Ejari registration in Dubai: WhatsApp, fees, documents — and why landlords should own it
Since June 2025 Dubai tenancy contracts can be registered in Ejari over WhatsApp via the Aqari platform and 10 DLD-accredited trustees. Online registration costs AED 177.75, a trustee centre AED 220. The documents, who registers, and why a landlord should not leave it to the tenant.
Ejari is the Dubai Land Department's tenancy registration system, and every lease in the emirate must be recorded in it. Without an Ejari number a tenant cannot connect water and electricity with DEWA or sponsor family residence visas, and neither side can properly defend its rights in a rental dispute. In June 2025 a new channel joined the familiar ones: WhatsApp.
Ejari over WhatsApp
The service was launched by Injaz, one of the Land Department's trustee centres, on its Aqari platform. Aqari has run since August 2024 and gives WhatsApp access to property services — updating owner details, title deed amendments, valuations, site plans and ownership registration. From June 2025 Ejari registration was added. The user starts a chat, prompts guide them step by step, and one of 10 DLD-accredited trustees processes the request in real time. No office visit is needed, and it can be done from any country.
The other official channels remain: the DLD website, the Dubai REST app and the trustee centres themselves.
Talk to a licensed broker: 📲 +971 50 120 32 64 on WhatsApp, @dubai_oleg on Telegram
Fees and documents
| Channel | Total fee incl. VAT |
|---|---|
| DLD website or Dubai REST app | AED 177.75 |
| Trustee centre (including via WhatsApp) | AED 220 |
Both include the AED 100 registration fee plus knowledge and innovation fees and partner charges. You will need:
- the signed Unified Tenancy Contract and its addendum;
- the tenant's Emirates ID;
- the landlord's title deed, or an authorisation if a representative manages the unit;
- the DEWA premises number.
Either the tenant or the landlord, or a representative with a power of attorney, can register or renew. Everyone living in the unit with the tenant, family included, is also declared in Ejari.
Why the landlord should care
In practice registration is often left to the tenant, who needs it for DEWA and visas. That suits the landlord badly, for three reasons. A registered contract is the basis of any dispute — non-payment, eviction, a tenant who will not leave. Ejari also feeds the Smart Rental Index, which since 2025 determines how far rent may rise, so you want your own terms correctly recorded. And any change of terms at renewal requires written notice at least 90 days before expiry, which only works on a properly registered contract; the rules are covered in evicting a tenant in Dubai.
The WhatsApp channel is particularly useful for owners who live outside Dubai: renewing Ejari no longer needs a trip or a representative, only the documents and a phone. For the full rental arithmetic — deposits, cheques, service charges and what actually reaches the owner — see renting in Dubai.
Ejari is a short formality that decides the outcome of any dispute with a tenant. Before you let an apartment, read our guide to letting a Dubai apartment long term.
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