Dubai Tenancy Law: Ejari, the 90-Day Notice and the Twelve-Month Eviction Rule

A tenant gets a message in March saying the landlord needs the flat back and would they please vacate by the end of the lease in July. The tenant starts looking for somewhere to live.

On the face of the law, that message did nothing at all. It was not served the way the law requires, it did not give the notice period the law requires, and in most cases the tenant was entitled to stay another year.

The reverse also happens. A landlord who genuinely needs their property back serves notice in good faith, gets the form of it wrong, and finds a year later that they have to start again.

Neither outcome is about who was right in principle. Both are about a statute that is specific about procedure, and both are avoidable by reading it.

The Law, in Three Instruments

Dubai's landlord and tenant relationship rests on:

• Law No. 26 of 2007, regulating the relationship between landlords and tenants, as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008, which is where the notice periods and eviction grounds sit.
• Decree No. 26 of 2013, establishing the Rental Disputes Centre, which hears rental cases.
• Decree No. 43 of 2013, governing permitted rent increases, which is now applied through the Smart Rental Index.

The amending law of 2008 is the operative text for most questions. When a notice is challenged, Article 25 is usually what it is challenged against.

Ejari Is the Precondition for Everything

Ejari registration of the tenancy contract is mandatory. It is also the practical gateway to everything else: utility connections, visa processes, and — the point that matters here — standing at the Rental Disputes Centre.

The Centre hears cases where the tenancy is registered. An unregistered lease leaves a tenant without the forum in which their rights are enforced, which makes registration the first thing to check rather than an administrative afterthought. Registration is done through the Dubai REST app or a registered typing centre for a nominal fee.

Changing the Terms at Renewal: the 90-Day Rule

Under Article 14, a party who wants to amend any term of the lease on renewal — the rent, the number of cheques, the duration — must notify the other party at least 90 days before the contract expires, unless the parties have agreed a different period in writing.

This is the single most useful provision for a tenant to know. A rent increase announced 45 days before expiry is not a valid increase for that renewal, and the tenancy renews on its existing terms. It is also the provision landlords most often miss, usually by starting the conversation two months out and assuming the notice period runs from the conversation.

Where the increase is properly noticed, its permitted size is governed separately by the rent index rather than by negotiation.

Eviction During the Tenancy

Article 25(1) lists the limited grounds on which a landlord may seek eviction before the lease expires. The most commonly used is non-payment: where the tenant fails to pay rent or part of it within 30 days of a notice from the landlord, eviction may be sought.

The other grounds cover serious breach: subletting without written consent, using the property for illegal purposes or in a way that breaches planning or safety requirements, and causing damage such that the property cannot be restored to its original condition.

These are exceptional remedies for a defaulting tenancy, not a route to recovering a property early.

Eviction at the End of the Tenancy: Four Grounds and Twelve Months

This is the part that generates most disputes. Under Article 25(2), a landlord may require the tenant to vacate on expiry only where one of four grounds applies:

• The owner wishes to demolish or reconstruct the property.
• The property requires comprehensive maintenance or renovation that cannot be carried out with the tenant in occupation, supported by a technical report.
• The owner wishes to recover the property for personal use, or for use by a first-degree relative, and can show they do not own another suitable property for that purpose.
• The owner wishes to sell the property.

And in every one of those cases, the same requirement applies. The landlord must notify the tenant of the reason at least twelve months before the date of eviction, and the notice must be served through a Notary Public or by registered mail.

Both halves matter and both are routinely got wrong. Twelve months, not ninety days — the 90-day rule governs changing terms, not ending the tenancy, and conflating the two is the single most common error in Dubai tenancy disputes. And a message, an email or a letter handed over at the door is not service; the law names two methods and means them.

Selling Does Not End a Tenancy

A property can be sold with a tenant in it, and the sale by itself does not terminate the lease. The new owner takes the property subject to the existing tenancy.

An owner who wants vacant possession has to use the sale ground under Article 25(2) and serve the same twelve-month notarised notice. A buyer who is told they can take possession on completion, with a sitting tenant and no notice served, is being told something the law does not support.

