Dubai Rental Disputes Centre: how landlords use it, with fees, documents and timelines (2026)

The Rental Disputes Centre (RDC) is the Dubai Land Department's specialist judicial body for disputes between landlords and tenants. If a tenant stops paying, refuses to leave or disputes a rent increase, the rental dispute centre in Dubai is where the case is heard, decided and enforced.

It was set up by Decree No. 26 of 2013, replacing the earlier rent committee, and began work in November 2013. It sits inside the Dubai Land Department alongside RERA, Ejari and the rental index, which is why the systems connect: the lease you register on Ejari is the document the centre asks for first.

This guide is written for landlords, including buyers who will let an off-plan home after handover. It explains what the centre decides, how to file, what it costs and how long it takes. It is not legal advice; for a large claim or a contested eviction, take advice from a lawyer licensed in Dubai.

Article 6 of Decree No. 26 of 2013 gives the centre exclusive jurisdiction over all rental disputes between landlords and tenants of property in Dubai, including free zones. It also hears counterclaims, urgent and summary applications, appeals, and the enforcement of its own judgments.

The centre's scope was extended in 2019 to disputes over jointly owned property under Law No. 6 of 2019, the law that governs service charges and building management. It has separate first instance, appeal and execution services for those cases.

What it does not hear. Article 6 lists three exclusions:

1. Disputes in free zones that have their own courts or tribunals.
2. Disputes arising from a lease finance contract.
3. Disputes arising from long-term leases under Law No. 7 of 2006, the registered leases of up to 99 years explained in our guide to leasehold vs freehold in Dubai.

The cases landlords bring most often:

Tenants use the same centre. The centre's own guidance notes, for example, that a landlord may not stop a tenant using building facilities such as the gym, pool or parking that come with the rent, and a tenant denied them can file a case.

Because the centre cannot hear a dispute on an unregistered lease. Article 4 of Law No. 26 of 2007, as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008, requires every lease covered by the law to be registered with RERA, and bars courts and other bodies from considering any dispute or claim on a lease that is not.

Ejari is that registration. The first document on every RDC claim list is "a copy of latest lease (Ejari)". If the lease was renewed but the renewal was not registered, register it before you file.

Our guide to Ejari in Dubai explains how to register, renew and cancel a lease. Registering correctly at the start is the cheapest protection a landlord has.

Many landlord claims turn on the notice. The tenancy law sets three periods: 30 days to pay or comply after a notice, 90 days before expiry to change the terms, and 12 months to evict at the end of the lease.

During the lease. Article 25(1) lets a landlord seek eviction before the lease ends only on listed grounds. The main ones are rent unpaid 30 days after notice, subletting without written consent, illegal use, damage that endangers safety, use for a different purpose, and any other breach not remedied 30 days after a notice to comply. Notice is served through a notary public or by registered mail.

At the end of the lease. Article 25(2) allows eviction at expiry only if the owner:

• wants to demolish and rebuild, or add structures, with the permits in place;
• needs to restore or carry out comprehensive maintenance that cannot be done with the tenant in, confirmed by a Dubai Municipality report;
• wants the home for personal use or for a first-degree relative, and has no other suitable property; or
• wishes to sell it.

For each of these, the landlord must give at least 12 months' notice of the reason, through a notary public or by registered mail. If the home is recovered for own use, Article 26 bars letting it to someone else for two years for a residential property, or the tenant can claim compensation.

Changing the terms at renewal. Article 14 requires 90 days' notice before expiry to change the rent or any other term, unless the lease says otherwise. How much the rent can rise is set by the rental index, explained in our guide to the Dubai rental index and rent increases.

A sale does not end the lease. Under Article 28, transferring ownership does not affect a tenant's right to stay for a fixed-term lease. A buyer takes the property with the tenant.

Online, through an account on the centre's website, or in person at a Real Estate Services Trustee centre. Either way the claim is checked, the fee is paid and the case is registered; the centre lists registration as one business day.

Online, step by step. The centre's guidance sets out the order:

1. Create an account on the RDC system and activate it from the email link.
2. Choose the service, for example the first instance rental lawsuit.
3. Enter the lease details, then the details of each party.
4. Enter your claims: the amount owed, eviction, renewal terms or whatever you are asking for.
5. Upload the documents in the sections the system shows.
6. Submit. Once the claim has been checked, pay the fee online by card or Noqodi.
7. Attend the conciliation session and any hearing by the link the centre sends, and receive the judgment through the website.

