If you manage property in Dubai, Ejari is not paperwork you do once and forget. It is the government registration that sits around every tenancy, and it has to be kept current across every unit, closed properly when a tenant leaves, and renewed each time a lease rolls over. Get it wrong and the consequences are procedural rather than dramatic: your tenant cannot connect DEWA, your filing at the Rental Dispute Centre is incomplete, and the incoming tenant cannot register at all.

Quick answer: Ejari is Dubai's mandatory tenancy registration system, run by RERA under the Dubai Land Department. Registration is required under Article 4 of Law No. 26 of 2007 as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008. It costs AED 177.75 online or AED 220 at a trustee centre as at July 2026, and runs through the Dubai REST app, the DLD portal, a Real Estate Services Trustee Centre, or a licensed property management company. It does not renew itself, and DLD will not register a new tenancy while the outgoing one remains open.

Key takeaways

Registration is mandatory. The amended Article 4 requires all tenancy contracts subject to the law to be registered with RERA.
We could find no fine for non-registration in the 2007 or 2008 laws, or in RERA's published 2009 fines schedule. The widely quoted AED 50,000 figure traces to 2010 press reporting.
An outgoing tenancy must be ended before the incoming tenant can register. Leaving the previous record open is a common cause of failed new registrations.
An active Ejari cannot be modified. Changes require cancellation and re-registration.
Ejari does not renew itself, though an expired record does not necessarily end the underlying tenancy.

What is Ejari?

Ejari, Arabic for "my rent", is RERA's online programme for registering residential, commercial and other tenancy contracts that fall within Dubai's Ejari regime, established under Law No. 26 of 2007 as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008. Registering produces a certificate with a unique contract number, used across DEWA, government and Rental Dispute Centre processes. Registration became mandatory from 14 March 2010.

Is Ejari registration mandatory?

Yes. Article 4, as amended in 2008, provides that all tenancy contracts and amendments subject to the law will be registered with RERA. DLD's tenancy guide states plainly that registration through Ejari is mandatory.

One point worth getting right, because a great deal of published guidance gets it wrong. The original 2007 Article 4 also stated that judicial authorities and government departments could not consider any dispute relating to an unregistered contract. That article was superseded by Law No. 33 of 2008, and the replacement text does not carry that sentence forward. The frequently repeated claim that an unregistered lease is legally unenforceable therefore overstates the current position.

What remains true operationally is that the Rental Dispute Centre requires a copy of the latest Ejari-registered lease as part of the documentation for a standard rental claim. A landlord without one cannot complete the normal filing process, which in practice amounts to much the same obstacle.

What happens if you do not register?

You will find claims across the internet that non-registration carries a fine of up to AED 50,000.

We looked for it. That figure does not appear in Law No. 26 of 2007, in Law No. 33 of 2008, or among the violations listed in RERA's published fines schedule under Executive Council Resolution No. 25 of 2009. That schedule does contain several AED 50,000 penalties, for matters such as conducting brokerage without the required licence, but failure to register a tenancy is not among them. The figure appears to originate in an October 2010 news report quoting a private property management executive rather than a regulator.

We are stating what we checked rather than claiming no penalty could exist anywhere in any circular. But if a source quotes AED 50,000 for non-registration, ask them where it comes from.

There is also a compounding consequence that matters more than a hypothetical fine. You cannot register the current year's contract if previous years were never registered. DLD is explicit that a lease cannot be registered where prior contracts are missing, and the backlog must be cleared first. So an unregistered year does not simply pass; it blocks the next one.

The genuine consequences are procedural:

Rental Dispute Centre filings. The RDC requires the latest Ejari as part of claim documentation.
DEWA. DLD confirms all customers require Ejari for DEWA move-in. Ejari-exempt free-zone premises have a separate route.
Sponsorship processes. Certain Dubai family and dependent sponsorship applications require an attested tenancy contract or proof of ownership.
Mainland business licensing. A Dubai mainland business using leased premises needs its tenancy registered with Ejari as part of licensing.

How do you register?

Dubai REST app. DLD's official app and one of the main digital routes.

DLD website. The Ejari portal, via UAE Pass.

Real Estate Services Trustee Centres. In person with the original Unified Tenancy Contract and the applicant's Emirates ID. DLD gives processing time as around 25 minutes once you are seen.

