DUBAI TENANT CHECK
Dubai lease renewal: separate landlord charges from Ejari fees
If a Dubai tenant receives a renewal invoice, the name and purpose of each charge matter. A landlord's extra renewal fee is different from the official cost of registering the renewed contract with Ejari.
What happened
On 2026-09-21, Gulf News revisited which charges can appear when a Dubai tenancy is renewed. This is an explainer, not a new rule. Dubai Land Department's published statement from 2020 says a landlord or a representative acting for the landlord, including a property management company or leasing office, may not claim a fee simply for renewing the lease or insert a special lease clause imposing one.
Who is affected and why it matters
The distinction matters to tenants reviewing a renewal demand and to owners or managers preparing it. A charge labelled “administration” or “processing” should not be assumed to be official merely because it appears alongside rent. DLD separately operates Ejari registration for renewed contracts; that service has its own published charges.
DLD currently lists AED 177.75 for registration through Dubai REST or its website and AED 220 through a Real Estate Services Trustee Centre. Those are channel-specific registration totals, not permission for a landlord to add a private lease-renewal fee.
What remains uncertain
A separate agent service that a party expressly requested may have its own agreed price. The public guidance does not decide every disputed invoice or allocate every separately agreed service charge between parties. It also does not mean that the official Ejari fee is waived. The applicable registration total and the actual services should be checked at the time of payment.
What to verify
Ask for an itemised invoice identifying the payee, service, channel and contractual basis for each amount. Compare any Ejari charge with DLD's live service page and request the official registration receipt. Check the signed lease and any separate agent agreement before accepting an additional service fee. If a landlord or manager insists on a renewal-only charge, seek case-specific guidance from DLD or the Rental Disputes Center rather than treating an invoice as a legal decision.
Home Pulse takeaway
Keep rent, official registration charges and optional separately contracted services on different lines. The useful check is what each payment is for, who receives it and which official or written agreement supports it.
Sources
Sources
- Landlord is prohibited from claiming lease renewal fee · Dubai Land Department
- Register / Renew Tenancy Contract · Dubai Land Department
- Dubai rent renewal: What can your landlord actually charge you? · Gulf News
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