Nominee Tenancies in Dubai: When the Named Tenant Has Left the Country and Someone Else Is Living in the Unit

A nominee tenancy is a lease where the person named on the tenancy contract and the Ejari registration is not the person who actually lives in the property. The named tenant signs the contract, hands over a cheque book drawn on their own account, and then leaves the UAE. Someone else moves in and stays. When the cheques are dishonoured, the landlord is left holding a claim against a person who is no longer in the jurisdiction, and possession of a unit occupied by a person who is not a party to any contract with them.

The arrangement is not always unlawful on its face — third parties pay rent in Dubai every day, lawfully. What makes this pattern different is that the named tenant never intends to occupy, and the occupant is deliberately kept off the paperwork. That is where the exposure sits, and it sits with the landlord, the occupant, the nominee and the brokerage, in different ways.

The landlord’s most reliable route is usually the simplest one: an Article 25(1)(a) non-payment claim before the Rental Disputes Centre, run in parallel with direct execution of the dishonoured cheque under Article 667 of the Commercial Transactions Law. Proving the nominee arrangement is rarely necessary and often slows the file down.

Dubai’s framework already supplies the tools to prevent the arrangement entirely: mandatory Ejari registration, licensed and regulated brokers, a specialised rental court, and — since 2026 — consent-based tenant credit screening through Al Etihad Credit Bureau and UAE PASS. This is not a gap in the law. It is a documentation failure that occurs where those tools go unused.

What the arrangement looks like in practice

The pattern reported to us follows a consistent shape.

A prospective occupant approaches a leasing agent. When the landlord’s requirements are put to them — salary certificate, employment verification, bank statements, valid residence visa with a term matching the lease — the prospective occupant cannot meet them, or does not wish to be documented. A third party is then produced as the contracting tenant. That person holds a UAE residence visa and a local bank account. They sign the tenancy contract, the Ejari is registered in their name, and their cheque book covers the rent instalments.

Within weeks or months, the named tenant leaves the country. Sometimes the visa is cancelled; sometimes it simply lapses. The occupant remains. The first cheque presented after the departure is returned unpaid.

The landlord discovers the position only at that point, and usually discovers three things at once: the person they contracted with is gone, the person in the property never signed anything, and the security deposit covers a fraction of the arrears.

It should be said plainly that this is not a feature of the Dubai rental market at large. It is an isolated pattern that appears where a leasing file is closed without the verification steps the framework already provides, and in every instance we have advised on it was avoidable at the point of signature.

The distinction that decides everything: third-party payment versus nominee tenancy

This is where most commentary on the subject goes wrong, and it matters because the wrong characterisation can sink a claim.

There is no rule in Dubai tenancy law requiring the rent cheques to be drawn on the tenant’s own account. Employers pay rent for staff. Parents pay for adult children. Companies pay for directors. Guarantors pay when the tenant defaults. These are ordinary, lawful arrangements, and a landlord who treats every third-party cheque as suspicious will lose good tenants for no reason.

The line is drawn by who is intended to occupy, not by whose account the cheque is drawn on.

A landlord who is told “my company will issue the cheques and here is the company’s undertaking” has a documented arrangement and a contracting party who is present. A landlord who receives a cheque book from a person whose only connection to the property is the signature on the contract has neither.

The legal framework

Where the landlord’s exposure actually bites

Possession. The eviction claim must be brought against the contracting tenant, because that is the person with whom the landlord has a legal relationship. That the tenant is abroad does not defeat the claim — the RDC can effect service at the leased premises and, failing that, by publication, and can give judgment in the tenant’s absence. But it slows the file, and it means the landlord spends months litigating against a defendant who will never appear.

Recovery. A judgment against a person with no UAE presence, no employer, no bank balance and no assets is a piece of paper. Execution measures that work well against a resident debtor — salary attachment, account freeze, travel ban — depend on the debtor being reachable. The realistic outcome in most nominee cases is that the landlord recovers possession and very little money.

The occupant. The occupant will often assert that they have nothing to do with the case and cannot be removed. That is wrong. Their possession is derived entirely from the named tenant. Once the tenancy is terminated, they have no independent right to remain, and the execution of an eviction judgment extends to those occupying under the tenant. Article 30 of Law No. 26 of 2007 preserves a subtenant’s position only where the sublease was approved by the landlord — which, by definition, this one was not.