Licensed property management companies. Firms with Ejari access register on behalf of properties they manage.

AQARI by Injaz. The DLD-approved Real Estate Registration Trustee offers Ejari registration, renewal and cancellation remotely, launched by DLD in partnership with Injaz.

A tenant can initiate registration, but the landlord's approval is required to complete it. Emirates ID is mandatory to register a tenant, though GCC nationals without one can be registered on passport details. Arabic terms and conditions are mandatory, as the contract is a government legal document.

What does it cost?

As at July 2026, DLD publishes:

Online: AED 177.75. That is AED 100 registration, AED 10 knowledge fee, AED 10 innovation fee, AED 55 service partner fee, plus VAT.
Trustee centre: AED 220.

Cancellation is free when done by the owner or real estate company, and AED 40 through a trustee office. Creating an Ejari user account is free. Fees change, and many third-party guides quote figures from AED 155 to AED 250, so check the DLD e-service page before quoting anything to a client.

Who is responsible, and who pays?

DLD describes registration as the responsibility of both landlord and tenant, though in most cases the tenant or the real estate agent completes the process.

Separately, Article 22 provides that unless the lease states otherwise, the tenant pays fees and taxes due to government entities for use of the property. Because Article 22 does not name the Ejari fee specifically, the sensible course is to state responsibility explicitly in the tenancy agreement rather than rely on inference.

Operational rules property managers should know

These come straight from DLD's guidance and catch out more managed portfolios than anything else.

An active Ejari cannot be modified. Not the rent, not the dates, nothing. If details change, the contract must be cancelled and a new one registered.

The management contract comes first. A tenancy contract cannot be created before the management contract is approved by the rental auditors, and the property itself must be registered and approved for rent before either.

Cancellations are rate-limited. A real estate management company may cancel a given residential or commercial contract a maximum of twice in any 365 days. Beyond that, DLD requires a letter from the owner or management company explaining why.

Individuals are capped at three residential contracts. Commercial leasing has no such limit.

Contract terms run from under a year to a maximum of ten.

Subleasing is possible but licensed. Management companies can create sublease contracts where leasing and subleasing appear on their licence.

How do renewals work?

Ejari does not renew itself. Each lease renewal requires the registration to be renewed, through the same channels.

Here is a distinction that matters. An expired Ejari record does not automatically end the underlying tenancy. Article 6 provides that where a lease term expires and the tenant remains in occupation without objection from the landlord, the contract renews for the same term or one year, whichever is shorter, on the previous terms. The administrative record and the legal relationship can drift apart.

That is precisely why expiry tracking matters. The tenancy may quietly continue while the registration supporting your DEWA, licensing and dispute filings has lapsed, and the missing year will then block the following one.

If terms are changing, note the notice requirement: unless the tenancy agreement provides otherwise, a party wishing to amend the rent or other terms must notify the other at least 90 days before expiry. If that notice is not given, the proposed change will generally not take effect for that renewal.

Why closing the outgoing record matters

DLD is unusually direct about this one: if the final invoice for the existing tenant is not cancelled, the new tenant's account will not be created and the new tenant will not be able to register in the Ejari system.

Its tenancy guide reinforces the point in the landlord undertakings: no more than one contract should be issued for a leased property, and no new contract should be registered before ending the previous one with settlement and final water and electricity invoice.

If you try to register and the system reports the property as already leased, the outgoing contract needs terminating first, via the app or a trustee office.

Worth knowing for 2026: DEWA and RERA now operate an integrated residential move-out process for qualifying properties with a single premise number, where starting the cancellation prompts DEWA to contact the tenant for final settlement and feed clearance back into the process.

Make closure part of the move-out checklist rather than an afterthought.

Rent increases and the Smart Rental Index

Increases are capped by Decree No. 43 of 2013, based on how far the current rent sits below the average for comparable units:

Up to 10% below the average: no increase
11% to 20% below: up to 5%
21% to 30% below: up to 10%
31% to 40% below: up to 15%
More than 40% below: up to 20%

One nuance worth knowing: DLD describes the rental index as indicative for a new lease, and binding only where the parties are in conflict over the increase at renewal.

On 2 January 2025 DLD launched the Smart Residential Rent Index, adding building classification and AI-supported analysis, based on criteria including construction quality, architectural design, energy efficiency, services provided and strategic location. The Decree 43 bands did not change and the underlying laws were not amended. DLD's current guidance states the index is updated annually.

