Dubai: Is your rent contract up for renewal? If so, you may have already received a notification from your property management company or the Land Department notifying you to renew your contract. If you are not sure about what the process is, and how much it may cost you, here is all you need to know.
How to renew your rental contract in Dubai
Three months before your contract is due for renewal, your landlord will inform you if the rent is going to be increased for the next year. This is a requirement as per the rental law in Dubai - Dubai Law No. 26 of 2007 Regulating Relations between the landlord and tenant in the Emirate of Dubai. According to Abdul Shaveed K., administrator at HSG Properties, if the landlord fails to send the notification for a rent increase within 90 days, he or she is not allowed to increase the rent.
“If they miss providing this notification even by one day, they cannot increase the rent,” Abdul Shaveed said.
So, if your apartment or villa’s rent has not been increased, or if you have agreed to the increase in rent, you would then need to renew your contract. To do so, follow these steps:
- Contact your landlord or real estate agent to submit the post-dated cheques for the upcoming year. The number of cheques you can split the annual rent in, and whether or not you would need to pay any amount in cash, would depend on the company’s policies and your rental contract.
- Collect the receipt – “Always collect the receipt after you have submitted the cheques as you may not receive the renewed contract back from the agent on the same day,” Abdul Shaveed said.
Once the landlord also signs the contract, you will receive the new contract.
- Register the Ejari – The new contract would then need to be registered. This process is referred to as Ejari in Dubai. The cost for Ejari registration Dh155.
How to renew your rental contract in Abu Dhabi
In Abu Dhabi, you can renew your lease contract online through the Tamm website, which is the official website for Abu Dhabi government services. These are the steps you need to follow to renew the contract, as per Tamm:
- Visit the service link: https://www.tamm.abudhabi/en/aspects-of-life/HousingProperty/renting/leasecontracts/RequestforaLeaseContractRenewal
- Log in using your UAEPass.
- Select the contract and validate premise details.
- Provide contract details and upload documents, if applicable.
- Preview the contract as the landlord.
- Pay the applicable fees (approximately Dh100).
- Receive the final approval and download contract.
How to renew your rental contract in Sharjah
In Sharjah, you can apply for tenancy contract renewal either through your real estate agent or a typing centre. According to Muthumayaka Deegayu, real estate agent at Zahia Real Estate, who you approach for the renewal process will depend on your building management’s policy. Regardless of whether you apply for the renewal directly through the landlord, or through a real estate agent or a Public Relations Officer (PRO), these are the steps you need to follow, according to Deegayu:
- Sign the contract – the agent will first provide you with the renewed contract that you need to sign.
- Submit the post-dated cheques – you would then need to submit the cheques and any cash payment, as required by your contract. The agent will then ensure that the landlord, too, signs the contract.
- Visit Sharjah Municipality to renew contract – once you have received the signed contract from the agent, you would need to visit Sharjah Municipality and pay the renewal fees.
Cost of renewal
Renewal fees – four per cent of total yearly rent
Municipality charges – Dh177
Deegayu added that in some cases, you may also need to pay a fee to the property management agency for PRO services or maintenance charges.
Once you make the payment, the municipality will attest the renewed contract.
How to renew your rental contract in Ajman
In Ajman, if your tenancy contract has expired, you can directly contact your real estate agent to apply for the renewal process. According to Waqar Ahmed, real estate agent with Ajman Properties, most of the renewal process is managed by real estate agents.
- Visit your real estate agent: “The agent will take the renewal cheques or cash payment, depending on your contract. For example, if your rent is split into four cheques, your contract may state that the first installment needs to be paid in cash. Depending on the requirements in your contract, you would need to hand over the cash and cheques to the agent,” Ahmed said.
- Sign the contract: Both the tenant and the landlord have to then sign the contract, which will be processed by the Ajman Sewerage department and Ajman Municipality.
- Pay the sewerage account renewal fees: The agent will then contact the sewerage department to renew the sewerage account. The department will then issue a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the municipality to renew the contract.
- Wait for the link for payment of fees from Ajman Municipality: The NOC is then uploaded on the Ajman Municipality portal by the agent, who also updates the tenant ID and landlord ID, if needed, according to Ahmed.
Once the agent has completed this procedure, you as a tenant will receive an email with a link to pay the renewal fees.
- Download the renewed contract: Once the payment is made, you will have the contract renewed within seconds, which can then be downloaded.
The cost for renewing a contract is two per cent of the total annual rent.
