Dubai: 500,000 leasing contracts have been registered in Dubai with the mandatory Ejari system since its launch in 2010, a senior official said.
All Dubai tenants and landlords must have their tenancy or lease contracts registered under the standardised Ejari online system. It swiftly updates changes in contract details and fast-tracks complaints and disputes, among other services.
Mohammad Bin Hammad, senior director of real estate relations at the regulatory department of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority-Dubai Land Department, told Gulf News 500,000 contracts have been registered so far.
However, he did not reveal how many are yet to register with Ejari, which means “my rent” in Arabic.
The Ejari registration fees are Dh160 plus any printing charges; they should be paid by the tenant, Bin Hammad said.
The Ejari system provides a full portfolio of services beyond registering the initial lease agreement – renewals, cancellations, transfers and terminations can all be logged.
“Registering with the Ejari system is mandatory for real estate agencies, and they will be warned and fined if they didn’t register the leased contracts,” he added.
“As for tenants, if they don’t register they will not be able to complete their transactions or business at government departments associated with Ejari, as they request registered contracts.”
Such departments include, among others, the economic development department, the immigration department and the Rent Committee, the public notary, added Bin Hammad.
He explained: “If the lessor is a real estate leasing and management agency, then they are obliged to register properties leased by them. If the owner leased the property directly, then the tenant needs to register his lease contract.”
Ejari benefits both tenants and landlords in a number of ways, Bin Hammad added, such as safeguarding the rental contracts’ terms and conditions and establishing “clear payment terms to protect the interests of all parties when advance rental payments are made”.
That includes a “full audit ability of transactions in case of dispute”.
Bin Hammad said the Dubai Land Department, through its regulatory arm Rera, “looks into all complaints received, studies them well and directs them to the right department, section or committee.
“As an example, when they receive complaints between landlords and tenants, they directly transfer it to the Rent Committee at the Dubai Municipality.”
However, the parties should first have their contracts registered with Ejari. He said: “Once the registration process is complete, a rent receipt can be produced through the system. The main benefits ensured by Ejari are the uniformity of approach, which creates a standardisation of rental contracts, and its ease of use, saving time for the production of documents and receipts required for tenancy agreements.”
Bin Hammad also pointed out Ejari’s advantages for the government sector, as it provides access to official and updated information of all leased properties in Dubai and a means of creating legalised tenancy contracts accompanied by standard issue rent receipts.
Ejari, he said, makes provisions of Law No 26 of 2007 and the changes to Law No. 33 of 2008 effective in regulating the relationship between landlords and tenants in Dubai.
Ejari came into effect on March 14, 2010.
Box: New Ejari users
Visit www.dubailand.gov.ae, go to e-services, select Ejari system, then register under new user and type categories, and follow further instructions.
More info:
Log on to www.ejari.ae
Call 04 203 0541/542
Email info@eres.ae
Visit Dubai Land Department Deira office, 2nd floor
