What Ejari will cost you
Note: Educational estimate for planning. Confirm final amounts on official channels.
What Ejari is, and why you cannot skip it
Ejari is the Dubai Land Department system that registers a tenancy contract and makes it legally recognised. Registration is a landlord obligation in practice but a tenant necessity: without an Ejari certificate you generally cannot open a DEWA account, sponsor a family visa, enrol children in some schools, or bring a rent dispute to the Rental Dispute Centre.
It is also the figure your housing fee is calculated from — 5% of the annual rent as recorded on the Ejari, billed through DEWA. An out-of-date Ejari after a rent reduction means an out-of-date housing fee.
The two prices, and what separates them
Doing it yourself through the Dubai REST app or the DLD website comes to AED 177.75. That breaks down as a AED 100 registration fee, a AED 10 knowledge fee, a AED 10 innovation fee, a AED 55 service partner fee, and AED 2.75 of VAT on that partner fee. The parts sum exactly to the total, which is a good sign the breakdown is genuine.
Going through a Real Estate Services Trustee Centre comes to about AED 220. You are paying roughly AED 42 for someone else to do the typing and the upload. That is a reasonable trade if the contract is complicated or your documents need checking; it is money thrown away on a straightforward renewal.
Renewal costs the same as a first registration
There is no discounted renewal rate. Each new contract period is registered afresh at the same fee, so budget for it annually rather than treating it as a one-off at move-in.
Renew promptly when the rent changes. The housing fee on your DEWA bill follows the registered rent, so a rent reduction that is not reflected in a renewed Ejari leaves you paying 5% of a figure you no longer pay.
What is not an Ejari fee
A lot of money changes hands at move-in and most of it is not this. The security deposit (commonly 5% of annual rent, refundable), agency commission (commonly 5% of annual rent, not refundable), the DEWA connection deposit, and any chiller or district cooling registration are all separate from Ejari and charged by different parties.
The field above lets you add them so you can see the real cash requirement of a move, but keep them mentally separate — only the Ejari portion is a DLD fee with a published tariff.
Where the published figures disagree
Some guides quote AED 155 plus VAT as the Dubai REST self-service fee, and older pages quote a base of AED 215 with typing charges of AED 50 to 100 on top, giving totals of AED 265 to 315. Those figures do not reconcile with the itemised AED 177.75 breakdown.
We were not able to open a DLD service page stating the fee directly, so this page uses the figure most sources agree on and whose components add up, and tells you that the alternatives exist. Check the amount in the Dubai REST app before paying — it is shown at checkout.
How to use this calculator
- Choose whether you are registering yourself in Dubai REST or using a trustee centre.
- Set how many contracts you are registering.
- Add any other move-in costs you want to see alongside it — deposit, commission, DEWA.
- Read the itemised Ejari fee against the total cash figure.
- Confirm the amount at checkout in Dubai REST, which shows the current fee.
- Keep the certificate — DEWA, visa applications and schools will ask for it.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Ejari cost in Dubai?
About AED 177.75 if you register yourself through the Dubai REST app or the DLD website, made up of a AED 100 registration fee, AED 10 knowledge fee, AED 10 innovation fee, AED 55 service partner fee and AED 2.75 VAT. A Real Estate Services Trustee Centre charges around AED 220 for the same registration.
Is Ejari renewal cheaper than first registration?
No. Each contract period is registered afresh at the same fee, so it is an annual cost rather than a one-off at move-in.
Can I register Ejari myself?
Yes, through the Dubai REST app or the DLD website, and it is the cheaper route by roughly AED 42. A trustee centre is worth the difference only if your contract or documents need someone to check them.
Who pays for Ejari, the landlord or the tenant?
Registration is the landlord’s obligation, but in practice the cost is very often passed to the tenant or handled by the agent and billed on. Settle who is paying before signing rather than afterwards.
Why do I need an Ejari certificate?
Without it you generally cannot open a DEWA account, sponsor a family visa, enrol children in some schools, or take a dispute to the Rental Dispute Centre. It is also the document your Dubai Municipality housing fee is calculated from.
Does Ejari affect my DEWA housing fee?
Directly. The housing fee is 5% of the annual rent recorded on the Ejari, collected in twelve instalments through the DEWA bill. If your rent falls and the Ejari is not updated, you keep paying 5% of the old figure.
Why do different websites quote different Ejari fees?
Some quote AED 155 plus VAT, older pages quote AED 215 plus typing charges. We could not open a DLD page stating the fee outright, so this page uses the AED 177.75 figure whose itemised parts actually sum to the total, and flags that the alternatives exist. The app shows the real amount at checkout.
Do you store my numbers?
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Where these figures come from
The figure used here is AED 177.75 through Dubai REST or the DLD website, itemised as AED 100 registration + AED 10 knowledge + AED 10 innovation + AED 55 service partner + AED 2.75 VAT on the partner fee, and about AED 220 at a Real Estate Services Trustee Centre. These are reported consistently across Dubai property-industry guides, and the breakdown sums exactly to the total, which is a reason to trust it.
What we could not verify. We were not able to open a Dubai Land Department service page stating the Ejari fee directly, so none of this is transcribed from an official tariff the way the property purchase fees on this site are. Competing figures exist — AED 155 plus VAT, and older quotes of AED 215 plus AED 50–100 of typing charges — and are named on the page rather than hidden. The Dubai REST app shows the current amount at checkout; that is the number to trust.
Last checked against the source: 30 October 2026. Not affiliated with the Dubai Land Department or Ejari.
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Disclaimer
Disclaimer: Educational estimate. The Ejari fee used here is reported consistently by Dubai property-industry guides but we could not transcribe it from an official DLD service page, and competing figures exist. The Dubai REST app shows the current amount at checkout. Not legal advice. Not affiliated with the Dubai Land Department or Ejari.