The Rental Disputes Center (RDC) is Dubai’s specialized judicial system for rental disputes within its jurisdiction. It was established by Dubai Decree No. 26 of 2013, and its head office is at Dubai Land Department. Filing is now heavily digital: the current first-instance service lets a customer register through the RDC website or through Real Estate Services Trustee Centres, upload the case documents, pay after electronic verification, attend hearings through tele-litigation and receive the judgment online.
Current RDC First-Instance Filing Requirements
| Item | Current RDC Published Requirement |
|---|---|
| Lease / Ejari | Latest lease (Ejari) |
| Identity | Emirates ID for individuals; for companies, commercial licence plus the manager/owner photo ID listed by the service |
| Claimant IBAN | Bank letter or bank statement stating the claimant’s IBAN |
| Eviction service proof | Notarised notice + notification officer’s report, OR registered post + acknowledgement/receipt evidence |
| Language | Filed documents must be in Arabic or legally translated into Arabic |
Common RDC Procedures
- First-instance rental lawsuit
- Amicable-settlement dispute
- Rental appeal, where the judgment is appealable
- Writ of payment for qualifying rental debt
- Petition / urgent-order requests
- Offer and deposit
- Execution of RDC judgments and eligible instruments
Eviction Claims: RDC Publishes Two Evidence Routes
For a first-instance eviction claim, the current RDC service page lists either a notarised notice with the notification officer’s report or registered post with receipt/acknowledgement evidence. That is why our Eviction Notice Dubai guidance treats Notary Public and registered mail as alternative formal routes, not one universal “notary only” rule.
No Emirates ID? Check the Exact RDC Route
The current first-instance filing page lists Emirates ID for individual claimants. Separately, RDC’s FAQ says an existing case can be linked to an account using Emirates ID, passport or trade licence, and a legal representative can be added electronically by attaching a Power of Attorney. We therefore check whether you are opening a new case, linking an existing case or registering a representative instead of promising one universal passport-only solution.
How We Support an RDC Filing
- Review the lease/Ejari, claim type and procedural route
- Prepare the case memorandum and document index in the required filing language
- Check the current RDC fee basis and supporting evidence before submission
- Coordinate filing or representative-registration documents where the official route permits
- Keep hearing, judgment, appeal and execution steps separated so each deadline is calculated from the correct event
RDC registration, hearing and judgment are different stages. The first-instance service currently publishes one business day to complete registration, not one day to finish the dispute. Appeals, execution and urgent applications have their own services, documents, fees and deadlines. If you send us the Ejari, claim amount, notice/service evidence and the relief you want, we can prepare the filing set around the current RDC route.
Frequently Asked Questions
The RDC is a specialized judicial system established by Dubai Decree No. 26 of 2013 to decide rental disputes in Dubai. Its head office is at Dubai Land Department. The Decree gives it exclusive jurisdiction over rental disputes within its scope, including free zones, while excluding free zones that have their own tribunal or special court for those disputes.
The RDC currently publishes 3.5% of the annual rent or lease value for specified rental claims such as eviction, renewal and termination, with a minimum of AED 500 and maximum of AED 20,000. Monetary claims are published at 3.5% of the claimed amount, minimum AED 500 and maximum AED 15,000. Additional fees can include AED 100 process service, AED 25 POA registration if applicable, and knowledge/innovation fees. Check the current RDC service page before payment because the applicable fee depends on the request.
The current first-instance service lists the latest Ejari/lease, identification documents, the claimant’s IBAN evidence, and supporting evidence. For an eviction claim, RDC expressly accepts either a notarised notice with the notification officer’s report or registered post with proof acknowledging the notice. All filed documents must be in Arabic or legally translated into Arabic.
Some RDC judgments and decisions are appealable subject to the applicable conditions. The current rental-appeal service publishes a 15-day filing period from issuance of a first-instance judgment delivered in the parties’ presence, or from notification of an in-absentia judgment. RDC also publishes separate appeal-eligibility rules, including a financial threshold for certain purely monetary cases. Check the judgment type and current appeal service immediately because the deadline is short.
Do not reduce the requirement to one route. The current RDC first-instance service page accepts, for eviction claims, a notarised notice with the notification officer’s report or registered post with proof acknowledging the notice. The underlying notice period and legal ground still have to match the applicable tenancy rule. See our Eviction Notice Dubai page for the Article 25 distinction.
For a new first-instance filing, RDC’s current required-document list includes Emirates ID for an individual claimant. That does not justify one universal “passport holder cannot proceed” rule. RDC separately publishes case-account linking using Emirates ID, passport or trade licence, and it allows a legal representative to be registered electronically with a Power of Attorney. The correct route therefore depends on whether you are opening a new case, linking an existing case or appointing a representative.
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