'No rent hike in Dubai if 90-day notice not given'

Your landlord cannot increase the rent by giving you a one-month notice; it has to be a three-month notice, sent either by email, or an informal letter, a top property legal expert told Emirates 24|7.

“A landlord who wants to increase rent must give a three-month notice to their tenant.

“The notice does not have to be sent through the notary public, however.  It can be sent either by email or informal letter,” Ludmila Yamalova, Managing Partner, HPL Yamalova and Plewka JLT, told Emirates 24|7.

“It is important to have written evidence of the notice and to ensure that the rent increase is within the allowable increase percentage,” she adds.

Real Estate Regulatory Agency's (Rera) rent index calculator shows you the maximum increase allowed to the landlord. 

In case of a dispute, tenants must file a complaint with Rental Dispute Settlement Centre.

This website has already reported that tenancy contracts issued with non-renewable clause are being deemed invalid, by the settlement centre.

Read: (No eviction even if you signed non-renewable rent contract in Dubai)

A number of tenants have complained that landlords wait till the last month of the rent contract and then inform them of the increase.

“We have been told with a one-month notice to vacate the apartment or pay rent that is much higher than indicated by the Rera’s rental index,” says S Ibrahim, who is renting a studio apartment in Jumeirah Lakes Towers.

Rent decree

In order to control the arbitrary rent increases, Dubai government released a new rent decree in December 2013.

The Decree, No 43 of 2013 now sets a specific band for maximum rent increases that a landlord can demand at the time of renewing leases.

The decree is applicable to private and public sector owned properties in Dubai, as well as within the free zones.

-       No rent increase if the rent of the property unit is less than 10 per cent of the average rent of a similar property in the same residential area.

-       If the rent value is between 11 per cent and 20 per cent less than the average rent of a similar property, the maximum rent increase shall be equal to 5 per cent of the rent value.

-       If the rental value of a unit is between 21 and 30 per cent less than the average rent of a similar unit, the maximum rent increase shall be equal to 10 per cent of the rental value

-       If the rental value of a property is between 31 and 40 per cent less than the average rental of a similar property, the maximum rent increase shall be equal to 15 per cent of the rental value

-       If the rental value of a property unit is less than 40 per cent or more of the average rent of a similar unit, the maximum rent increase applicable is of 20 per cent

-       The average similar rental value of the property will be determined by the Rera’s rent index, the decree states

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