Law No. 26 of 2007 is Dubai's core tenancy law, and its official page on the legislation portal carries the original 2007 text. Meanwhile Law No. 33 of 2008 SUPERSEDED eleven of its articles: definitions, scope, the contract's required contents and its registration, how rent is determined, renewal, the 90-day notice, handover, eviction before and at the end of the term, the ban on re-letting, and the right to return. Read from the official text.
Verified against official sources on 2026-09-15: the texts of Law No. 26 of 2007 and of Law No. 33 of 2008, which replaced part of its articles, come from the Dubai Legislation Portal (dlp.dubai.gov.ae). Source links sit next to each rule and again at the end. The portal notes that the English version is a translation and that the Arabic text prevails in case of conflict. This is not legal advice: a specific contract is judged on its own facts.
This is the kind of mistake that is easy to make and hard to notice: you open the official page of Law No. 26 of 2007, read an article, and quote a text that was replaced eighteen years ago. The law's page on the portal carries the original 2007 version; the law that replaced part of its articles sits in a separate document.
What exactly was replaced
The document is Law No. (33) of 2008 Amending Law No. (26) of 2007 Regulating the Relationship between Landlords and Tenants in the Emirate of Dubai, issued on 1 December 2008. Its Article 1 leaves no room for interpretation:
«Articles (2), (3), (4), (9), (13), (14), (15), (25), (26), (29), and (36) of the Original Law are hereby superseded by the following:» — Law No. (33) of 2008, Article 1
Eleven articles. The rest of Law No. 26 — including maintenance, the deposit and its return — was not touched by this law and is read from the original text; our reading of both sides' obligations is built on those.
The contract: what must be in it and where it is registered
Article 4 as in force sets the mandatory minimum contents and the registration duty:
- a description of the leased property that leaves no room for uncertainty;
- the purpose of the lease;
- the term of the contract;
- the rent and its method of payment;
- the name of the property owner if the landlord is not the owner.
And separately: all lease contracts governed by the law, and any amendments to them, are to be registered with RERA. What that registration looks like in practice: Ejari.
The fifth item is worth rereading if you are renting through a representative: the law requires the owner to be named in the contract, not only the person signing it.
Rent: what determines it when it is not stated
Article 9 as in force covers two situations. If the parties failed to specify the rent and the agreed amount cannot be proven, the rent is the rental value of similar property. That value is determined by the Tribunal, and the article lists what it takes into account:
- the criteria for the percentage of rent increase prescribed by RERA;
- the prevailing economic situation in the emirate;
- the condition of the property;
- the prevailing rental value of similar property in similar markets within the same area;
- the provisions of any legislation in force in the emirate regulating rent;
- any other factors the Tribunal deems appropriate.
What matters here is what the article does not contain: not a single percentage. The increase percentages are set by a separate instrument — Decree No. 43 of 2013 — and we do not import them here.
Renewal and the hidden 90-day clock
Article 13 as in force: for the purposes of renewing a contract, landlord and tenant may, before it expires, amend any of its terms or reconsider increasing or reducing the rent. If they fail to agree, the Tribunal may determine the fair rent using the criteria of Article 9.
And then comes the rule that loses most rent arguments before they start:
«Unless otherwise agreed by the parties to a Lease Contract, where either party wishes to amend any of its terms pursuant to Article (13) of this Law, that party must notify the other party of this intent no less than ninety (90) days before the date on which the Lease Contract expires.» — Law No. (33) of 2008, Article 14
Three things here do not read at first glance. First, the period runs backwards from the contract's expiry date, not forwards from the letter. Second, the rule is symmetrical: ninety days are needed by a landlord raising the rent and by a tenant who wants it lowered or terms changed. Third, "unless otherwise agreed" opens the sentence — so your contract may name a different period, and then that one applies. Check the contract, not the general rule.
Handover
Article 15 as in force has two parts, and the second is rarely quoted. First: the landlord is bound to hand over the property in a good condition allowing the tenant to fully use it as stated in the contract. Second: the parties may agree to lease a property before its construction is complete, in which case the tenant must complete it and make it suitable for its intended use, and the agreement determines who bears the completion costs.
Eviction: nine grounds before the term, four after it
Article 25 as in force splits the grounds into two groups, and the difference is fundamental.
