Rent Increases in Dubai: When One Is Allowed, and by How Much
In Dubai a rent increase is not a free decision the landlord makes each year — it is a capped step, allowed only at renewal, only after the right notice, and only up to a percentage the law fixes from how far your current rent sits below the average market rent. This page brings the whole picture together: the Decree No. 43 of 2013 brackets, the DLD Rental Index now run as the Smart Rental Index, the 90-day notice under Article 14, and the route to the Rental Disputes Settlement Centre when the two sides cannot agree. It is written to be the clearest, most accurate rent-increase explainer you can read before you sign a renewal.
- The increase is capped by Decree 43 of 2013 — from 0% up to a maximum of 20%
- The cap depends on how far your rent is below the average market rent in the index
- Changing the rent or terms at renewal needs 90 days notice under Article 14
- If you disagree, the Rental Disputes Settlement Centre decides — and you keep paying meanwhile
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A rent increase is allowed only at renewal, with notice, and only up to the legal cap
A landlord in Dubai may raise the rent only when the contract comes up for renewal, only after giving the tenant proper advance notice, and only up to the percentage that Decree No. 43 of 2013 permits for how far the current rent sits below the average market rent. During the term of a running contract the rent is fixed; it cannot be increased mid-year, and it cannot be increased at all if the current rent is already at or close to the market average. Those three conditions — renewal, notice, and the cap — govern every lawful increase in the emirate.
The logic is deliberately protective. The law does not let rent track the market upward without limit; instead it asks a single question at renewal — how far below the average market rent is the tenant paying today? — and answers it with a fixed ceiling. A tenant already paying at market gets no increase. A tenant paying far below market can face a larger, but still capped, step. The bigger the gap between the current rent and the market average, the bigger the permitted increase, and never more than twenty percent in any renewal.
Two documents do the real work behind that answer. Decree 43 of 2013 sets the percentage ladder, and the Dubai Land Department rental index — since the start of 2025 operated as the Smart Rental Index — supplies the average market rent the ladder is measured against. The rest of this page walks through both: how to read the brackets, how to find your market average, how the 90-day notice fits in, and where the Rental Disputes Settlement Centre comes in if you and your landlord cannot agree.
The Decree 43 of 2013 rent-increase ladder
| How far your current rent sits below the average market rent | Maximum increase allowed at renewal |
|---|---|
| Up to 10% below the average | No increase permitted (0%) |
| Between 11% and 20% below the average | Up to 5% |
| Between 21% and 30% below the average | Up to 10% |
| Between 31% and 40% below the average | Up to 15% |
| More than 40% below the average | Up to 20% |
Estimate the maximum increase for your unit
Enter what you pay now and the index average for a comparable unit, and this applies the Decree 43 of 2013 bands above to show the maximum a landlord could ask at renewal.
An estimate that applies the published bands to the numbers you enter — not a valuation and not a decision. The index figure that counts for your unit comes from the Dubai Land Department, and where the parties disagree the Rental Disputes Centre may determine a fair rent.
The cap is a maximum, not a target
Each percentage in the table is a ceiling the landlord cannot exceed, not an amount the tenant automatically owes. If the current rent is within ten percent of the average market rent, no increase is permitted at all — a point many renewal notices quietly ignore. And the ladder measures only how far below market you are today; it says nothing about how much the market itself has moved, which is exactly why the index reading at each renewal matters.
The DLD Rental Index — and the Smart Rental Index that now runs it
The whole ladder rests on one number: the average market rent for a unit like yours. That number is not guessed — it comes from the Rent Index of the Emirate of Dubai, the RERA-approved index that Decree 43 of 2013 names as the source of the average rental value. It is the anchor against which your current rent is measured to select a bracket. Without a reliable index figure, the percentage table cannot be applied at all.
On 2 January 2025 the Dubai Land Department launched the Smart Rental Index — an upgraded, AI-based version of that index. It classifies buildings more finely and draws on area rents and registered contract data to compute the average rental value more precisely. What it did not do is change the Decree 43 brackets: the zero-to-twenty-percent ladder is unchanged. The Smart Rental Index simply produces a sharper reading of the average market rent that the same ladder is measured against, so the answer it gives can differ from the older index even though the rule has not.
For a tenant or a landlord this is practical, not academic. Before you argue about a renewal, look up the current average for a comparable unit in the index and compare it with what is being paid now. That gap is the fact the whole dispute turns on, because it selects the bracket. Everything else — the notice, the negotiation, a case at the disputes centre — is built on top of that single comparison.
The words the rules are written in
- Average market rent
- The benchmark rent for a comparable unit, taken from the Dubai rental index. Your current rent is compared to it, and the size of the gap selects the Decree 43 bracket that caps your increase.
