The Government of Dubai created Dubai Land Department’s Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) to monitor and regulate the sector. Before you sign your rental contract in Dubai, it is important to familiarise yourself with the RERA tenancy contract rules that regulate the rights and obligations of the relationship between tenants and landlords in Dubai.

RERA’s tenancy law terms in Dubai

Among the rules that should be kept in mind is that it is obligatory for the tenant or landlord to register the tenancy contract through Ejari system, which ensures that the unit is not leased twice at the same time.

Another law is that if the tenancy contract expires and the tenant continues to live in the property without objection from the landlord, the term of tenancy will be extended automatically for the same period or one year, whichever is less, based on the same terms and conditions.

In case the landlord transferred the property’s ownership to a new owner, this would not impact the tenant’s right to occupy the property.

According to the Dubai tenancy law, if either the landlord or tenant wishes to amend the terms of the contract, they must notify the other party at least 90 days before the contract’s expiry date.

Terminating a tenancy contract

Have you ever wondered how either parties can terminate a tenancy contract? Here are the steps for you:

• The RERA tenancy law in Dubai states that valid rental agreements cannot be individually terminated during their term by either the tenant or landlord; both parties must be in agreement.
• Even if the tenant or landlord dies, the tenancy agreement does not. In such cases, the tenancy relationship is transferred to the party’s heirs, and unless they decide to terminate it, the contract stays valid.
• If a tenant wants to break the rental contract in Dubai, they need to adhere to the exit or early termination clause in their contract. If such a clause does not exist, the landlord could demand compensation for ending the tenancy contract early. In most cases, contracts state that tenants need to give landlords a period of 90 days as notice before terminating a contract.

Eviction from a property

There are several reasons that could lead to tenant eviction from a property, such as when a tenant fails to pay the rent within 30 days of being served a written notification or when the tenant subleases the property without the landlord’s written approval or uses the property for immoral or illegal activities or causes damage or makes any alterations to the property.

Activating and deactivating your water and electricity service

When you move in to a new apartment, setting up your Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) account is a lot simpler than you may think. While there are a few documents needed and security deposits to pay, once you’ve gathered the information, you can get your DEWA service up and running in less than a day all online; it doesn’t get any easier.

The documents needed are an Ejari contract, Emirates ID and a Passport. A security deposit of AED 2,000 for a flat, and AED 4,000 for a villa needs to be paid.

Cancelling your DEWA service is as easy as activating it! All you need is an Emirates ID, an authorisation letter in case a final bill is requested by a representative, a move-out date, and, if required, a consumption bill payment.

A move-out request needs to be submitted via DEWA’s website or app. You can track the status through the reference number that you will receive by email or SMS.

Setting up your internet connection

A home is not complete without a Wi-Fi connection; therefore, you will need to know the below to make sure you are connected to the world.

To setup internet in Dubai, you need to know that the sole providers of internet in Dubai are Etisalat and Du. The procedure is simple; you just have to submit all required documents at the service centre, pay the required installation fees for a contract of a minimum of 12 months, and book a technician to install the connection for you at a future date, which is usually within seven days. As for billing start date, it will start from first log-in or 21 days from setting up the connection.