Dubai 90-Day Tenancy Non-Renewal Notice: RERA Rules, Template & Common Mistakes (2026)

If you rent a property in Dubai and plan to move out when your contract ends, there is one deadline you cannot miss: 90 days written notice before the contract expiry date.

This rule comes from Dubai Law No. 26 of 2007 (as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008), and it is enforced by RERA — the Real Estate Regulatory Agency, a department of the Dubai Land Department (DLD).

Get the timing wrong, send a verbal notice, or forget to include the Ejari number, and your contract can automatically renew for another full year on the same terms. For tenants this means being locked in; for landlords it means a vacant unit they cannot re-let. It is the single most common dispute filed at the Rental Disputes Center (RDC).

This guide covers exactly who must send the notice, what it must say, how to deliver it legally, and the mistakes that cost people their deposit. At the end we link to a free, RERA-compliant DOCX template you can fill in and print.

The 90-day non-renewal notice is a formal written letter that one party to a Dubai tenancy contract sends to the other, stating that the contract will not be renewed when it reaches its expiry date.

It is governed by Article 14 of Dubai Law No. 26 of 2007. The article states that either party may, upon the expiry of the contract, request its renewal or amend any of its terms, provided that such party notifies the other party in writing at least ninety (90) days before the expiry.

Two consequences follow from this rule:

• If you give notice on time — the contract ends on the expiry date and neither party can force a renewal.
• If you do not give notice in time — the contract is deemed to have been renewed automatically for the same term and on the same conditions. You are then legally bound for another year.

The same 90-day rule also applies if you want to change the contract terms — for example, a landlord wanting to raise the rent or a tenant requesting a rent reduction. A change without 90 days written notice is not enforceable.

The notice obligation falls on both the tenant and the landlord, depending on who wants the change:

Tenant → Landlord. A tenant who does not want to renew must send the non-renewal notice to the landlord (or the property manager named on the Ejari certificate). This is the most common scenario — you found a new place, your employment ended, or you simply want to move out at the end of the lease.

Landlord → Tenant. A landlord who does not want to renew — because they want to move back in, sell the property, demolish it, or re-let at a higher rent — must also send a 90-day written notice to the tenant. A landlord cannot simply refuse to renew without this notice; without it, the contract renews automatically and the tenant has the right to stay.

Either party requesting a term change. If the tenant wants a rent reduction or the landlord wants to add a clause, the requesting party must give 90 days written notice of the proposed change before the contract expires. If the other party rejects the change and no notice of non-renewal was given, the contract renews on the original terms.

In every case the notice must be in writing and delivered with proof of receipt — a WhatsApp message or a phone call is not legally sufficient.

A non-renewal notice that is missing key details can be treated as invalid by RERA and the RDC. Make sure your letter includes every item below:

• Full name of the sender — exactly as it appears on the tenancy contract and passport.
• Recipient's name — the landlord's or tenant's full name as registered on the Ejari certificate. If the landlord is a company, use the full legal company name.
• Property address — building name, unit number, community and emirate, matching the Ejari record.
• Ejari number — the unique registration number starting with "EJ". This is how RERA links the notice to the correct contract.
• Contract start and end dates — copied exactly from the Ejari certificate and the signed tenancy agreement.
• Clear non-renewal statement — for example: "I hereby notify you that I will not be renewing the tenancy contract for the above property upon its expiry on [date]."
• Intended move-out date — normally the contract expiry date, unless both parties have agreed to an earlier or later handover in writing.
• Request for final inspection and deposit return — explicitly state that you expect a final walk-through and the return of your security deposit after deducting only legitimate charges.
• Sender's contact details — phone number and email so the other party can coordinate handover and inspections.
• Date of the notice and signature — the date on the letter is what RERA checks against the 90-day window, so do not backdate or postdate it.

Building this letter from scratch is error-prone. You can generate a RERA-compliant 90-day non-renewal notice here — the form prompts you for each required field and exports a clean DOCX you can print, sign, and send.

Timing is only half the requirement. The notice must also be delivered through a channel that creates a provable record of receipt. Verbal notice is never sufficient, and an unread email is weak evidence. RERA and the RDC accept the following delivery methods:

• Registered mail via Emirates Post — the most common method. The tracking number and delivery confirmation serve as legal proof that the notice was delivered to the recipient's address.
• Notary public delivery — the strongest option. A notary public serves the notice on the recipient and issues a notarial certificate of service. Use this when the landlord or tenant is uncooperative or refuses to accept delivery.
• Email with read receipt — only valid if your tenancy contract explicitly lists email as an accepted method of formal notice. Even then, a read receipt alone may not be enough; follow up with registered mail for certainty.
• Hand delivery with signed acknowledgment — hand the letter directly to the landlord or property manager and have them sign and stamp a duplicate copy confirming receipt. If they refuse to sign, use registered mail or a notary instead.

Key rule: the 90-day clock is based on the date the notice is delivered, not the date you wrote it. If you post the letter 91 days before expiry but it is only delivered 89 days before, you are too late. Post early enough to account for delivery time — Emirates Post within the UAE usually takes 1–3 working days.

Keep the original letter, the registered-mail receipt, and any tracking printouts in a safe place. If the other party later claims they never received the notice, the RDC will require you to produce this evidence.

These are the mistakes the RDC sees in nearly every non-renewal dispute:

• Counting 90 days from the wrong date. The deadline is 90 days before the Ejari contract expiry date, not 90 days from the date you decide to move. Count backwards from the expiry date on your Ejari certificate, not forwards from today.
• Sending the notice to the wrong person. The notice must go to the legal owner or the property manager listed on the Ejari certificate. Sending it to a real-estate agent who is not on the Ejari record does not count.
• Omitting the Ejari number. Without the Ejari number, RERA cannot match the notice to your contract and may treat the notice as invalid. The Ejari number is on your registration certificate, starting with "EJ".
• Using WhatsApp or a phone call as the only proof. While Dubai courts may accept WhatsApp messages as supporting evidence, they are not a substitute for a formal written notice delivered through an accepted channel. Always send the formal letter and keep WhatsApp as a backup, not the primary method.

The 90-day non-renewal notice is one of the simplest but most consequential rules in Dubai tenancy law. It protects both parties: tenants know they cannot be forced to renew, and landlords know they must give proper notice if they want the property back.

To avoid the most common and costly mistakes, remember three things: give notice at least 90 days before the Ejari expiry date, send it through a channel that provides proof of delivery (registered mail or notary), and make sure the letter includes the Ejari number and the full names and addresses of both parties.

If the other party disputes the notice or refuses to return your deposit, you can file a case at the Rental Disputes Center (RDC). The filing fee is 3.5% of the annual rent, with a minimum of AED 500 and a maximum of AED 20,000.

Use our free 90-day non-renewal notice template to generate a RERA-compliant DOCX in minutes. The form prompts you for every required field — Ejari number, contract dates, names and addresses — so you do not miss anything. Download, print, sign, and send by registered mail.

For the authoritative rules, refer to these official Dubai government sources:

• Dubai Land Department (DLD) — the government authority behind RERA, Ejari registration and tenancy regulation in Dubai.
• Rental Disputes Center (RDC) — the official body that adjudicates all Dubai tenancy disputes, including non-renewal notice disputes. You can file a case, check fees, and track your case online here.