- The Smart Rental Index
- The Dubai Land Department index, launched in its AI-based form on 2 January 2025, that computes the average rental value. It is the operational source of the market average — a valuation tool, not a new law.
- Renewal
- The point at which a tenancy is renewed for a further term. A rent increase can only take effect at renewal, not during a running contract, and any change of terms is raised then.
- The 90-day notice (Article 14)
- The notice either party must give to change the rent or any term at renewal — at least ninety days before the contract expires, unless both sides agree otherwise. It is not an eviction notice.
- Ejari registration
- Registration of the tenancy contract with RERA through the Ejari system. The Centre asks for a copy of the registered lease when a case is filed, so registration is the foundation of any rent-increase argument.
- The Rental Disputes Settlement Centre (RDC)
- The specialised judicial body, part of the Dubai Land Department, with jurisdiction over rental disputes in Dubai. It is where a disagreement over a rent increase is ultimately decided.
Have a question about your case?
Six steps to work out the increase the law allows
Confirm your current rent and renewal date
Start from your registered contract: the annual rent you pay now and the exact date it expires. Everything is measured from these two facts, and the renewal date sets the clock for any notice.
Find the average market rent
Look up the average for a comparable unit — same area, type and size — in the Smart Rental Index or the Dubai Land Department calculator. You can reach the official index and its rental-increase calculator through the Ejari system, the Dubai REST app, the Dubai Land Department website, and the DubaiNow app. This figure is the anchor for the whole calculation.
Measure the gap as a percentage
Work out how far your current rent falls below that average, expressed as a percentage of the average. This single percentage is what places you in one of the five brackets.
Read the matching bracket
Match your gap to the Decree 43 ladder: within 10% below market means no increase; more than 40% below allows up to 20%. The bracket gives you the maximum, not a fixed amount.
Check the 90-day notice
If the rent or any term is changing at renewal, a notice must have reached the other party at least ninety days before expiry under Article 14. A late notice cannot force a change onto the renewal.
If you disagree, take it to the RDC
If the two sides cannot agree, either can bring the dispute to the Rental Disputes Settlement Centre, which can fix a fair rent. Keep paying the existing rent while the matter is decided.
Five situations, and the increase the law actually allows
Your rent is already at, or within a tenth of, the market average
What is usually neededNo increase is permitted. When the current rent is within ten percent of the average market rent, the decree sets the maximum increase at zero, so a renewal notice demanding more has no legal footing on the numbers alone.
Your rent sits about a quarter below the market average
What is usually neededA rise of up to ten percent is allowed. A gap in the 21-to-30-percent band places you in the third bracket, whose ceiling is ten percent — the landlord may ask for that or less, but not more.
Your rent is far below the market — more than 40 percent below
What is usually neededThe maximum step is twenty percent — the top of the ladder. Even a very large gap cannot justify more than a twenty-percent increase in a single renewal; the cap holds no matter how far below market the rent has fallen.
The landlord demands 20 percent, but your rent is only slightly below market
What is usually neededThe demand exceeds the cap and is not enforceable as stated. The gap between your rent and the market average decides the bracket, not the landlord preference — a small gap means a small ceiling, and twenty percent belongs only to the largest gap.
The landlord served notice of the increase only a month before renewal
What is usually neededThe notice is too late to change the terms of this renewal. Article 14 requires at least ninety days notice before expiry to vary the rent or any term, so a one-month notice cannot impose the increase; the contract renews on its existing terms unless the parties agree otherwise.
The 90-day notice: how a rent or term change is put on the table
A rent increase does not happen by surprise on the last day of the contract. Article 14 of the tenancy law, read with Article 13, requires that a party wishing to amend any term of the lease — including the rent — notify the other party at least ninety days before the contract expires, unless the two of them have agreed a different period. The notice is what opens the renewal to change; without it, the contract is set to renew on its existing terms.
Two features of this notice are easy to miss. First, it runs both ways: a landlord uses it to propose an increase, but a tenant can use the very same notice to propose a reduction or a change of terms, since Article 13 lets either side revisit the bargain at renewal. Second, it is a notice to vary terms, not a demand the other side must accept — it opens a negotiation whose ceiling, on the rent, is still the Decree 43 bracket. What it does guarantee is time: ninety days for the other party to check the index, take advice and respond before the renewal date arrives.
Because so much turns on timing and proof, keep the notice in writing and keep evidence that it reached the other side within the window. Article 14 fixes the ninety-day minimum but does not itself impose a particular delivery channel — that is one of the clearest differences from the twelve-month eviction notice, which the law does require to be served through a Notary Public or by registered mail. If a rent-increase notice is late, or cannot be shown to have been received in time, its proposed change generally cannot be forced onto the renewal.
