Can my landlord raise the rent mid-contract?

The law provides for amending terms before the contract expires, with 90 days notice, so the increase takes effect at renewal rather than during the term. What a contract itself permits is a separate matter, so read the tenancy agreement, because Article 14 allows the parties to agree otherwise on notice.

What if the increase is above the cap?

The band in Decree 43 is a maximum, so an increase above it is not enforceable by agreement alone. Disputes go to the Rental Disputes Centre, and the index output for your unit is the evidence the decision turns on.

Answers · Returns, renting and running costs

How much can a landlord raise the rent in Dubai?

Nothing, if the rent is within 10% of the average rental value for similar units. Beyond that the cap is 5%, 10%, 15% or 20% of the current rent, depending on how far below the average it sits. The average comes from the Land Department’s rent index, and 90 days written notice is required.

Updated October 2026 · By Ahmed Kandil

The bands, as the law states them

The caps come from Decree No. (43) of 2013, issued on 18 December 2013 and in force from that day. Article 1 sets five bands. The percentage applies to the unit’s current rent, not to the market average, and that is where most of the arithmetic online goes wrong.

How far the current rent sits below the average rental value of similar units	Maximum increase on renewal
Up to 10% below	No increase
11% to 20% below	5% of the current rent
21% to 30% below	10% of the current rent
31% to 40% below	15% of the current rent
More than 40% below	20% of the current rent

Article 2 applies this to landlords across Dubai, private and public, including Special Development Zones and free zones such as the DIFC. Article 3 says the average rental value is determined by the Rent Index of the Emirate of Dubai approved by the Real Estate Regulatory Agency, which means the index is not advisory. It is the legal input.

How to work out the ceiling on your own unit

Open the Land Department’s Rental Index service, on the Land Department website, the Dubai REST app or DubaiNow. It is free and the service time is listed as immediate.
Enter the tenancy contract expiry date, property type, area, number of rooms and the current annual rent.
Read off the average rental value the index returns for similar units.
Work out the gap as a percentage of that average, not of your rent.
Take the band from the table above and apply the percentage to the current rent.

Three worked examples, against an index average of AED 110,000 for similar units:

Current rent	Gap below the average	Band	Maximum increase	New rent
AED 90,000	18.2%	11% to 20%	5%, so AED 4,500	AED 94,500
AED 70,000	36.4%	31% to 40%	15%, so AED 10,500	AED 80,500
AED 60,000	45.5%	more than 40%	20%, so AED 12,000	AED 72,000

Now look at the third line for a minute, because it is the part people get wrong in both directions. A rent 45% below the index cannot be moved to the index. The cap takes it to AED 72,000, which is still about 35% below the average, so closing that gap takes several renewals rather than one. A landlord who has let a tenancy run cheap for years does not get to catch up in a single year, and a tenant who is 45% under should expect 20% a year for a while rather than one correction.

The 90 days is the part that decides most disputes

Under Law No. (26) of 2007 as amended by Law No. (33) of 2008, the landlord and tenant may amend the terms of the lease before it expires, rent included, and Article 14 requires the party wanting the change to notify the other no less than 90 days before the contract expires, unless the parties have agreed otherwise. Article 2 of the same law defines valid notification as written notice through a Notary Public, by registered mail, by hand, or by another technological means approved by law.

Which means a WhatsApp message six weeks out is not the mechanism the law describes, and the renewal runs on the existing rent. I have seen this decide more renewals than the index has.

Eviction on expiry is a separate question with a much longer clock. Article 25(2) allows the landlord to seek eviction after the contract expires only in four cases, which include demolition and reconstruction, urgent restoration, use by the owner or a first-degree relative, and sale of the property, and the notice must be given at least 12 months before the eviction date through a Notary Public or by registered mail. A rent dispute is not one of the four.

What the Smart Rental Index changed

The Land Department now runs the index as the Smart Residential Rent Index, which classifies buildings rather than treating an area as one pool. The published classification criteria are construction quality, architectural design, energy efficiency, services provided and strategic location, and an owner can request a reclassification through the Land Department. The index currently covers residential buildings, with commercial and industrial still in development, and luxury and branded projects run on a separate evaluation mechanism.

So two towers on the same street can now return different averages for the same unit size, which changes the band, which changes the cap. If you own the better-classified building, that works in your favour on renewal. If you are relying on an area-level figure from a blog, it is the wrong number.

My take

If you are buying for yield, treat this as a ceiling on how fast you can repair an under-rented unit, and price the unit on the rent it has rather than the rent you think it should have. A tenancy sitting 40% under the index is not a quick 40% of upside. It is 20% this year, something less next year, and a sitting tenant with a right to renew in between.

Of course there is a downside to everything, and the one here is that the regime is symmetrical. Nothing in Decree 43 caps a reduction, so a landlord re-letting into a softer market can be asked by the index to come down, and a vacant unit gets re-let at whatever the market pays rather than at the indexed figure.

Now if you ask me, the single most useful habit for an owner is to run the index on your own unit every year, whether or not you intend to raise the rent, because the band you are in is the number that tells you what the asset is actually earning against the market. And then serve notice properly and on time, because the cap is worth nothing if the notice is late.

Questions I get asked next

Can my landlord raise the rent mid-contract?: The law provides for amending terms before the contract expires, with 90 days notice, so the increase takes effect at renewal rather than during the term. What a contract itself permits is a separate matter, so read the tenancy agreement, because Article 14 allows the parties to agree otherwise on notice.
What if the increase is above the cap?: The band in Decree 43 is a maximum, so an increase above it is not enforceable by agreement alone. Disputes go to the Rental Disputes Centre, and the index output for your unit is the evidence the decision turns on.
Does the cap apply in free zones and the DIFC?: Yes. Article 2 of Decree 43 applies it to landlords across the Emirate, private and public, including Special Development Zones and free zones such as the Dubai International Financial Centre.

Dubai property answers · What rental yield can I expect in Dubai? · Which Dubai areas have the highest rental yields? · What are service charges in Dubai? · Can I rent my Dubai apartment on Airbnb?

Sources

If you want me to run the index on a unit you own or are looking at, text me on WhatsApp.

Text me on WhatsApp