RERA Rental Index: How Dubai Sets Your Legal Rent Hike

If you're a Dubai tenant or landlord arguing about a rent increase, the RERA rental index is the only number that matters. It's the official calculator that decides whether your landlord can legally raise your rent — and by how much. Get this wrong and you'll either overpay or end up at the Rental Disputes Centre.

Quick answer

The RERA rental index is a tool published by the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (part of Dubai Land Department) that benchmarks average rents by area, building, and unit type. Under Decree No. 43 of 2013, your landlord can only increase rent if your current rent sits below the market average shown in the index — and the allowed hike scales from 0% to 20% depending on how far below market you are. The calculator is on the Dubai REST app and the DLD website. Both landlord and tenant rely on the same number.

What the RERA rental index actually does

RERA stands for the Real Estate Regulatory Agency, the regulator sitting under the Dubai Land Department (DLD). The rera rental index is its database of average rental values across Dubai, updated periodically using ejari-registered tenancy contracts. Ejari, by the way, is the mandatory tenancy registration system in Dubai — without it, your contract barely exists in the eyes of the courts.

The index serves two jobs. It tells you the average rent for similar units in your area. And it caps how much your landlord can raise your rent at renewal.

That cap is the part most people care about.

Honestly, in my experience most disputes I see at the Rental Disputes Centre (RDC) come down to a landlord ignoring this calculator and chancing a 15% hike on a tenant who's already paying market rate. It never ends well for the landlord.

The Decree 43 of 2013 increase formula

This is the law that runs the whole thing: Decree No. 43 of 2013 Concerning the Determination of Increase in Real Estate Rent in the Emirate of Dubai. Article 1 sets out the brackets you need to memorise.

If your current rent is up to 10% below the average market rent shown in the rera rental index, your landlord cannot increase the rent. Zero. If you're 11% to 20% below market, the maximum increase is 5%. Between 21% and 30% below, it's 10%. From 31% to 40% below, 15%. More than 40% below market, the cap is 20%.

That's the entire formula. There is no "but the building is nice" exception. There is no "but maintenance went up" carve-out.

Watch out: Even when the index allows an increase, your landlord must give you 90 days' written notice before your contract expires under Article 14 of Law No. 26 of 2007 (as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008). Miss the 90 days and the renewal happens on the same terms. No exceptions.

How to actually use the calculator

Open the Dubai REST app (free, published by DLD) or go to dubailand.gov.ae and find the Rental Increase Calculator. You'll need your ejari contract number, or you can run it manually by entering the area, property type, number of bedrooms, and current annual rent.

The calculator spits out two numbers: the average market rent for your unit type, and the maximum legal increase as a percentage and AED figure.

Save the screenshot. Date it. If you ever land in front of the RDC, that screenshot is your evidence.

A quick example. You're in a 2-bedroom apartment in JLT paying AED 95,000. The calculator shows the market average is AED 130,000. You're roughly 27% below market — bracket three. Maximum legal increase: 10%. Your landlord can push you to AED 104,500, not a fil more. If they demand AED 120,000, that demand is unenforceable.

When landlord and tenant disagree on the number

This happens more than you'd think. The index updates, the building has unusual specs, or one side simply doesn't like the answer.

Three things to know.

First, the rera rental index is the legally binding reference. Article 9 of Law No. 26 of 2007 and Decree 43 both point to it as the determinative source. Your landlord's WhatsApp survey of "what other units are renting for" is not evidence.

Second, if either party believes the index figure is wrong for the specific unit (genuinely unusual layout, premium view, or the comparable set is too thin), you can file a case at the Rental Disputes Centre and ask for a unit-specific valuation. The RDC sits in Deira, near the DLD headquarters on Baniyas Road. Filing fee is 3.5% of the annual rent, capped at AED 20,000, minimum AED 500.

Third, you cannot contract out of Decree 43. A clause in your tenancy contract saying "rent increases by 10% annually regardless of the index" is void. The RDC ignores it.

Costs to know (2024): RDC filing fee is 3.5% of annual rent (min AED 500, max AED 20,000). Ejari registration is AED 220 including knowledge and innovation fees. Dubai REST app is free.

The 90-day notice trap

This is where landlords lose cases they should have won. Even if the index allows a 20% increase, the increase only takes effect at the next renewal — and only if you served notice at least 90 days before the contract expires.

Notice has to be in writing. Article 14 doesn't strictly require notarised notice, but RDC judges expect either a notary public delivery or a registered courier with proof of receipt. Email alone is risky. WhatsApp is worse.

If your landlord serves notice 60 days out and tries to raise the rent, you simply renew at the old rent for another year. Frankly, this trap catches landlords every single quarter at the RDC.

Tenants — flip the rule on its head. If you want to leave or renegotiate at renewal, you also need to give 90 days' notice of any change to your terms. Silence on both sides means automatic renewal under the same terms.

What the index doesn't cover

A few things the rera rental index won't help you with.

It doesn't apply to commercial leases that fall outside the residential rent law framework in the same way — though Decree 43 does extend to commercial properties in Dubai, the bracket logic is the same. Free zones with their own rules (DIFC, for example) operate under their own leasing regimes.

The index doesn't apply to brand-new buildings with no rental history. The first lease in a new tower sets the baseline.

And it doesn't apply outside Dubai. Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and the Northern Emirates have separate (and in some cases, no) statutory rent caps. If you're in Abu Dhabi, the rent cap rules have shifted multiple times since 2016 — that's a different article.

For Dubai specifically though, the rera rental index is the single source of truth. Use it before you sign, before you renew, and definitely before you pay any rent increase your landlord demands.

If you're heading to a renewal negotiation, run the calculator first. Print the result. Walk in with the number. Most landlords back down the moment they see the screenshot — because they know exactly where this ends if they don't.

Sources

[1] Decree No. 43 of 2013 Concerning the Determination of Increase in Real Estate Rent in the Emirate of Dubai — Dubai Land Department. [2] Law No. 26 of 2007 Regulating the Relationship Between Landlords and Tenants in the Emirate of Dubai (as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008), Articles 9 and 14. [3] Dubai Land Department — Rental Increase Calculator and Rental Index, dubailand.gov.ae. [4] Rental Disputes Centre, Dubai — fee schedule and filing procedure. [5] Dubai REST app, published by Dubai Land Department.

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