Article 37 of Dubai Tenancy Law: When the Law Took Effect
Every law carries a final clause that decides the day it begins to bind people, and for Dubai's tenancy law that clause is Article 37 of Law No. 26 of 2007. It says the law is published in the Official Gazette and comes into force sixty days after that publication — which is why the tenancy law has governed every residential and commercial lease in the emirate since early 2008. On its own the date is a technicality, but it settles something practical: your lease is answered from a live, in-force statute, and the text that governs it today is Law 26/2007 as amended by Law 33/2008, read with the decrees that followed. This page explains what Article 37 says, why the sixty-day rule exists, and how to be sure you are working from the correct, current text.
- Article 37 is the closing clause: the law is published in the Official Gazette and comes into force sixty days after publication
- Because of it, Dubai's tenancy law has governed all leases in the emirate since early 2008
- The governing text today is Law 26/2007 as amended by Law 33/2008, with Decree 43/2013 and Decree 26/2013 — not the original text alone
- MANJAZ explains the tenancy law and prepares tenancy files as a service provider; it is not a court or a law firm and promises no outcome
- Dubai-based, UAE-wide service
- Arabic & English
- Clear guidance on every document
- Direct request, no middlemen
When Dubai's tenancy law took effect — and why it matters
Article 37 is the closing provision of Law No. 26 of 2007: it states that the law is published in the Official Gazette and comes into force sixty (60) days after that publication. In practice this means Dubai's tenancy law has bound every residential and commercial lease in the emirate since early 2008, and the text that governs your tenancy today is Law 26/2007 as amended by Law 33/2008, read together with the decrees that came after it.
A law does not bind anyone on the day it is signed. It must first be published in the Official Gazette, and only after a set waiting period does it become enforceable against the public. Article 37 fixes that period at sixty days. It creates no rights or duties between landlord and tenant by itself; its single job is to switch the rest of the law on and mark the moment from which all the other articles apply.
For a landlord or a tenant, the value of Article 37 is not the date on its own but what the date confirms: the tenancy law is settled, in-force law, and any question about your lease is answered from the current governing text — not from an older version, a repealed committee, or a decree cited by the wrong number. Getting the right text is the difference between an argument that holds and one that collapses the moment it reaches the Rental Disputes Centre.
What Article 37 actually provides
In plain terms, Article 37 provides that the law shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall come into force sixty days after the date of its publication. That is the whole of it — a publication instruction and a commencement date. Clauses of this kind, called a commencement or entry-into-force provision, close almost every UAE law; they say nothing about tenancy itself and everything about when the rest of the text begins to apply.
The sixty-day gap is deliberate. It gives landlords, tenants, agents and the courts time to read the new rules and adjust before they take hold, so that no one is bound by a law they had no chance to learn. Once those days pass, the whole statute — the written-contract and registration rules, the notice periods, the eviction grounds, the rent framework — becomes the law that Dubai's tenancy relationships are measured against.
The terms behind Article 37
- Official Gazette
- The government's official publication in which laws and decrees are printed. Publication in it is the formal act that starts the countdown to a law taking effect.
- Entry into force (commencement)
- The day a law becomes binding and can be applied. Under Article 37 that day is sixty days after publication, not the day the law was issued or signed.
- Governing text
- The current, consolidated version of the law that actually applies — Law 26/2007 as amended by Law 33/2008, read with Decree 43/2013 and Decree 26/2013, rather than any single original document.
- Amendment
- A later law that changes specific articles of an existing one. Law 33/2008 amended several articles of the 2007 tenancy law, so the amended wording — not the original — is what governs.
- Implementing decree
- A decree that operates within the law's framework — Decree 43/2013 setting rent-increase limits, and Decree 26/2013 creating the Rental Disputes Centre — completing how the tenancy law works in practice.
Which text governs your tenancy today
The tenancy law you rely on is not a single 2007 document. A year after it came into force, Law No. 33 of 2008 amended several of its articles — including the rent-fixing method, the ninety-day notice to vary terms at renewal, the eviction regime that separates grounds during the term from grounds on expiry, and the restriction on re-letting after a personal-use eviction. Wherever an article was amended, it is the amended wording that applies, so working from the original 2007 text alone can lead you to a rule that no longer stands.
Two decrees complete the picture. Decree No. 43 of 2013 sets how far rent may be raised at renewal, tying the cap to how far the current rent sits below the market average on the official index. Decree No. 26 of 2013 created the Rental Disputes Centre — part of Dubai Land Department — as the specialised body for tenancy disputes, replacing the former Rent Committee; Law No. 6 of 2019 later widened the Centre's jurisdiction. Together with the 2008 amendments, these are the instruments that make up the governing text.
Newer tools are not newer law. Dubai Land Department launched the Smart Rental Index on 2 January 2025 as an AI-based valuation tool that computes the average market rent feeding the Decree 43/2013 calculation. It is an upgraded index, not a change to the law: it did not alter the rent-increase brackets or any article of the tenancy statute. As of 2026 there is no newer primary law replacing Law 26/2007 — the confirmation Article 37 quietly stands behind.
Have a question about your case?
From issue to the text in force today
Law 26/2007 issued (26 November 2007)
The tenancy law is enacted, then published in the Official Gazette — but publication starts a countdown rather than binding people at once.
In force after sixty days (early 2008)
Under Article 37 the law comes into force sixty days after publication, and from that point it governs every lease in Dubai.
Law 33/2008 amends the law (December 2008)
Several articles are rewritten — rent-fixing, the ninety-day notice, the eviction grounds and the re-letting bar — so the amended wording becomes the one that applies.