Two notices people confuse: changing terms vs ending the tenancy
90-day notice — vary terms (Article 14)
- Purpose: to change the rent or any term of the contract at renewal, including a rent increase within the Decree 43 cap.
- Timing: at least ninety days before the contract expires, unless the parties agree a different period.
- Effect: opens the renewal to negotiation; the tenancy continues, only its terms are up for review. Either party may give it.
12-month notice — evict on expiry (Article 25(2))
- Purpose: to end the tenancy on expiry on one of four grounds — the owner or a first-degree relative moving in, sale, demolition and reconstruction, or comprehensive maintenance impossible while occupied.
- Timing: at least twelve months before the eviction date, served through a Notary Public or by registered mail.
- Effect: brings the tenancy to an end on the stated ground; it is not a rent-increase tool and cannot be used to force a higher rent.
Facing a renewal you think breaches the cap, or a notice you are not sure is valid? Send us the contract and the notice — we will help you read the index, check the numbers and prepare a clear file for the disputes centre.
Get help with a rent-increase disputeWhen the two sides cannot agree on the new rent
If a landlord and tenant cannot agree, the disagreement is decided by the Rental Disputes Settlement Centre — the specialised judicial body, part of the Dubai Land Department, with jurisdiction over rental disputes in the emirate. A case usually begins with the conciliation stage, which tries to broker a settlement quickly; unresolved claims move to the first-instance committees, with an appeal stage and an execution stage after that. The Centre publishes its filing fees — registration is 3.5% of the annual rent, subject to a minimum of AED 500 and a maximum of AED 20,000, plus small fixed charges — so you can estimate the cost in advance, though the exact figure and any timeline depend on the case.
On the rent itself, the law gives the tribunal a clear task. Under Article 9, where the parties dispute the rent, the tribunal fixes it using the criteria set by RERA, the general economic conditions, the state of the property and comparable rents in the area. In practice this is the same market-average reasoning the index expresses, now applied by a decision-maker to your specific unit. The Decree 43 ceiling still applies at renewal, so the tribunal is placing a fair figure within the framework the decree and the index set — not inventing a number outside it.
One rule protects you throughout: bringing a case does not let either side stop performing. The tenant must keep paying the existing rent until the matter is finally decided and enforced — withholding rent as leverage tends to weaken the very case it is meant to support. Our own role is that of a publisher and service provider: MANJAZ helps by reviewing your contract and notice, checking the index reading, and preparing and translating a clear, well-ordered file, so that the facts are already in order when the Centre reads them.
Where rent-increase renewals go wrong
The mistakeAssuming rent can be raised every year, as of right.
The fixCheck the gap first: if the current rent is within ten percent of the market average, no increase is allowed at all this renewal.
The mistakeAccepting an increase above the Decree 43 cap because it is in the notice.
The fixRead the bracket for your gap; the percentage there is a maximum the landlord cannot exceed.
The mistakeTreating the 90-day notice and the 12-month notice as the same thing.
The fixKeep them separate: ninety days is to change terms at renewal; twelve months, notarised, is to evict on expiry on a specific ground.
The mistakeThinking the 2025 Smart Rental Index created new increase percentages.
The fixThe brackets are unchanged; the index only sharpened how the average market rent is calculated.
The mistakeWithholding rent to pressure the landlord during a dispute.
The fixKeep paying the existing rent until the case is finally decided; the obligation continues throughout the proceedings.
The mistakeRelying on a verbal or unregistered tenancy when arguing about the increase.
The fixRegister the contract with RERA through Ejari; the Centre asks for a copy of the registered lease when a case is filed.
Check the increase before you accept or refuse it
What we prepare
Tenancy contracts and addenda, legal notices for notarisation and service, statements of claim and their annexes, evidence bundles, payment and cheque records, and judgment and execution papers.
Arabic is not optional
Proceedings before the Centre are in Arabic. A contract, notice or receipt in any other language is filed with a legally recognised Arabic translation — which is the work MANJAZ is accredited to do.
Free review, free quote
Reviewing your file and quoting for the work are both free. The Centre charges a registration fee of 3.5% of the annual rent, with a minimum of AED 500 and a maximum of AED 20,000 — that fee is paid to the Centre, not to MANJAZ. Our own quote is given once we have seen the file.
The language your documents are in
Arabic and English are the core pair, with 21 documented languages in all — so a tenancy contract, notice or receipt in any of them can be put into the Arabic the Centre requires.
Handled remotely
Documents are sent, reviewed and returned electronically — there is no counter to attend and no appointment to keep for the preparation and translation work. Where a step genuinely requires you in person, such as a notary attendance, we say so and tell you what to bring.