At a Trustee centre. Staff check your documents, enter the claim and take payment, including in cash. A service partner fee of AED 130 plus VAT is added.

Representation. You can file yourself or through a representative. A power of attorney is registered for AED 25, and a lawyer can be added to an existing case by electronic request.

Before you sign a new lease. The centre's Rental Good Conduct Certificate lets either party see the other's rental case history on the RDC system before a lease is drawn up. It is free and instant on the website and the Dubai REST app.

The centre lists the same core set for conciliation and first instance rental claims. Every document must be in Arabic or legally translated into Arabic and uploaded; the centre does not accept paper copies.

For other services the list changes:

• Bounced cheque. The lease, ID, IBAN letter, a copy of the cheque and the bank's return memo.
• Writ of payment. Written proof of a fixed debt now due, the debtor's address, proof of a payment notice and the cheque return memo. The notice must go by notary public or registered mail, and you can apply if the debtor has not paid five days after it.
• Appeal. The appeal plaint and supporting documents.

If you manage the home through an agent or property manager, upload the management contract and the power of attorney so the centre can see who acts for you.

The filing fee is 3.5% of the annual rent, with a minimum of AED 500 and a maximum of AED 20,000, for eviction, renewal, rent claims and termination. A money claim is 3.5% of the amount claimed, up to AED 15,000. Fixed fees of AED 120 apply to every case filed online.

The full list, as the centre states it:

• Filing, rent-based claims: 3.5% of the annual rent, or of the lease value if the lease is longer or shorter than a year. Not less than AED 500, not more than AED 20,000.
• Filing, money claims: 3.5% of the amount claimed. Not less than AED 500, not more than AED 15,000. The same applies to a writ of payment.
• Process service: AED 100.
• Knowledge and innovation fees: AED 10 each.
• Power of attorney registration: AED 25, if used.
• Trustee centre: AED 130 plus VAT, if you file there.
• Execution of an eviction: 1% of the annual rent, up to AED 5,000, plus AED 20 for each electronic request during execution.
• Offer and deposit: AED 50, plus the knowledge and innovation fees.
• Appeal: a refundable security of half the amount awarded, where the judgment includes a money claim, plus process service and the fixed fees.

A worked example. A villa is let at AED 120,000 a year and the tenant has stopped paying. A claim for the rent and eviction carries a filing fee of 3.5% of AED 120,000, which is AED 4,200. Add AED 100 for process service and AED 20 in knowledge and innovation fees, and the total filed online is AED 4,320. Filed at a Trustee centre, add AED 130 plus VAT.

The settlement refund. If the case is settled at conciliation, half the court fee paid for the basic claims is refunded. That is a real incentive to settle early.

Exemption. The centre has a service to request an exemption from, or postponement of, the lawsuit fees. Ask the centre about the criteria before you file.

Translation of documents into Arabic and lawyers' fees are extra and vary.

Decree No. 26 of 2013 gives conciliation 15 days from the parties' appearance to reach a settlement, and gives the First Instance Committee 30 days from referral to decide. Both can be extended, so treat them as targets rather than a guaranteed total.

Conciliation first. Every ordinary claim goes to the conciliation department before a committee sees it. A conciliator talks to both sides, by video or phone, in Arabic, English and other languages. A settlement signed by both parties and approved by the supervising judge has the force of a writ of execution, so it can be enforced like a judgment. Time limits for the claim are suspended while it is in conciliation.

How fast cases settle. In the first nine months of 2026 the centre reported 2,350 cases settled by agreement, in six days on average; our report on rental disputes settled in six days has the figures.

Hearings. If conciliation fails, the First Instance Committee hears the case, by remote session where the centre sets one. You can upload further documents before the hearing date, but not once the case is reserved for judgment. The judgment is emailed to the parties and is available on the website.

Only some. Under Article 17 of Decree No. 26 of 2013, judgments on rental claims worth less than AED 100,000 are final and cannot be appealed, except in listed cases. Eviction judgments are among the exceptions, as are judgments made without jurisdiction or against a party who was not properly represented or served.

Where an appeal is allowed:

• File within 15 days of the day after the judgment, or from notification if you did not attend.
• Deposit half the award. Where the judgment includes a money claim, the party ordered to pay must deposit half of it with the centre. It is refundable, and the chairman may waive or reduce it.
• The panel. Appeals are heard by two judges and one experienced real estate expert. Their decision is final.