Decree 26/2013 creates the RDC
The Rental Disputes Centre, part of Dubai Land Department, is established as the specialised body for tenancy disputes, replacing the former Rent Committee.
Decree 43/2013 sets the rent-increase brackets
The stepped 0/5/10/15/20% caps on rent increases at renewal, tied to how far the rent falls below the market average, take effect.
Smart Rental Index (2 January 2025)
An AI valuation tool that computes the market average — an upgraded index, not a new law, leaving the Decree 43/2013 brackets and every article unchanged.
What Article 37 means for the landlord and the tenant
For the landlord
- The rules that bind you — notice periods, eviction grounds, rent caps — have been in force since 2008, not optional custom
- Cite the amended text, not the original 2007 wording, whenever an article was changed by Law 33/2008
- A rent increase at renewal is governed by Decree 43/2013 and the official index, not by what you consider fair
- Disputes go to the Rental Disputes Centre under Decree 26/2013 — the old Rent Committee no longer applies
For the tenant
- You are protected by a law that has been in force since 2008, including the tenant safeguards added by the 2008 amendments
- Your rights come from the amended text plus the decrees, so read the current version rather than an old summary
- The 2025 Smart Rental Index is a valuation tool; it did not raise the caps or change your protections under the law
- Check the date of any online article before you rely on it — a pre-2008 summary can miss the amendments entirely
When the governing text makes the difference
A landlord finds an online article citing "Decree 34 of 2013" for rent increases.
What is usually neededThe operative rent-increase decree is Decree 43/2013, not 34 — a common transcription slip in secondary sources. Work from the official Dubai Legislation portal text so the bracket you rely on is the one that actually applies.
A tenant relies on a summary written before the 2008 amendments.
What is usually neededSeveral articles — the notice regime and the eviction grounds among them — were rewritten by Law 33/2008. Confirm the summary reflects the amended text, or read the consolidated version, before acting on it.
Someone treats the 2025 Smart Rental Index as a "new rental law".
What is usually neededThe Index is a valuation tool that feeds the market average, not a statute. The governing law is still Law 26/2007 as amended, and the Decree 43/2013 brackets are unchanged — so a rent claim is measured against them, not against the tool itself.
A dispute arises and one party refers to the old Rent Committee.
What is usually neededSince Decree 26/2013 the Rental Disputes Centre, part of Dubai Land Department, is the body that hears tenancy disputes. Filing or citing the superseded committee only delays a claim that belongs at the Centre.
A law binds only after it is published and its waiting period passes
Article 37 captures a principle that runs through UAE legislation: a law becomes binding only after it is published in the Official Gazette and its stated waiting period — here sixty days — has passed. That is why the date a law is issued is not the date it applies, and why the practical question is never "does a tenancy law exist" but "which consolidated text is in force". For a landlord or a tenant the safest habit is to work from the current text of Law 26/2007 as amended by Law 33/2008, together with Decree 43/2013 and Decree 26/2013, and to treat any newer tool or index as operating within that framework rather than replacing it.
Common mistakes about which text is in force
The mistakeReading only the original 2007 text and missing the 2008 amendments.
The fixLaw 33/2008 rewrote several articles; always work from the amended, consolidated wording, not the first version.
The mistakeCiting "Decree 34 of 2013" for rent increases.
The fixThe rent-increase decree is Decree 43/2013; the wrong number appears in some secondary sources but not in the official text.
The mistakeTreating the 2025 Smart Rental Index as a new law that changed the caps.
The fixThe Index is a valuation tool; it did not amend Decree 43/2013 or any article, and the brackets stand as they were.
The mistakeTaking a dispute to the old Rent Committee.
The fixSince Decree 26/2013 the Rental Disputes Centre hears tenancy disputes; the committee it replaced no longer functions.
The mistakeAssuming a law binds from the day it is signed or issued.
The fixArticle 37 sets force sixty days after publication in the Official Gazette; the issue date and the effective date are not the same.
Article 37: questions and answers
It came into force in early 2008. Under Article 37, Law No. 26 of 2007 is published in the Official Gazette and takes effect sixty days after that publication, so it has governed residential and commercial leases across Dubai since then. The issue date in November 2007 is not the same as the effective date.
Yes. Law No. 26 of 2007, as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008, remains the primary tenancy statute in Dubai as of 2026. No newer primary law has replaced it; the changes since then have come through decrees such as Decree 43/2013 and Decree 26/2013, which operate within its framework.
The governing text is Law 26/2007 as amended by Law 33/2008, read together with Decree 43/2013 (rent-increase limits) and Decree 26/2013 (the Rental Disputes Centre), with Law 6/2019 widening the Centre's jurisdiction. It is this consolidated set — not the original 2007 document alone — that applies to a lease today.
No. The Smart Rental Index, launched by Dubai Land Department on 2 January 2025, is an AI-based valuation tool that computes the average market rent used in the rent-increase calculation. It did not change the Decree 43/2013 brackets or any article of the law; the governing statute is still Law 26/2007 as amended.
It means the tenancy law is settled, in-force law and your lease is measured against the current governing text. Practically, both sides should rely on the amended statute and the decrees rather than an outdated summary, a repealed committee, or a mis-numbered decree — because that is the text the Rental Disputes Centre applies.
The sixty-day gap gives everyone affected time to learn the new rules before they become binding, so no one is held to a law they had no chance to read. Article 37 fixes that waiting period for the tenancy law, marking the point from which all its other articles apply.
Official sources
- Dubai Legislation — Law No. 26 of 2007 (Article 37, publication and entry into force) — 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 brackets)
- Dubai Legislation — Decree No. 26 of 2013 (Rental Disputes Centre)
- Dubai Land Department — Smart Rental Index announcement (a valuation tool, not a new law)
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.