Is a Property Condition Report Required by Law in the UAE?

What the law actually says

The relationship between landlords and tenants in Dubai is governed by Law No. 26 of 2007, as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008. Two articles are directly relevant to property condition and deposits.

Article 20 establishes the security deposit. It allows a landlord to collect a deposit from the tenant to "ensure maintenance of the Real Property upon the expiry of the Lease Contract," with an obligation to refund it at the end of the tenancy.

Article 21 creates the return obligation. Upon expiry of the tenancy, the tenant must surrender the property to the landlord "in the same condition in which the Tenant received it at the time of entering into the Lease Contract, except for ordinary wear and tear or for damage due to reasons beyond the Tenant's control. In the event of dispute between the two parties, the matter must be referred to the Tribunal."

Those two articles together create a clear legal standard: the property must be returned as it was received. What the law does not specify is how either party proves what that condition was.

What the Dubai Land Department states

The Dubai Land Department (DLD) addresses the security deposit directly on its official website. In its published FAQ, the DLD states: "care must be taken when delivering a rented place to prove its condition in the presence of both you and the landlord."

That is the DLD's own published language, on dubailand.gov.ae. Not a recommendation from a law firm or a property management blog. The regulatory body overseeing Dubai's entire real estate market is explicitly stating that landlords and tenants should prove the property's condition at handover, in each other's presence.

A Pramana Tenancy report is designed to do exactly that.

What happens without documentation

If a dispute arises over the deposit and no condition report exists, both parties face the same problem: neither can prove what the property looked like at the start of the tenancy.

The RDC's own published guidance makes the evidential stakes clear. The default legal position is that the landlord must return the deposit. To justify keeping any part of it, the landlord must produce solid evidence — photographs, written records, or documentation showing that damage beyond ordinary wear and tear occurred during the tenancy. Without that evidence, any claim to retain the deposit is difficult to sustain at the RDC.

But the obligation runs in both directions. The RDC's FAQ also states that the tenant is required to return the property in the same condition as it was received, and that it is essential for the tenant to obtain proof of the property's return. Without that proof, the RDC may treat the tenancy as ongoing.

This means neither party is automatically protected by the absence of documentation. Both the landlord's claim to deduct and the tenant's claim to a full refund rest on the same thing: evidence of what the property looked like, established at the time — not reconstructed from memory months later during a dispute.

When a tenant files a deposit recovery claim, the typical route is the RDC's Payment Writ service. Where the landlord disputes the claim entirely, however, a full First Instance lawsuit may be required, at which point the fee is calculated on a different basis. Either way, the process requires supporting documentation — including, critically, evidence of the property's condition.

A post-dispute inspection can only show the property as it stands at that moment. It cannot establish what condition it was in at the start of the tenancy. That evidence, once lost, cannot be recovered by either side.

The three groups most affected

Tenants

Tenants bear the greatest risk when no check-in report exists. If a landlord claims damage at check-out, the tenant has no way to prove it was pre-existing. Deductions that would be successfully challenged with photographic evidence become much harder to contest without it.

Landlords

Landlords face a different but equally real problem. Without a condition report, any claim for deposit deduction rests on their word alone. The RDC expects evidence. A landlord who cannot document the original condition of their property is poorly placed to justify any deduction, however legitimate.

Real estate agents

Real estate agents carry professional risk when no report is produced. Disputes between landlords and tenants often become disputes about what the agent said, promised, or failed to document. A signed condition report produced at check-in removes that ambiguity and protects the agent's position as well.

The same logic applies across the UAE

While Ejari and the RDC are specific to Dubai, the underlying legal principle holds across the UAE — and in each emirate, the institutional framework reinforces it.

In Abu Dhabi, tenancy contracts must be registered through Tawtheeq, the Abu Dhabi Municipality's official registration system. Disputes are handled by the Rent Dispute Settlement Committee under the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD). As in Dubai, a registered contract is the prerequisite for any formal dispute to be heard — and parties are expected to come with evidence supporting their position on the property's condition.

In Sharjah, the rental market is now governed by Law No. 5 of 2024, which came into effect in September 2024, with disputes handled by the Sharjah Rental Dispute Centre established under Law No. 6 of 2024. The legislation requires tenants to return the property in the same condition as when they moved in, minus ordinary wear and tear. Contract registration with Sharjah Municipality is a prerequisite for any dispute to be heard, and the registration framework is aimed at documenting and certifying property rentals to reduce disputes and legal issues.

In Ras Al Khaimah, tenancies are governed by Amiri Decree No. 1 of 2008 and administered through RAK REERA. The deposit and return obligations follow the same principle: any deductions must be for damage beyond normal wear and tear, and legal precedent at the RAK Rent Dispute Resolution Committee tends to require evidence from both parties to support their positions.

In every emirate, the legal standard is consistent: the tenant must return the property as received, and the landlord must justify any deposit deduction with evidence. In every emirate, the ability to meet that standard depends on documentation created at the time of handover — not reconstructed afterwards.

A note on what "ordinary wear and tear" means

Article 21 excludes ordinary wear and tear from the tenant's liability. This is a reasonable protection — no tenant should be charged for the natural ageing of a property over years of normal use. But "ordinary wear and tear" is not defined in the legislation. In practice, the RDC decides on a case-by-case basis what falls within it and what does not.

It is also worth noting that tenancy contracts may include specific terms about condition at checkout — for example, requiring certain finishes to be restored, or addressing particular items. Where contracts include such clauses, it is worth reviewing them carefully before check-in and, if any terms appear to depart significantly from standard practice, seeking legal advice. The condition report becomes even more important in those circumstances, since it establishes the baseline against which any such contractual obligation would be measured.

A timestamped condition report with photographs of every room, item by item, makes the wear and tear distinction far easier for everyone regardless of what the contract says. Pre-existing scuffs, minor marks, and existing wear are on record. Damage caused during the tenancy is clearly distinguishable. The grey area that generates most disputes becomes much smaller.

What Pramana Tenancy produces

A Pramana Tenancy report documents a property room by room, item by item, at a specific point in time. Every photograph is timestamped. The report is signed by the relevant parties and exported as a PDF.

It is not a legal requirement. But it produces exactly what the Dubai Land Department states on its official website: documented proof of condition, established in the presence of both parties. At check-in, it records the property's condition at the moment of handover. At check-out, it establishes what changed — and what did not — during the tenancy.

For landlords and tenants in Dubai and across the UAE, that is not a nice-to-have. It is the foundation on which any deposit claim — or defence against one — is built.