Through the centre's own Judgment Execution Department. Once the judgment is final, you open an execution file online, and the centre enforces eviction, payment or renewal orders.

The steps are straightforward:

1. Open the execution file once the appeal period has passed: 15 days after a judgment given in your presence, or 15 days after the tenant was notified.
2. Upload the judgment with the execution stamp, your IBAN letter if it has changed and any deposit receipts.
3. Pay the execution fee. For an eviction, 1% of the annual rent, up to AED 5,000.
4. Submit electronic requests to the execution judge from seven days after the tenant is notified, at AED 20 each.

For a bounced rent cheque, the centre's cheque execution service lets you enforce the cheque directly, without first winning a lawsuit. The centre's system also lets a judge approve a payment schedule where a tenant asks to pay a judgment in instalments.

The same as landlords: file claims, defend, appeal and enforce. Knowing the tenant's options helps a landlord avoid a counterclaim.

• Offer and deposit. If a landlord refuses to accept rent or the keys, the tenant can deposit them with the centre through a summary order. It protects the tenant from a non-payment claim.
• Services and facilities. A tenant can claim if electricity, water, parking, the pool or the gym are withheld.
• The deposit. Article 20 requires the landlord to return the security deposit, or what remains of it, at the end of the lease. Disputes about the condition of the home go to the centre under Article 21.
• Rent increases. A tenant can ask the centre to set a fair rent if a proposed increase is above what the rental index allows.

The centre has also annulled a signed lease where a party hid a record of unpaid rent; see our report on the lease annulled for deception.

At renewal, the rental index decides how much the rent may rise, and the centre decides if landlord and tenant cannot agree. Under Article 13 of the tenancy law, the centre may extend the lease and set the rent.

The centre sets a fair rent using RERA's criteria, including the permitted increases for the home's gap to the average rent in the Dubai Land Department's index. The 90-day notice under Article 14 still applies. The bands, the calculator and worked examples are in our guide to the Dubai rental index and rent increases.

Plan for the tenancy before handover, not after a dispute. A clean file is the strongest position at the centre: a registered lease, notices served the right way and payments you can prove.

At handover. Take the keys, open the utilities and register the first lease on Ejari as soon as it is signed. The steps from keys to tenant are in our handover guide.

In the lease. Record the rent, the payment dates and how cheques are held, the deposit and what it covers, and who pays for maintenance. Put any extra terms in writing in the lease or its addendum, so the centre can see them.

If you live abroad. Give your property manager a power of attorney that covers filing and attending cases at the Rental Disputes Centre, and keep your own copies of every notice and receipt. Ask the manager to check the tenant's Rental Good Conduct Certificate before the lease is signed.

Holiday homes are different. Short stays under a Department of Economy and Tourism permit are not Ejari leases. See holiday homes and short-term rental in Dubai.

1. The lease is on Ejari, including the current renewal.
2. The right notice was served the right way: 30 days to pay or comply, 90 days to change terms, 12 months to evict at expiry, by notary or registered mail where the law requires it.
3. You have proof of delivery for every notice.
4. The claim is clear: the amount owed, with dates, and what you are asking the centre to order.
5. Documents are in Arabic or legally translated.
6. You have an IBAN letter in the claimant's name.
7. Your representative has a power of attorney, if someone is acting for you.
8. You have tried to settle. Half the filing fee comes back if the case settles at conciliation.

• Rental Disputes Centre (RDC). The Dubai Land Department's judicial body for rental and jointly owned property disputes, set up by Decree No. 26 of 2013.
• Conciliation. The first stage of every ordinary claim, where a conciliator seeks a settlement within 15 days.
• First Instance Committee. The panel that hears and decides a claim if conciliation fails.
• Writ of payment. A summary order to pay a fixed, acknowledged debt without a full hearing.
• Offer and deposit. A summary order that lets a tenant deposit rent or keys with the centre.
• Execution. Enforcement of a final judgment by the centre's own department.
• Ejari. The registration of a lease with RERA, required before the centre will hear a dispute.
• Real Estate Services Trustee centre. An accredited service centre that can file claims for you, for an added fee.

For the wider protections that apply while a home is still being built, see our guide to off-plan buyer protection in Dubai. For RERA's role across the market, see RERA in Dubai.