Ejari is the Dubai government's official rental contract registration system, run by RERA (the Real Estate Regulatory Agency) under the Dubai Land Department. Every residential and commercial tenancy in Dubai is legally required to be registered with Ejari. The system gives the tenancy legal standing, allows the tenant to set up DEWA, secure a residence visa, register children at school, and protects both landlord and tenant under the Rental Dispute Centre framework. Ejari is a Dubai-specific system; other emirates have equivalent registries (Tawtheeq in Abu Dhabi, for example).

How much does Ejari registration cost?

Ejari registration costs AED 220 in total: AED 120 for the registration fee, AED 100 for the tenancy contract attestation, plus very small knowledge and innovation surcharges. Real estate agencies and typing centres often bundle Ejari registration into a service fee of AED 250 to AED 350. If your landlord uses an agency to manage the property, the agency typically completes Ejari for you. The tenant traditionally pays Ejari, although this can be negotiated in the tenancy contract.

Does Ejari affect my UAE mortgage application?

Yes — UAE banks routinely ask for proof of current address as part of mortgage underwriting, and Ejari is the standard document used to establish residency in Dubai. A continuous Ejari history of 12 to 24 months at the same address strengthens your application by demonstrating residential stability, which underwriting algorithms factor into the credit decision. For self-employed applicants, Ejari is sometimes the cleanest residency document the bank can use. For non-residents buying in Dubai, Ejari is not needed since you're not renting in the UAE — your home country residence proof is used instead.

Do I need Ejari before getting a mortgage in Dubai?

If you live in Dubai you should already have Ejari for your current rental. Lenders ask for it as part of standard residency proof, although a small minority of cases proceed using utility bills and tenancy contracts in lieu. If you've recently moved to Dubai and don't yet have Ejari, register it as a priority — it takes 24 to 48 hours and is needed for almost every administrative function in the emirate, not just mortgage applications. If you're a UAE national, the Ejari requirement still applies if you currently rent rather than own.

What happens if my landlord refuses to register Ejari?

Either party can register Ejari unilaterally if the other refuses. As a tenant, if your landlord won't register, you can do it yourself via the Dubai REST app using a signed tenancy contract, your ID documents and the DEWA premise number. The registration is then valid regardless of landlord cooperation. If a landlord persistently obstructs reasonable tenant requests, you can file a complaint with the Rental Dispute Centre. In practice, registered Ejari is in the landlord's interest too — without it, they cannot enforce eviction or rent recovery through the dispute centre.

Published 8 May 2026 · Updated 8 May 2026

Ejari UAE 2026: what it is, how to register, and why it matters for your mortgage

Q: How do I register Ejari?

You can register Ejari in three ways: online via the Dubai REST mobile app (the easiest route — upload contract, Emirates ID, passport copy and DEWA premise number, pay AED 220, get the certificate emailed within 24 hours); via a RERA-licensed typing centre (slower but useful if you don't have all documents in digital form); or via your landlord or property management agency, which is the default for most professionally managed buildings. You'll need the signed tenancy contract, your passport and visa, your Emirates ID, the title deed copy from the landlord, and the DEWA premise number.

By David Chen, Market Research Analyst · 10 min read

Ejari is the legal framework that turns a Dubai tenancy contract into something the government recognises. Without it you can't get DEWA in your name, you can't sponsor a family member's visa onto your address, you can't register your kids at most schools, and — for the purpose of this site — you can't easily prove your address to a UAE bank when applying for a mortgage.

This guide walks through what Ejari actually is, exactly how to register one (online via Dubai REST is fastest at AED 220 in 24 hours), how to renew or dispute one, and the often-overlooked role Ejari plays when a UAE bank assesses your mortgage application. If you're planning to buy property in Dubai in the next 6 to 18 months, your Ejari history matters more than most agents will tell you.

