Renting a home

Every step, and what proves it happened

• 1. Form A — Landlord's authority to market for lease

  The owner's written authority for the brokerage to act and to advertise. Filed with Trakheesi. Without it the listing has no basis.

  RERA · DLDThe landlordConfirmed

• 2. Trakheesi permit issued

  Advertising without it is the fine, and it falls on whoever placed the advert. Filed through the RERA Trakheesi system. In Dubai an owner may hold it in their own name; a brokerage files it when one is acting for them.

  RERA · DLDYour agentConfirmed

• 3. Listing live

  With the permit number displayed.

  Your agentConfirmed

• 4. Viewings

  Recorded against the listing.

  The tenantConfirmed

• 5. Form I — Broker-to-broker commission split

  Only when a second brokerage brings the tenant. Agree the split before terms are agreed, not after.

  RERA · DLDYour agentConfirmed

• 6. Offer and terms agreed

  Rent, the number of cheques, and the term.

  The tenantConfirmed

• 7. Tenancy contract signed

  Signed by both parties, in the unified tenancy contract form. What is signed here is what gets registered.

  Your agentConfirmed

• 8. Deposit and cheques

  The security deposit plus the rent cheques. Five per cent of the annual rent unfurnished and ten furnished is the usual figure — market convention, not a rate fixed in law, so it is whatever the contract says. The deposit is held by the landlord until hand-back and is not rent; get the condition of the unit recorded before it changes hands.

  The tenantConfirmed

• 9. Tenant identity check

  Emirates ID or passport and visa status. The registry asks for it, so it gates the step after this one rather than this one.

  The tenantConfirmed

• 10. Ejari registration

  Registering the lease is what unlocks DEWA/utilities, parking and school admission. Not a listing permit — a different thing entirely.

  RERA · DLDThe landlordConfirmed

• 11. Utilities connected

  The lease registration is what the utility provider asks for.

  The tenantConfirmed

• 12. Move-in permit

  Most managed buildings require the owners association's move-in permit before keys — the registered lease, a refundable move-in deposit and a booked lift slot. Ask the community management for theirs; it is the step that most often delays a move by a week.

  Your agentConfirmed

• 13. Handover and inventory

  Keys, access cards and parking, against a written condition report with photographs. The report is what the deposit is judged against at the end, so it is worth the twenty minutes.

  Your agentConfirmed

• 14. Renewal notice

  Ninety days' notice before the term ends to change rent or terms — miss it and the existing terms roll on.

  RERA · DLDThe landlordConfirmed