Before you file
Most rental cases are lost on the paperwork, not the merits — a notice served the wrong way, a contract that was never registered in Ejari, a deadline that had already run. We check those first, because they cannot be fixed afterwards.
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Reviewing your file and telling you what it needs costs nothing and commits you to nothing. MANJAZ Corporate & Translation Services L.L.C. — a Dubai practice that prepares documents and provides legal translation under UAE Ministry of Justice accreditation. On Dubai rental disputes we also give legal consultation, act for you, and represent you before the Rental Disputes Centre committees. MANJAZ is not a court and not a government body, and never guarantees an outcome.
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Rent increases in Dubai — frequently asked questions
Only if your current rent is below the average market rent — an at-market rent cannot be increased at renewal. If the rent you pay is within ten percent of the market average in the index, Decree 43 of 2013 sets the maximum increase at zero, so there is no lawful rise that year on the numbers alone.
The maximum is fixed by Decree 43 of 2013 and rises in steps from zero to twenty percent. The step depends on how far your current rent falls below the market average: nothing up to ten percent below, five percent for an 11-to-20-percent gap, ten percent for 21 to 30, fifteen percent for 31 to 40, and twenty percent for a gap greater than forty percent.
It is the Dubai Land Department index, launched in its AI-based form on 2 January 2025, that provides the average market rent used to work out your cap. Look up the average for a comparable unit and compare it with your current rent; the gap selects your bracket. The Department also publishes a rental-increase calculator built on the index to do this for you.
At least ninety days before the contract expires, under Article 14 of the tenancy law. That notice is what allows the rent or any term to be changed at renewal; if it is given late, the change generally cannot be forced onto the renewal, and the contract renews on its existing terms unless the parties agree otherwise.
No. The 90-day notice under Article 14 is only to change the rent or terms at renewal, and the tenancy continues. Eviction on expiry is a different matter under Article 25(2): it needs at least twelve months notice, on one of four specific grounds, served through a Notary Public or by registered mail.
You are not obliged to accept an increase above the Decree 43 ceiling for your bracket. The percentage in the table is a maximum, set by the gap between your rent and the market average, not by the landlord preference; if you cannot agree, the Rental Disputes Settlement Centre can decide the correct figure.
Either party may bring the dispute to the Rental Disputes Settlement Centre, which can fix a fair rent. Under Article 9 it uses RERA criteria, economic conditions, the property condition and comparable rents. Keep paying the existing rent throughout — under Article 31 the obligation to pay continues until the case is finally decided.
No. The Smart Rental Index updated how the average market rent is calculated, not the Decree 43 of 2013 brackets. The zero-to-twenty-percent ladder is the same; the index simply gives a more precise reading of the average that the ladder is measured against, so the number it returns may differ even though the rule has not.
It can change the benchmark, not the caps. Since the Smart Rental Index took its AI-based form in January 2025, a unit is generally compared against the average for buildings in the same star tier in its area, and that average is what your current rent is measured against to find your Decree 43 bracket. The maximum-increase percentages themselves are unchanged. Read your unit's figure from the DLD index or REST app before agreeing to any increase, as the right tier materially affects the permitted step.
An increase can only take effect at renewal, and not more than once in a twelve-month term. Mid-term increases are not permitted, and even at renewal the landlord must have given the 90-day notice and stayed within the Decree 43 cap for your bracket. If your rent is at or within 10% of the indexed market average, no increase is due at that renewal at all.
The Decree 43 of 2013 caps apply to lettings across the Emirate of Dubai, including free-zone areas, subject to any separate rules of a specific free-zone authority. DIFC operates its own leasing law and body, so a DIFC-registered lease may fall outside the RDC and the standard index — check which regime your contract sits under before relying on the cap.
Keep it in writing. Ask the landlord to justify the figure against the DLD index for your unit, and state that you will renew at the capped amount your bracket allows. If notice was late or the demand exceeds the cap, you are not obliged to accept the excess. If no agreement is reached, either party may file at the Rental Disputes Settlement Centre, which can set a fair rent; a filing fee (a percentage of the annual rent, per the RDC's current schedule) normally applies.
Official sources
- Dubai Legislation Portal — Decree No. 43 of 2013 (rent increase)
- Dubai Land Department — Rent Increase Decree 43 (PDF)
- Dubai Legislation Portal — Law 33 of 2008 amending Law 26 of 2007
- Dubai Land Department — Smart Rental Index announcement
- Rental Disputes Settlement Centre — About the Centre
- Rental Disputes Centre — Register a First Instance Lawsuit (e-service, fee schedule)
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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