What Ejari is, in one paragraph

Ejari is the Dubai government's official rental contract registration system. It's run by RERA — the Real Estate Regulatory Agency, a regulatory arm of the Dubai Land Department — and it's legally compulsory for every residential and commercial tenancy in Dubai. Once registered, your tenancy contract is uploaded to a central database, you receive a unique Ejari registration certificate, and that certificate is the document the rest of the Dubai administrative system uses to recognise your address.

What you can't do without Ejari

Set up DEWA in your name (electricity and water).
Get a residence visa as a tenant who isn't on a company-provided accommodation arrangement.
Sponsor a spouse, child or parent onto your residence address.
Register children at most Dubai schools — Ejari is normally part of the admissions document pack.
Connect du or Etisalat internet and landline at your address.
File or defend a Rental Dispute Centre case — without registered Ejari you have no enforceable tenancy.
Easily prove residency to a UAE bank for a mortgage, personal loan or credit card.

Ejari for mortgage buyers: why your bank cares

UAE banks assess mortgage applications using a mix of income verification, AECB credit check, employment stability, debt-burden ratio (see our DBR guide) and residential stability. The last of these is where Ejari quietly does its work. Specifically:

Address verification. Banks need a current proof of address. The standard documents accepted are Ejari, a recent DEWA bill, or a tenancy contract bundled with utility bills. Ejari is the cleanest single document and is preferred.
Residency duration. Lenders look favourably on applicants with a stable rental history at a single address — typically 12 months or more. A continuous Ejari at the same address is the easiest way to demonstrate this. Frequent address changes (more than 2 in 24 months) sometimes trigger additional questions in underwriting.
Self-employed applicants. When salary slips don't exist and bank statements alone tell the income story, residency stability becomes a more important qualitative signal. A long Ejari history at one address strengthens the case for a self-employed application.
Rental affordability check. Some banks compare your current rent (visible on Ejari) to your income, as a sanity check on whether your debt-burden assumptions are realistic. Paying AED 90,000/year rent on AED 25,000/month income is roughly 30% of gross — at the higher end but workable.

For non-residents buying in Dubai, Ejari is not relevant — you're not a Dubai tenant — and your home-country residence proof (utility bill, council tax bill or bank statement) is used instead. See our international mortgage UAE guide.

How to register Ejari: the three routes

Route 1: Online via the Dubai REST app (fastest)

The Dubai REST mobile app — available on iOS and Android — handles full Ejari registration end to end. Process:

Open the app, log in with your UAE Pass.
Select "Real Estate Services" → "Register Ejari".
Upload: signed tenancy contract (PDF), your passport with visa page, your Emirates ID front and back, the DEWA premise number for the property, and the title deed copy provided by your landlord.
Pay AED 220 by card.
Receive the Ejari certificate by email within 24 hours, sometimes same day.

This is the recommended route for anyone with a digital tenancy contract and standard documents.

Route 2: RERA-approved typing centres

Hundreds of typing centres across Dubai are authorised to process Ejari. You bring physical copies of all documents, the typist completes the application, you pay a service fee on top of the AED 220 government cost (typically bringing the total to AED 250-350), and you usually receive the certificate the same day. Useful if your documents are paper-only or if you want help completing the form.

Route 3: Through your landlord or property management agency

Most professionally managed buildings — large developers like Emaar, Damac, Nakheel and Aldar's Dubai operations, plus the major management agencies — register Ejari on your behalf as part of move-in. The cost is usually passed on to you (look for an "Ejari fee" line item in your move-in invoice). This is the default for most large new-build apartment communities.

Ejari renewal

Ejari is tied to your tenancy contract and must be renewed every time the contract is renewed (normally annually). Renewal is functionally identical to first-time registration: re-submit the new tenancy contract, pay AED 220, receive the new certificate. The Dubai REST app makes renewal a 2-minute process if your underlying documents haven't changed.

If you fail to renew Ejari after a contract renewal, the practical consequences accumulate gradually: DEWA may flag the address as un-registered, visa renewals may be delayed, and any official process that requests Ejari (mortgage application, school admission, dispute filing) will halt until you sort it out.

