As of January 1 a new annual rent cap of a maximum of seven percent went into effect for all properties in Dubai.
The Dubai government, and His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai specifically, issued the new decree according to WAM.
The new rent cap applies to all rent contracts that are to be renewed in 2007 on the condition that no rent increase was made on that particular property during 2006, while Article 2 of the new decree says no rent increase can also be made in 2007 on properties whose contracts had already been signed in 2006 with a new tenant.
Dubai was the first emirate in the UAE to introduce a rent cap in November 2005, when a decree capping the increase at a maximum 15 per cent of the annual rent went into effect.
