The 90-Day Notice Rule in Dubai: Rent Increases, and the 12-Month Rule for Eviction

Dubai tenancy law protects tenants less through rent levels than through procedure. Landlords lose more disputes on notice defects than on the numbers. Here are both notice regimes, precisely.

Rule 1: 90 days to change anything at renewal

Under the tenancy law framework (Law 26 of 2007 as amended by Law 33 of 2008, Article 14), a party wishing to amend any term of the contract at renewal, rent included, must notify the other at least 90 days before expiry, unless the parties agreed otherwise in the contract.

What this means in practice:

• Count backwards from your expiry date. Contract ends June 30? Notice must reach you by April 1. A notice arriving April 5 is 4 days short, and the increase cannot be applied to that renewal, regardless of whether the Decree 43 slab would have allowed it.

• "Written" is the standard. Email to the address in the contract, registered mail, and notarised notice all serve; verbal mentions and agent phone calls don't. Keep the envelope, the email, the timestamps.

• It cuts both ways. A tenant wanting to renegotiate terms downward (say, using a Smart Rental Index benchmark showing they're overpaying) is subject to the same 90-day discipline.

• Silence renews. If neither side gives valid notice, the contract renews on the same terms for the same period or one year, whichever is less.

Rule 2: 12 months to evict at expiry, on listed grounds only

A landlord who wants the property back at the end of the tenancy must serve notice at least 12 months before the intended eviction date, through a notary public or by registered mail, and must rely on one of the grounds in Article 25(2):

1. The owner wants to demolish the property or carry out reconstruction/major renovation that can't be done with the tenant in place (permits required).

2. The property requires major maintenance that can't be done occupied (supported by a technical report).

3. The owner wants it for personal use or for a first-degree relative, and must prove they don't own a suitable alternative.

4. The owner wants to sell the property.

Defects that void eviction notices, in rough order of frequency: wrong delivery channel (not notarised/registered), vague or missing legal ground, and, in personal-use cases, re-letting the property soon after the tenant leaves, which exposes the landlord to compensation claims at the Rental Dispute Centre.

Note also: a sale by itself doesn't end your tenancy. The new owner inherits the contract (Article 28) and the notice clock; they can serve their own 12-month notice but cannot shortcut it.

Eviction during the tenancy is a third track entirely

Mid-contract eviction requires tenant breach under Article 25(1): non-payment within 30 days of a formal demand, unauthorised subletting, illegal use of the premises, damage, and similar grounds. No breach, no mid-term eviction; the full list sits in tenant rights in the UAE.

What to do with a defective notice

Don't ignore it and don't move out. Reply in writing identifying the defect (short notice, wrong channel, over-cap figure per the rent increase calculator), keep copies, and continue paying rent exactly on time; your own compliance is your strongest card. If the landlord escalates or refuses your renewal on old terms, file at the RDC, where notice defects are among the most commonly upheld tenant arguments. And make sure your Ejari is registered; without it, the RDC route is effectively closed.

Sources and References

• Law No. 26 of 2007 as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008, Articles 14, 25 and 28 (DLD official tenancy guide, dubailand.gov.ae)

• Decree No. 43 of 2013 (rent increase caps)

• Rental Disputes Centre, case guidance (rdc.gov.ae)

This article is for general information and does not constitute legal advice.

---

Published on 9 September 2026.