Q: My landlord is trying to increase my rent outside of the RERA Index, using a DLD valuation as the basis. The sequence of events: 1. 90 days before my renewal, the landlord offered me a new lease with a 10% increase on my current rental 2. I challenged this by sharing the RERA rental index result, which stated there is no increase in the rental value 3. landlord decided at this point to do a DLD rental valuation 4. Last Friday, 49 days before my current lease expires, the landlord shared the valuation, which showed an increase of 21% on the rent (or looking at it another way, my current rent is 17.5% less than this current valuation) Can the landlord do that, and what is he legally allowed to increase my rent by in this scenario?

Q: Hi, My rent renewal is due at the end of May. My landlord wants to increase my rent by 35% while the RERA Index is stating a 0% increase because I am within the average rental rate. The land-lord's management keeps responding back to me with the "valuation" report for an apartment that is vacant, not the apartment I am living in. I keep responding to them that the RERA Index states otherwise and that I am entitled to a 0% increase. What should I do?

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, I'm renting an unfurnished apartment in a building, which is classified as a hotel apartment. I have an Ejari certificate. The owner wants to increase the rent by 50%, from 105,000 AED to 155,000 AED. He says that hotel apartments don't follow RERA rules and policies. He has obtained a rental valuation certificate with a value of 155,000 AED, even though the highest rent in this building is 130,000 AED. He keeps insisting that they can raise the rent as high as they want, without regard to RERA.

An interview-format article covering the topic of residential retail properties pertaining to the liability for property maintenance and the repercussions of defaulting on rent payments in the UAE. This is from the legal podcast of lawyer Ludmila Yamalova, the founder of Lawgical with LYLAW.

This Decree determines the maximum percentage of rent increase for real property in the Emirate of Dubai when renewing lease contracts.

The provisions of this Law apply to real property leased out in the Emirate of Dubai, including vacant and agricultural lands, but excluding hotel establishments and real property provided by natural or legal persons as accommodation to their employees at no charge.

Provisions of this Law supersede articles (2), (3), (4), (9), (13), (14), (15), (25), (26), (29), and (36) of Law No. (26) of 2007 Regulating the Relationship between Landlords and Tenants in the Emirate of Dubai.