Rental Disputes in Dubai

The Rental Disputes Center (RDC) is the body that settles rental disputes in Dubai. It was created by Decree No. 26 of 2013 and sits under the Dubai Land Department (DLD), giving landlords and tenants a single venue — part conciliation service, part court — for disagreements over a tenancy.

It handles the usual disputes: unpaid rent, a contested rent increase, a security deposit that is not returned, eviction, and breaches of the tenancy contract. Some tenancies — for example in certain free zones — fall outside its remit, so check that your contract is within the RDC's scope before you rely on it.

Two things come first. The tenancy must be registered on Ejari — the RDC will not accept a case on an unregistered contract — and you are expected to have tried to resolve the matter directly, so keep the notices, emails and messages you have exchanged.

Serving the other party proper written notice before you file is good practice, and for some claims, such as eviction, it is a legal requirement with its own timing and method — often a notarised notice or registered post.

The exact list depends on the claim, but most filings need:

• The Ejari-registered tenancy contract. Registration is the prerequisite — without it the case is not accepted.
• Identification. Your Emirates ID, plus a passport with a UAE residence visa for expatriates; a company files with its trade licence and the manager's ID.
• Evidence for the claim. An IBAN bank letter for a monetary claim, a notarised or registered-post notice for an eviction claim, and the correspondence showing you tried to resolve it.

An RDC case moves through a few stages:

• File and pay. Submit the case through the official RDC channel and pay the filing fee; a case number is issued on payment and a hearing date is set.
• Conciliation first. Many cases go through an amicable-settlement (conciliation) stage before a judge hears them. If it settles there, half the filing fee is typically refunded.
• First Instance judgment. If conciliation fails, the case goes to the First Instance court within the RDC, which hears both sides and issues a judgment.
• Appeal. A party can usually appeal a First Instance judgment, generally within about 15 days of being notified — though smaller claims may be final at first instance.

The main cost is the filing fee, widely reported as 3.5% of the annual rent, with a minimum of AED 500 and a maximum of AED 20,000 for a rent-based case (a purely monetary claim is calculated on the amount claimed and capped lower). Small administrative charges are added on top, and filing through a Real Estate Services Trustee centre adds a service fee.

We give these as the figures commonly published rather than asserting them, because the schedule is set by the RDC and changes — confirm the current fees on the RDC's portal before you file. If the case settles at conciliation, half the filing fee is typically refunded.

File through the official channels only: the RDC portal (rdc.gov.ae), the Dubai Land Department (dubailand.gov.ae) and the Dubai REST app, or in person at the RDC and at Real Estate Services Trustee centres. Several third-party sites advertise "RDC Dubai" filing for a fee — use the official portal and the DLD's own services instead.

The RDC publishes the current requirements, fees and steps; treat its pages as the authority over any third-party summary, including this one.