Complaints about rising rents from Dubai residents are increasing due to unreasonable increases being demanded by the landlord. There is no federal law that determines the rent ceiling, each emirate has its own laws.

For the emirate of Dubai, Law No. 26 of 2007 regulates the relationship between landlord and tenant and establishes rental rules. Regarding rent, the Supreme Court of the Union has stated that “the effect of the provisions of a lease (lease contract) provided for in articles 742 and following of the Civil Code is that the rent is paid in consideration of the enjoy the leased thing”.

(It should be noted that the Dubai Law No. 26 of 2007 is applicable throughout Dubai, except for the areas covered by the DIFC zone, as real estate in the DIFC zone is regulated by the DIFC Law No. 4 of 2007) .

The law defines rent as a specific amount of consideration that the tenant is required to pay in accordance with the lease. The lease agreement is the contract by which the lessor agrees to allow the lessee to benefit from the property for the specified purpose and period in exchange for a specified consideration and therefore the amount of rent to be specified in the contract and will remain the same until expiration. of the said contract.

In addition, the law provides for the determination of the value of the rent in the event that it is not provided for in the lease or when the rent is determined but it is not possible to prove it. In such cases, the Committee, that is, the Judicial Committee authorized to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants, must determine the rent of the property so leased in accordance with the ‘like rent’. The ‘similar rent’ must be specified by the committee in accordance with the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) rent increase percentage specification standards. In addition, the general economic circumstances in the Emirate, the condition of the property, the market rent in the same area and existing legislation are factors that must be taken into account when determining the similar rent. RERA must establish criteria to determine rent increase rates in the Emirate, in accordance with the general economic conditions of the Emirate.

Any dispute relating to the rent of the leased premises must be referred to the committee, as the committee’s jurisdiction includes all such disputes.

At the expiration of the lease, it must be renewed for a similar period and during the renewal the lessor can modify the contractual terms. You can review the rent you can keep at the same rent amount or you can increase or decrease it. The rent thus increased or decreased would be valid during the period of the lease. In order for the lease to continue in force, it is essential that the lessee agrees with the terms thus modified by the lessor, if the parties do not reach an agreement, the Committee may agree on a fair rent. If either party to the lease wishes to modify any of its conditions, it must notify the other party no less than 90 days prior to the expiration date, but this condition may be waived by agreement between the landlord and the tenant. tenant.

The law also sets a cap on landlord rent increases so that landlords do not take advantage of the vulnerable position of tenants and exploit them through unreasonable rent rate increases. Also, the rent cannot be increased during a lease. It can only be increased after the expiration of the previous contract, so the rent will be maintained for a period of one year from the start of the lease.

In addition, the Dubai Decree No. 62 of 2009 regarding rental prices in the emirate of Dubai has fixed the maximum increase in property rents in the Emirate of Dubai according to the average rent of properties in the same area and the percentage of the difference between the median income and the current income. Thus, depending on the difference, the increase can be up to the following limit:

Yo. zero rent increase in the event that the rent is up to 25% lower than the average rent of properties of similar specifications;

ii. 5% of the applicable rent in the event that the rent is 26% to 35% less than the average rent of properties of similar specifications;

iii. 10% of the applicable rent in case the rent is 36% to 45% less than the average rent of properties of similar specifications;

IV. 15% of the applicable rent in case the rent is 46% to 55% less than the average rent of properties of similar specifications; Y

v. 20% of the applicable rent in case the rent is more than 55% less than the average rent of properties of similar specifications.

Apart from this, the Dubai government has provided us with an online rent increase calculator at the following website: http://www.dubailand.gov.ae/english/Tanzeem/Rentals/Rental_Increase_Calculator.aspx

The aforementioned government website provides a service for calculating percentage increases for rental values ​​in certain areas as a guidance tool. All the user has to do to use this service is to select the website calculator and enter the required details and then the increase limit and average rent for the area and unit requested will be provided.

Tips to avoid an illegal rent increase:

1. Make sure the landlord has given you written notice of the proposed rent increase no less than 90 days before the end of the lease.

2. Verify that the amount of the increase agrees with the RERA rent calculator for your property.

3. If you cannot reach an agreement with your landlord on the amount of the rent increase, submit a request to the Rent Committee.