Landlord Cut Your Water or Power? Here's What DLD Actually Says

What DLD's FAQ actually says about cut-offs

Dubai Land Department's own FAQ page addresses this directly, in plain terms: "the landlord is prohibited from cutting off services from the property or interfering with the tenant in any way that would prevent them from using the property."

That's the full extent of what the source says. It confirms the prohibition exists. It does not lay out a fine schedule, a complaint form specifically for utility cut-offs, or a timeline for resolution. If you're looking for that level of procedural detail, DLD's FAQ page doesn't provide it — you'd need to check with the Rental Dispute Settlement Centre (RDSC) directly rather than assume a process that isn't documented here.

Where the FAQ gets genuinely useful is somewhere most tenants never look: the rental increase calculator. If a landlord is trying to force a move-out (or a bad renewal) by making the property unlivable, or is simply hiking your rent past what's legally allowed, this tool is what turns a verbal dispute into a documented case.

The rental increase calculator: how it actually works

According to the FAQ, here's the exact path:

Go to dubailand.gov.ae
Click e-services
Select the rental increase calculator
Enter your Ejari contract data

The tool then tells you the percentage increase your landlord is legally allowed to apply, based on your registered contract.

Two details from the source matter more than they first appear:

The rental index is not mandatory for a new lease — it's indicative. Landlords and tenants can agree to whatever number they want going into a renewal.
It becomes mandatory when the two parties are in conflict over the rate of increase at renewal time. In other words: this tool has no legal weight until you're in a dispute — and then it becomes the reference point.

That's the practical takeaway. You don't need to invoke the calculator to negotiate a friendly renewal. But if a landlord is demanding an increase you think is excessive, running the numbers through this calculator before you sign anything — or before you refuse to sign — gives you the DLD-backed figure to point to.

Why your Ejari registration is the precondition for all of this

None of this works without a properly registered Ejari contract. A few procedural facts from the source worth knowing:

Ejari contracts can be created, renewed, or cancelled through registered users, real estate trustee centres, or the Dubai REST app — you don't have to visit a DLD office.
An Ejari contract can't be issued until the underlying management contract is approved by rental auditors, and the property itself must be registered and approved for rent first.
If the owner is out of the country, they can appoint a representative through a management company or use Dubai REST themselves, provided their registered contact details are current.

If your tenancy isn't Ejari-registered, or the data on it is outdated, the increase calculator has nothing accurate to work from — so keeping that contract current isn't paperwork for its own sake, it's what makes the dispute tool usable at all.

What this means before you renew

Pull your current Ejari contract details before any renewal conversation starts.
Run them through the rental increase calculator to see the legally indicative ceiling.
If the landlord's asking number exceeds that and you can't agree, the calculator's output is what becomes relevant at the RDSC — not a verbal argument about market rates.
If services are actually being cut off as leverage in that dispute, that's a separate violation under DLD's rules, but the FAQ doesn't specify a dedicated complaint channel for it — escalate through the RDSC rather than assuming DLD's general e-services will handle it.

If you're weighing whether renewing at a disputed rate still makes sense versus buying, DLD's regulatory basics matter less here than the numbers — the rent vs. buy comparison is a better next step than another FAQ page.

Source: Dubai Land Department FAQ

This article translates DLD's published FAQ into plain terms. It is informational only, not legal or financial advice — DLD's own page and the Rental Dispute Settlement Centre are the authoritative sources for your specific case.