Legal Notice for Non Payment of Rent in Dubai

What the law says about unpaid rent

Dubai Law No. 26 of 2007, as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008, Article 25(1)(a), allows a landlord to request eviction before the lease ends where, “unless otherwise agreed by the parties”, the tenant “fails to pay the Rent or any part thereof within thirty (30) days from the date of service of a Notice on the Tenant by the Landlord requesting the payment.”

The same article adds: “the Landlord will serve a Notice on the Tenant through a Notary Public or by registered mail.”

The Dubai Land Department explains it the same way: a notice is sent to the tenant asking them to pay, “through the notary public or by registered mail, with a deadline for payment of no less than 30 days.”

Four points in that wording matter:

• Any part of the rent counts. A partly paid instalment is still unpaid rent.
• The 30 days start on service. They run from when the tenant is served, not from the day the rent fell due.
• The method is fixed. Notary public or registered mail.
• The lease can change it. “Unless otherwise agreed by the parties” means the lease may contain its own terms on late payment, so read it first.

When to send the notice

• A rent cheque has bounced or been stopped.
• An instalment date has passed and the tenant has not paid or replied.
• The tenant has paid only part of what is due.
• The tenant has said they cannot pay and has not agreed a plan in writing.

It is usually worth one polite reminder first. If nothing changes, send the formal notice, because only the formal notice starts the 30 days.

What the notice must contain

• Landlord’s full name (or company name) and ID or trade licence details.
• Tenant’s full name, exactly as on the Ejari registered lease.
• The property: unit, building, area and Ejari or lease reference.
• The unpaid amount, in figures and words, and the period or instalment it covers.
• Details of any bounced cheque: number, bank, date and amount.
• A clear demand to pay within 30 days of receiving the notice.
• How to pay: bank account details or the address where payment can be made.
• What the landlord may do if payment is not made, stated calmly.
• Date and signature of the landlord or authorised signatory.

Step by step

1. Work out the exact amount. List each unpaid instalment and any bounced cheques. Do not add charges the lease does not allow.
2. Send us the documents. Lease, Ejari, ID, and cheque or bank records.
3. We draft the notice in Arabic and English, with the amount and period.
4. Notarisation. You sign before a notary public, who checks your identity and authority and attests the notice. This can be done at our Business Bay office, online, or at your home.
5. Service. The notarised notice is served on the tenant with a record of delivery, or sent by registered mail.
6. Wait the full 30 days. Count from the date the tenant received the notice. Record any payment that comes in.
7. Next step if unpaid. The landlord may file a case at the Rental Disputes Centre. For an eviction request the Centre lists a copy of the notice and the proof of how it was served among the required documents.

Rent claim, eviction or both

The notice can support two different requests:

• Eviction during the lease under Article 25(1)(a), once the 30 days have passed.
• Payment of the rent owed. The Rental Disputes Centre also describes a payment writ route, with the defendant notified through a notary public or registered mail, followed by a period of five days.

A cheque is treated differently from other debts: the Civil Procedure Code treats a cheque as a writ of execution (Article 143(2)), so a bounced rent cheque may follow its own route. Which route fits your case is a question for a lawyer or the Centre; the notice is useful in every one of them.

If the tenant agrees to pay in instalments after receiving the notice, put the agreement in writing. An acknowledgement of debt signed by the tenant records the amount and the plan.

Common mistakes

• Counting from the due date. The 30 days run from service of the notice.
• WhatsApp only. A message is not a notice through a notary public or by registered mail.
• Wrong or vague amount. State the exact sum and the instalments it covers.
• Filing too early. The Rental Disputes Centre has said a case can be filed once a month has passed since the tenant received the notice.
• Mixing it up with an end of lease eviction. Evicting because you want to sell or move in needs a different notice with 12 months’ warning. See our eviction notice page.

Send your unpaid rent notice

Call or WhatsApp +971 54 380 1094, or email support@notaryservicesdubai.com, with your lease and the unpaid amounts. Office open Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. WhatsApp and online requests answered 24/7. You can also contact us online.