Before expiry (paragraph 1) — nine grounds, among them: failure to pay rent within 30 days of a notice demanding payment; subletting without the landlord's written approval (both tenant and subtenant are evicted, the subtenant retaining a claim against the tenant); using the property for an illegal purpose or one conflicting with public order or morals; leaving business premises unoccupied without valid reason for 30 consecutive or 90 non-consecutive days in a year; changes endangering the property's safety so that it cannot be restored; using it for a purpose other than the leased one or in breach of planning rules; likelihood of collapse proven by a technical report issued or certified by Dubai Municipality; failure to comply with another obligation within 30 days of notice; and a decision of the competent government entities mandating demolition and reconstruction for urban development. Notice is served through a Notary Public or by registered mail.
At expiry (paragraph 2) — only four grounds: the owner wishes to demolish and reconstruct or add structures preventing use (with the required permits); the property requires restoration or comprehensive maintenance impossible while occupied (verified by a Dubai Municipality technical report); the owner wishes to take the property for his own use or that of a first-degree relative, proving he owns no suitable alternative; or the owner wishes to sell it. And the overarching period:
«the Landlord must notify the Tenant of the eviction reasons at least twelve (12) months before the date of eviction» — Law No. (33) of 2008, Article 25(2)
The practical walk-through of the grounds and the notice form is separate.
Two rules that protect a tenant after eviction
Article 26 as in force: where eviction was granted on the ground that the owner will occupy the property himself or house a first-degree relative, the owner may not let that property to a third party before two years for residential and three years for non-residential property from retaking possession. Otherwise the tenant may ask the Tribunal for fair compensation.
Article 29 as in force: where the property was demolished and rebuilt, or renovated and restored, the former tenant has a right of first refusal to return, with the rent determined by the criteria of Article 9. The right must be exercised within 30 days of being notified by the landlord.
⚠️ The word "Tribunal" in the text in force points to a body that no longer exists
Law No. 33 of 2008 names the dispute body the "Special Tribunal to Determine Disputes between Landlords and Tenants". That tribunal was formed by Decree No. 2 of 1993, and Decree No. 26 of 2013 superseded that decree, handing the cases to the Rent Disputes Settlement Centre. We are not offering this as interpretation: the supersession is stated in the 2013 decree itself, which we have read separately.
When reading the tenancy law in force, "Tribunal" should be understood as a reference to the body whose functions the Centre performs today. The filing procedure itself is in our practical guide.
What we do NOT claim here
- Rent increase percentages. They are set by a separate instrument and are absent from this law; we will not import them.
- The full text of Articles 2, 3 and 36. They were replaced too, but they concern definitions, scope and the power to issue subordinate instruments; we state the fact of replacement rather than paraphrase them in full.
- What happened to the law after 2008. We cross-checked two documents — the original law and the 2008 law that replaced part of its articles. If later amendments exist, they are not reflected in these two texts and we do not guess at them.
- Practice of application. How the Tribunal weighs a "valid reason" for a vacancy, or the sufficiency of proof that the owner has no alternative property, is not written in the law.
- Any sums. There are none here: this is about deadlines, grounds and the contract's mandatory contents.
Sources
- Law No. (33) of 2008 Amending Law No. (26) of 2007 Regulating the Relationship between Landlords and Tenants in the Emirate of Dubai — Dubai Legislation Portal: Article 1 (the list of eleven superseded articles), and as in force Articles 4 (contract contents and registration with RERA), 9 (criteria for determining rent), 13 (renewal and reconsideration of rent), 14 (notice no less than 90 days), 15 (handover; leasing before construction is complete), 25 (nine grounds before expiry, four at expiry, 12 months' notice), 26 (two years residential, three years non-residential re-letting ban), 29 (right of first refusal and the 30 days to exercise it). Issued on 1 December 2008.
- Law No. (26) of 2007 Regulating the Relationship between Landlords and Tenants in the Emirate of Dubai — Dubai Legislation Portal: the original law, issued 26 November 2007; the page carries the 2007 version, so the eleven listed articles cannot be read from it.
- Decree No. (26) of 2013 Concerning the Rent Disputes Settlement Centre in the Emirate of Dubai — Dubai Legislation Portal: Article 29 (the decree supersedes Decree No. 2 of 1993 forming the Special Tribunal). Issued on 18 September 2013.
