rental Disputes Centre. From this moment the case exists — but the rent does not pause. This month's rent remains due exactly as before.
Conciliation is attempted
The claim is first evaluated by the Centre's amicable-settlement stage, which seeks a quick mediated resolution. The rent continues to fall due while any settlement is explored.
A First Instance Committee decides
If no settlement is reached, a First Instance Committee hears the case and issues a decision. A first decision is not the final, executed award, so the rent still runs.
An appeal may be heard
Where the decree allows, the decision may be appealed. If the tenant remains in the property while an appeal is pending, the rent keeps accruing throughout.
The award becomes final
Once no further appeal is available, the award is final. The rent obligation still does not end at this instant — the law ties it to execution, not just finality.
The award is executed and possession returns
The Centre's Judgment Execution Department carries out the award. When possession of the property is actually returned, occupation ends — and with it the rent that Article 31 kept running.
Three things people confuse during a case
| Item | Status while the case runs | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Current rent | Keeps falling due and must be paid on its dates | Article 31 — filing a case does not exempt the tenant from paying |
| Arrears (past unpaid rent) | Continue to be owed and are usually decided within the case | A pending case does not erase a debt already due |
| Security deposit (Article 20) | Held to secure maintenance; not an automatic rent payment | The deposit is tied to maintenance, so it does not simply clear the rent |
Keep proof that you kept paying
- The Ejari-registered tenancy contract, which fixes the rent and the payment schedule
- Receipts, bank transfer confirmations or cleared-cheque records for each payment made during the case
- A simple reconciliation showing what was due, what was paid, and on what dates
- The offer-and-deposit record, if the landlord refused to accept the rent
- Any correspondence about payment — messages, notices or emails between the parties
- Certified translation of any document not in Arabic, so the file is ready for the Centre
Mistakes Article 31 is meant to prevent
The mistakeStopping rent because an eviction case has been filed.
The fixArticle 31 says filing a case does not exempt the tenant; keep paying, because non-payment can add a fresh ground for eviction.
The mistakeBelieving the rent stops the moment a first eviction order is issued.
The fixRent runs until the award is final and executed and possession is returned; a first-instance order is not the end point.
The mistakeWithholding rent to protest a claim the tenant believes is unfair.
The fixContest the eviction on its merits while still paying; the two are separate, and non-payment only weakens the defence.
The mistakeSimply stopping when the landlord refuses to accept the rent.
The fixUse the formal offer-and-deposit route to place the rent on record, which protects the tenant from a non-payment claim.
The mistakeThe landlord treating the security deposit as this month's rent.
The fixUnder Article 20 the deposit secures maintenance, not rent; the rent must still be paid and accounted for separately.
The mistakePaying during the case but keeping no proof.
The fixKeep receipts, transfer records and a clear reconciliation; the Centre decides on documented dates and amounts.
How Article 31 plays out in practice
A tenant is sued for eviction over an alleged breach and wants to fight it.
What is usually neededThe tenant should keep paying the rent on its usual dates throughout the case. Paying answers the Article 31 duty and does not concede the claim; the tenant defends the eviction on its own facts while staying current on rent, which keeps a fresh non-payment ground from ever arising.
During the case the landlord stops accepting the tenant's cheques.
What is usually neededThe tenant must not simply let the rent lapse. The correct step is the formal offer-and-deposit route: the rent is tendered and placed on record, so that the tenant is shown to have kept paying under Article 31 even though the landlord would not take the money directly.
A first-instance eviction order is issued and the tenant appeals, still living in the flat.
What is usually neededBecause the award is not yet final and executed, and the tenant is still in occupation, the rent keeps accruing. The tenant should continue paying throughout the appeal; assuming the first order ended the rent can leave large arrears to settle when the case finally resolves.
The tenant genuinely disputes how much rent the landlord says is owed.
What is usually neededA dispute about the amount is not a reason to pay nothing. The tenant should pay what is clearly due, keep precise records, and put the disputed portion before the Centre to decide. That way the tenant honours Article 31 on the undisputed rent while the genuine disagreement is resolved on the evidence.
Questions and answers
Yes. Article 31 of Dubai's tenancy law provides that filing an eviction claim does not exempt the tenant from paying the rent, which stays due until a final award is rendered and executed. As long as you occupy the property, the rent keeps falling due exactly as before.
Stopping payment usually harms your position. Non-payment is itself a ground for eviction under Article 25(1), so withholding rent during a dispute can give the landlord a fresh, straightforward reason to seek your removal — on top of whatever the original case was about. Article 31 exists precisely to prevent this.
No. Paying rent is payment for the occupation you are actually enjoying month by month; it satisfies the Article 31 duty and says nothing about whether the eviction ground is made out. You can pay the rent on time and still fully contest the eviction, which the Centre decides on its own facts.
Until a final award is rendered and executed. That is later than most people assume: not the day the case is filed, and not the first decision, but the point at which an unappealable award is actually carried out and possession changes hands. If you remain in the property, the rent keeps accruing until then.
Do not simply stop paying. Use the formal offer-and-deposit route: the rent is tendered and placed on record even though the landlord will not take it directly. This shows you continued to meet the Article 31 obligation and protects you against a later claim that you failed to pay.
The security deposit under Article 20 is held to secure the property's maintenance, not to pay the rent. Neither side should assume it automatically clears rent that is due during a case. The rent must still be paid and accounted for separately from the deposit.
Yes. Article 31 means the landlord is not left without rent for the months a contested case can take; the tenant's duty to pay continues throughout. It does not, however, allow the landlord to take matters into their own hands — self-help such as cutting utilities or changing the locks remains prohibited, and only the Centre can order and execute an eviction.
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 a matter turning on Article 31 our role is practical: helping a tenant keep the payment record clean and organised while a case runs — reconciling what was due against what was paid, assembling receipts and transfer confirmations, and preparing the offer-and-deposit file where a landlord refuses to accept the rent — and helping a landlord present the arrears and the rent that accrued during the case in a clear, documented way.
Whether you are a tenant who has just been served with an eviction claim and is unsure whether to keep paying, or a landlord who wants the rent that built up during a case properly reflected, the value lies in getting the record right as you go. We also arrange certified and legal translation where the file must move between Arabic and other languages before it reaches the Rental Disputes Centre. The decisions on the merits belong to the Centre; our job is to make sure the paperwork tells the true story of what was paid and when.
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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