What Happens After a Personal-Use Eviction

Article 26 closes the obvious loophole. Where a landlord recovers a property for personal use or for a first-degree relative, they may not let it to a third party before two years have passed for residential property, or three years for non-residential property, from the date of recovering possession.

A tenant evicted for personal use who finds the flat advertised three months later has a case, and the Centre can order compensation. The restriction is what makes the personal-use ground meaningful rather than a formula for clearing a tenant to re-let at a higher rent.

The Rental Disputes Centre

The Centre hears rental cases for the emirate. Filing is done online through the Land Department portal or the Dubai REST app, or in person.

Documents not in Arabic generally require certified translation. The Centre is a specialist forum and cases move considerably faster than general civil litigation, but a case still turns on documents: the registered tenancy, the notice and how it was served, payment records, and correspondence.

What Both Sides Get Wrong

• Treating 90 days as the eviction notice period. It is the notice period for changing lease terms. Eviction on expiry requires twelve months.
• Serving notice by email or WhatsApp. The law requires a Notary Public or registered mail.
• Assuming a sale ends the tenancy. It does not. The new owner inherits the lease.
• Not registering with Ejari. It undermines the tenant's access to the Centre and complicates the landlord's case too.
• Relying on a clause in the contract that contradicts the law. A tenancy contract cannot contract out of the statutory notice periods.
• Withholding rent as leverage in a dispute. Non-payment is itself a ground for eviction after a 30-day notice, and it converts a strong position into a weak one.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much notice must a landlord give to evict a tenant in Dubai?

Twelve months, where the tenancy is ending on expiry, and the notice must state the reason and be served through a Notary Public or by registered mail. The ninety-day period that many people cite applies to changing the terms of a lease at renewal, not to eviction.

Can my landlord evict me so they can sell the property?

Selling is one of the four grounds in Article 25(2), but it still requires twelve months' notarised or registered notice. The sale on its own does not end the tenancy, and a new owner takes the property subject to your existing lease.

What are the valid grounds for eviction at the end of a tenancy in Dubai?

Four: demolition or reconstruction, comprehensive maintenance or renovation that cannot be done with the tenant in place, recovery for the owner's own use or a first-degree relative's use, and sale of the property. Each requires twelve months' properly served notice.

Can a landlord evict a tenant during the lease term?

Only on limited grounds under Article 25(1), including failure to pay rent within thirty days of a notice, subletting without written consent, illegal use, and damage that cannot be remedied. These are remedies for breach, not a route to early possession.

Is an eviction notice sent by email or WhatsApp valid in Dubai?

No. Law No. 33 of 2008 requires service through a Notary Public or by registered mail. A notice served another way is open to challenge on that basis alone.

How long before a landlord can re-let a property after evicting for personal use?

Two years for residential property and three years for non-residential property from the date possession is recovered. A tenant who finds the property re-let inside that period can bring a claim.

What does it cost to file a case at the Rental Disputes Centre?

Eviction, renewal and termination cases cost 3.5% of the annual rent, with a minimum of AED 500 and a maximum of AED 20,000. Purely monetary claims are 3.5% of the sum claimed, capped at AED 15,000, plus government fees calculated at 10% of the filing fee for knowledge and 10% for innovation.

Does my tenancy have to be registered with Ejari?

Yes, registration is mandatory, and the Rental Disputes Centre hears cases where the tenancy is registered. An unregistered lease weakens a tenant's practical access to the forum in which these rights are enforced.

The Short Version

Ninety days changes the terms. Twelve months ends the tenancy. Notice goes through a Notary Public or registered mail, or it does not count. A sale does not evict anybody by itself. Personal use carries a two-year bar on re-letting. And none of it works properly without an Ejari registration.

A landlord who serves the right notice, the right way, at the right time gets their property back on the date they planned. One who improvises usually gets it back a year later than they wanted — and a tenant who knows the difference does not start packing in March.

Tenancy legislation, filing fees and procedural requirements change, and individual cases turn on their own facts and documents. This article reflects the position at the time of writing in September 2026 and is general information, not legal advice. Take advice on your own contract and circumstances before acting on a notice, and confirm current fees with the Rental Disputes Centre.