What Ejari costs (full cost breakdown)

Item	Amount	Notes
Ejari registration fee (RERA)	AED 120	Core government fee
Tenancy contract attestation	AED 100	Mandatory
Knowledge fee + innovation fee	AED 20	Government surcharges
Total government cost	AED 240	Online via Dubai REST
Typing centre service fee	+ AED 50-150	If using a typing centre
Property management fee	+ AED 100-300	If your landlord/agency processes for you

Tenant pays by default. Some tenancy contracts shift Ejari to the landlord — read your contract.

Ejari documents checklist

Have these ready before starting registration:

Signed tenancy contract (between you and landlord, in DLD/RERA template)
Your passport copy with valid UAE residence visa page
Your Emirates ID front and back
The landlord's title deed or affection plan (provided by landlord)
The landlord's passport copy and Emirates ID (or trade licence if landlord is a company)
The DEWA premise number for the property (a 7-digit number on any DEWA bill, or visible on the meter)
Recent DEWA bill (sometimes requested)

Ejari and the Rental Dispute Centre

Beyond administrative convenience, Ejari is the legal foundation that makes the Rental Dispute Centre work. Both landlords and tenants can file cases at the RDC — non-payment of rent, illegal eviction, deposit disputes, maintenance failures — and the RDC will only hear cases where a registered Ejari exists. The 5% RERA-set rental increase cap (and the rules about how much a landlord can raise rent based on the rental index) is also enforced through Ejari-registered tenancies. See our RERA rental index calculator guide for how this affects rent vs buy decisions.

Common Ejari pitfalls

Wrong DEWA premise number. The most common rejection. The premise number is a 7-digit number specific to the unit, not the building. It's printed on the DEWA bill or on the meter itself. Don't guess — ask the landlord or check the meter.

Tenancy contract not in the standard RERA template. Ejari only accepts contracts that follow the official RERA tenancy contract format. If your landlord drafts something custom on letterhead, it gets rejected. Insist on the standard template.

Landlord refuses to provide title deed copy. If a landlord won't share a title deed copy, verify the property and ownership directly via the Dubai REST app's title deed verification service before signing the tenancy. A landlord refusing basic ownership verification is a red flag.

Lapsed Ejari before mortgage application. Buyers occasionally apply for a mortgage and discover their Ejari expired 6 months ago because they were on a rolling tenancy and forgot to renew. Banks will ask for current Ejari. Renew first, apply second.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ejari?

Dubai's RERA-managed rental contract registration system. Compulsory for all Dubai tenancies.

How much does Ejari cost?

AED 220-240 government cost; AED 250-350 if registered via a typing centre or property management agency.

How do I register Ejari?

Three routes: online via the Dubai REST app (fastest, 24 hours), via a RERA typing centre (same day in person), or via your landlord/property management agency.

Does Ejari affect a UAE mortgage?

Yes — banks use Ejari as standard residency proof and view a continuous 12+ month Ejari history at one address as a positive residential stability signal.

Do I need Ejari before applying for a mortgage?

If you're a Dubai resident, yes — banks expect to see it. If you're a non-resident buyer, no — your home-country residence proof is used instead.

What if my landlord won't register Ejari?

Either party can register unilaterally. As tenant, register yourself via Dubai REST. Persistent obstruction can be reported to the Rental Dispute Centre.

The bottom line

Ejari is administrative plumbing that quietly enables almost every formal interaction you have with the Dubai system — including, increasingly, your mortgage application. Register it on time, renew on time, keep the certificate handy, and it will never block anything. Forget about it for two years and you'll find out exactly how many things in Dubai depend on it.

If you're planning a Dubai property purchase, make sure your Ejari is current and reflects the address where you actually live before you start the mortgage process. Then run the numbers on our mortgage calculator, see live rates on the rate page, or check what you can borrow on the eligibility tool.

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