DIFC, holiday homes and Abu Dhabi

DIFC has its own regime. Leases exceeding six months are registered with the DIFC Registrar of Real Property rather than through Ejari, and tenancy disputes fall within the DIFC Courts system.

There is a distinction here that catches people out. Decree No. 43 of 2013 expressly extends its rent-increase framework to the DIFC, while DLD's Smart Residential Rent Index expressly excludes the DIFC. Registration jurisdiction, the applicable rent-increase rules, and the index used to determine market rent are three separate questions.

Holiday homes cannot be registered on Ejari. DLD states that customers renting from holiday home companies cannot apply, as those properties sit under the hotels and holiday homes system authorised by the tourism authority.

Abu Dhabi uses Tawtheeq rather than Ejari, with tenancy services handled through the ADREC and DARI ecosystem. The lessor initiates registration and the tenant then reviews and accepts. It is not interchangeable with Ejari.

What software can and cannot do

DLD and RERA remain the issuing authority throughout. Within that:

A platform without an approved Ejari integration can generate the tenancy documentation, store the resulting certificate, and track the lifecycle so nothing lapses. The filing is done by a person through Dubai REST, the portal or a trustee centre.

DLD does publish an official Ejari API, through which qualifying providers can initiate issuance, renewal, termination, cancellation and lookups directly with DLD from inside their own software. Access requires specific licence activities and association with a registered real estate management company, and carries an annual fee. So a qualifying platform can surface Ejari actions in its own interface, with DLD still registering underneath.

Preparing and tracking is available to any decent system. Filing directly requires approved integration.

How PropSpace helps

PropSpace handles the part that belongs in your system, in Property Management:

Ejari-ready documentation. Generate the Unified Tenancy Contract and supporting documents from the lease record, so what you take to registration matches the details you already hold.
Records against the unit. Keep tenancy documentation with the property rather than scattered across drives.
Renewal and expiry tracking. Lease dates tracked with reminders, so renewals are actioned before they lapse.
Portfolio reporting. Lease status and upcoming expiries across managed units.

PropSpace does not currently file registrations directly with DLD; it prepares the documentation and keeps the record straight.

For the wider picture, see our guide to UAE real estate compliance in 2026 and our Trakheesi and Madhmoun guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ejari? Ejari is RERA's online programme for registering tenancy contracts in Dubai, under the Dubai Land Department. Registration produces a certificate with a unique contract number, used across DEWA, government and Rental Dispute Centre processes.

Is Ejari mandatory in Dubai? Yes. Article 4 of Law No. 26 of 2007 as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008 requires all tenancy contracts subject to the law to be registered with RERA.

What is the fine for not registering an Ejari? We could find no fine for non-registration in Law No. 26 of 2007, Law No. 33 of 2008, or the RERA fines schedule under Executive Council Resolution No. 25 of 2009. The widely repeated AED 50,000 figure traces to 2010 press reporting quoting a private executive. The real consequences are procedural, including that an unregistered year blocks registration of the following year.

How much does Ejari cost? As at July 2026, AED 177.75 online and AED 220 at a trustee centre. Cancellation is free when done by the owner or real estate company, AED 40 at a trustee office.

Can I change the details on an active Ejari? No. An active Ejari cannot be modified. The contract must be cancelled and a new one registered.

Does Ejari renew automatically? No. It must be renewed each time the lease renews. An expired record does not necessarily end the tenancy itself, which under Article 6 can continue where the tenant remains in occupation without objection.

Why can I not register a new Ejari for my property? One common reason is that the previous tenancy record is still open. DLD confirms that if the outgoing tenant's record is not cancelled, the new tenant cannot register. Another is unregistered prior years, which must be cleared first.

Can property management software register Ejari for me? DLD remains the issuing authority. Software can generate documentation, store the record and track renewals. DLD also offers an official Ejari API through which qualifying providers can initiate registration directly, subject to licensing requirements and an annual fee.

If you manage a portfolio and want tenancy documentation and renewal dates in one place, get in touch for a walkthrough, or start a free 7-day trial.

This guide is general information, not legal advice, and reflects the position as at July 2026. Fees, systems and regulations change. Confirm current requirements with the Dubai Land Department before acting.

Ejari explained: registering tenancy contracts in Dubai