Dubai tenants and landlords can now register, renew and cancel Ejari tenancy contracts and pay DEWA security deposits in one place, through the DubaiNow app, the Dubai Land Department (DLD) announced on Monday.
For anyone who has rented a home in Dubai, the old routine is familiar: one stop for the tenancy contract, another for Ejari, then a separate trip or portal for the DEWA connection. That matters for the hundreds of thousands of tenants who move or renew leases in Dubai every year, since fewer steps mean less time off work, less paperwork and fewer delays before moving into a new home.
Key facts
- DLD announced the upgraded Ejari service through the DubaiNow app on Monday, November 2, 2026.
- Tenants can create, register, renew and cancel tenancy contracts within the single app.
- DEWA security deposits can now be paid in the same digital process, to activate electricity and water services.
- The Ejari certificate is issued immediately once a tenancy contract is approved.
- The process runs through UAE PASS, the UAE’s digital identity system, which verifies both landlord and tenant.
How the new DubaiNow Ejari process works
Under the updated service, a tenant renting a new apartment starts by creating and registering the tenancy contract directly in the DubaiNow app. Once the contract is approved, the Ejari certificate is generated immediately, without a separate visit to a typing centre or a different online portal.
The same app now also handles the DEWA security deposit. Instead of registering the lease in one system and then logging into another to set up electricity and water, a tenant can complete both in the same digital session, which should shorten the gap between signing a lease and actually moving in.
Tenants renewing an existing contract can do so through the app as well, and landlords or tenants who need to end an agreement can use the built-in cancellation service rather than handling it separately. Every step is tied to UAE PASS, so both parties confirm their identity digitally rather than relying on physical paperwork or in-person signatures.
What it means for Dubai renters and landlords
For tenants, the practical benefit is fewer trips and less time spent chasing documents across different platforms. A new renter who used to juggle a typing centre, a DEWA office or app, and a landlord’s signature can now, in principle, handle most of that from one screen, with immediate Ejari issuance once the contract is approved.
For landlords, bundling renewal and cancellation into the same digital workflow cuts the back-and-forth that often comes with lease paperwork, particularly during the renewal season when many contracts come up at once. This kind of consolidation fits a wider pattern of UAE government and quasi-government services moving onto single digital platforms, something regularly covered in TAI News real estate coverage, as authorities look to cut friction in everyday property transactions.
Because the system runs on UAE PASS, both sides of a tenancy agreement get a verified digital trail of the contract, its renewal history and its cancellation, which could prove useful if a dispute over a lease or deposit arises later.
DLD has not indicated, based on the announcement, whether further features will be added to the Ejari service on DubaiNow, or whether similar bundling will extend to other property-related transactions in Dubai. Tenants and landlords with leases coming up for renewal can check the DubaiNow app directly to see whether the new combined Ejari and DEWA option is already available to them, according to Gulf News.
