All residential and commercial contracts have to registered on Ejari

It is compulsory for every renter in Dubai to register the lease contract – residential or commercial – on Ejari, an initiative of Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera), the regulatory arm of Dubai Land Department, to regulate and facilitate the rental market.

The registration safeguards the tenants’ rights and offers protection in disputes of rent rises.

The Rental Dispute Settlement Centre does not accept cases where the rent contract is not registered through Ejari.

Though Rera does not specify who pays, the landlord or the tenant, for Ejari the market has established its own norm.

The onus is on the tenants, as they need it to apply for residence visas for family, apply for certain government services and the registered contract is documentary proof in case of disputes.

Though some people still tend not to register their contracts, it is better to do it every year.

Read the points below to know why is worth paying Dh175 and getting the government stamp on your rent contract.

Compulsory by law

Law No. 26 of 2007 concerning regulating the relation between tenants and landlords of property makes it mandatory to register lease contracts with Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) and this should be carried out through its Ejari system.

There is no exception for commercial or residential contracts. Once the registration process is complete, a rent receipt can be produced through the system.

Cost of Ejari

The cost of Ejari is Dh175. When renewing the lease, tenant will have to give their passport copies/Emirates ID, rental contract, Dewa bill and title deed of the property.

Who pays for registration?

Generally, Rera has not specified who foots the bill. If a property management company is leasing the units, the onus is on them to register the contract, but mostly they charge the tenant for the registration.

If you are leasing the unit directly from the owner, you can mutually agree on who pays for the registration.

Guarantees rights

Ejari registration guarantees the rights of all parties to a lease agreement.

Once the agreement is registered its validity is automatically accepted by all government agencies linked to the system. In case of dispute, the data entered into the system would be recognised by the courts and considered eligible as evidence.

The details and full history of the agreement are now accessible and available to be used to equitably resolve any dispute.

Compiling rent index

The rent index in Dubai is calculated based on Ejari registrations. The index is updated every four months and all the registrations are used to form the new rates for the index.

The information on rental levels in specific areas and for certain unit types and the demographics does prove invaluable to government planners and private sector investors.

source:emirates247.com