Maximum legal rent increase under the RERA decree.
Maximum new rent
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Max increase allowed
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Increase in AED
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Your landlord cannot just name a number
Rent rises in Dubai are not a free-for-all. Under Decree No. 43 of 2013 a landlord can only raise the rent on renewal by an amount that depends on how far your current rent sits below the RERA rental index for a comparable unit. The further below market you are, the larger the permitted increase, in fixed steps. If you are already close to the market rate, the answer is simple: no increase is allowed at all. This calculator applies those tiers so you can check a proposed increase against the law before you accept it or push back.
You feed in two numbers: your current annual rent and the RERA market average for a similar property in your area. The tool returns the maximum legal increase as a percentage, the new rent that cap allows, and the dirham amount of the rise.
A flat 25 percent below market
Take the default: a current rent of AED 90,000 against a market average of AED 120,000. That puts you 25 percent below market, which lands in the band allowing up to a 10 percent rise.
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So the most your landlord can lawfully ask on renewal is AED 99,000, not whatever figure they fancy. The chart shows the staircase the decree creates: the permitted increase jumps from zero to 5, 10, 15 and finally 20 percent as the gap to market widens, with the highlighted bar marking where a 25 percent gap lands.
How the bands actually work
The structure is the durable part worth learning. If your rent is within 10 percent of the market average, no increase is permitted. If it is 11 to 20 percent below, the cap is 5 percent. From 21 to 30 percent below, it is 10 percent. From 31 to 40 percent below, 15 percent. And more than 40 percent below market allows up to 20 percent. These are the tiers this calculator applies, drawn from the Dubai decree, and the bands have been stable, but rental rules can be amended and the index is set by RERA, so confirm the current decree and your area’s index average with RERA or the Dubai Land Department before relying on a figure in a dispute.
Who this protects and the notice rule that trips tenants
This calculator is for renters facing a renewal who suspect the proposed rise is too high, and for landlords who want to set a lawful increase rather than risk a challenge. The single most common mistake is ignoring the market average and arguing about the percentage in the abstract. The cap is meaningless without the RERA index figure, so always pull the official average for a comparable unit first, using the RERA rental index calculator, then come here.
A practical point that catches tenants out is notice. A landlord generally must give 90 days written notice before the renewal date to change the rent or other terms, so a rent increase sprung on you a week before renewal may not be enforceable for that cycle even if the percentage itself is within the cap. The amount and the process both have to be right.
One edge case: the index reflects comparable units, so a genuinely superior or inferior property to the average can complicate matters, and disputes ultimately go to the Rental Dispute Centre. This tool tells you the maximum the tier allows on the numbers you enter, it does not arbitrate what your specific unit is worth, so treat a borderline case as a starting position rather than a final ruling.
What if my rent is already at the market rate?
Then no increase is allowed on renewal. When your current rent is within 10 percent of the RERA average for a comparable unit, the decree permits a rise of zero, so a landlord asking for more on that basis is outside the rules. Check the index figure to confirm where you sit.
Can the landlord raise it again next year?
Each renewal is assessed afresh against the market average at that time. If a rise this year narrows your gap to market, a smaller cap or none may apply next year, because you are now closer to the index. So a large permitted increase one year does not mean the same is available the next.