Before you agree to a Dubai rent renewal, check whether the increase is actually legal. The RERA Rental Index calculator, run by the Dubai Land Department, gives you the exact maximum your landlord can charge based on Decree No. 43 of 2013. You can also run the numbers on our own RERA rent calculator for a quick estimate before you go to the official DLD tool.
The real increase caps: five tiers, not one
The maximum increase depends entirely on how far below the market average your current rent sits. Most tenants aren’t anywhere near the 20% figure that gets quoted most often; that’s the ceiling for the most under-market cases, not the typical result.
| How far current rent is below the index average | Maximum permitted increase |
|---|---|
| Less than 10% below | 0% (no increase allowed) |
| 11% to 20% below | 5% |
| 21% to 30% below | 10% |
| 31% to 40% below | 15% |
| More than 40% below | 20% |
If your rent is already at or close to the market average, your landlord has no legal grounds to raise it at all, regardless of what the renewal notice says.
How to check your own number
Use our RERA rent calculator here for a quick check, or follow these steps for the official DLD tool:
- Open the Dubai REST app, or go to the Dubai Land Department’s Rental Index page directly.
- Select the Rental Index inquiry service.
- Enter your unit’s details (area, property type, size) and your current annual rent.
- The tool returns the market average for comparable units and the maximum increase your landlord can legally apply.
Your Ejari registration needs to be accurate and current for the result to apply to your tenancy; the mechanism relies on it. As of January 2025, the DLD moved to a Smart Rental Index, which updates more dynamically than the old once-a-year figure, so run the check close to your actual renewal date rather than relying on a number you looked up months earlier.
The 90-day notice rule
A landlord must give at least 90 days’ notice before a rent increase or a change to other lease terms takes effect, unless your contract specifies otherwise. A renewal notice that arrives with less warning than that is itself a problem, separate from whether the increase amount is within the legal cap.
If the numbers don’t match
If the calculator shows no increase is allowed, or a lower cap than what’s been proposed, put that in writing to your landlord or agent along with the calculator result, and ask for a revised offer. If you can’t reach agreement, the Rental Disputes Settlement Center handles cases that can’t be resolved directly.
Landlords benefit from running the same check before sending a renewal notice; a figure backed by the official index is far harder to dispute than one picked from a single high listing in the building. If you’re buying rather than renting, our UAE mortgage first-time buyer guide covers the real down payment and debt rules.
1 thought on “Dubai Rent Increase Calculator: How to use the RERA rental index in 2026”