The landlord’s own conduct. If the landlord or the managing agent understood what was happening and accepted it — because the unit had been vacant, because the cheques cleared for the first quarter, because the commission was earned — that will be raised. It does not extinguish the claim, but it affects the tenor of the proceedings and it affects any parallel complaint to the Real Estate Regulatory Agency.

The remedies, and what each one is actually worth

1. Non-payment eviction before the RDC — the primary route

Under Article 25(1)(a) of Law No. 26 of 2007, a landlord may seek eviction during the lease term where the tenant fails to pay rent within thirty days of service of a notice to pay. The notice must be served through a notary public or by registered mail; informal messages do not satisfy the requirement.

This is the route we recommend in almost every nominee case, for one reason: the landlord does not have to prove the nominee arrangement at all. The cheque bounced. The notice was served. The thirty days expired. That is a complete case. Building a claim around concealment, misrepresentation or unauthorised subletting requires evidence the landlord frequently does not have, invites a defence, and adds months.

The nominee facts still belong in the file — they explain the urgency, they support the claim for the full contractual rent for the balance of the term, and they matter if the occupant tries to assert a right to stay. But they are the background, not the cause of action.

2. Unauthorised subletting — available, but harder

Article 24 prohibits a tenant from subletting the property or any part of it without the landlord’s written approval. Article 25(1)(b) makes breach a ground for eviction during the term, and expressly extends the eviction to the subtenant, who is left to claim compensation from the tenant.

This is the natural fit on the facts, and it has the advantage of naming the occupant directly. Its weakness is evidential: the landlord must show that the occupant holds under an arrangement with the tenant. Where the occupant has been paying the nominee, or where there is written material establishing the arrangement, this ground is worth pleading in the alternative. Where there is nothing but the landlord’s suspicion, it will not carry the case on its own.

3. Direct execution of the dishonoured cheque

Under Article 667 of Federal Decree-Law No. 50 of 2022, a cheque returned by the drawee bank for insufficient or absent funds is an executive instrument. The holder may go straight to the execution court and demand compulsory enforcement in whole or in part, without first obtaining a judgment on the underlying debt. In 2023, the Federal and Local Judicial Principles Unification Committee confirmed that closure of the account is treated the same way as insufficiency of funds for these purposes.

This should be filed in parallel with the RDC claim, not after it. It is faster, it is cheaper, and it creates an execution file that will follow the nominee if they ever return to the UAE.

4. Criminal complaint — narrower than most people assume

This is where landlords are most often given false comfort, so it is worth stating plainly.

Since the reforms introduced by Federal Decree-Law No. 14 of 2020 and consolidated in Federal Decree-Law No. 50 of 2022, a cheque that bounces because the account did not hold enough money is not a criminal offence. Criminal liability under Article 675 is confined to specific bad-faith conduct: instructing the bank not to pay other than in the permitted cases, closing the account or withdrawing the whole balance or causing it to be frozen before presentment, and deliberately drawing or signing the cheque in a manner that prevents payment. The penalty is imprisonment of between six months and two years and/or a fine of not less than 10% of the cheque value, subject to a minimum of AED 5,000 and a maximum of twice the cheque value.

That means a nominee who simply left with an underfunded account has, on those facts alone, committed no crime. A nominee who closed the account before departure has. The difference is a matter of bank records, and it should be established before any complaint is filed rather than after.

Where the surrounding conduct involves forged documents, altered salary certificates or false statements made to obtain the tenancy, the general provisions of the Crimes and Penalties Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 31 of 2021) may be engaged. That is a fact-specific assessment and it should not be assumed.

The occupant’s position: no protection at all

An occupant living in a unit registered to someone else is in a materially worse position than a tenant, and generally does not realise it until something goes wrong.

They cannot file at the Rental Disputes Centre, because the RDC requires an Ejari-registered contract between the parties and there is none in their name. They have no protection against rent increases, because the RERA rental index applies to registered contracts. They cannot obtain a DEWA account, sponsor dependants against the address, or use the tenancy for visa or school purposes. They can be removed on the execution of a judgment in proceedings they were never served with and could not have defended. And any money they paid to the nominee is recoverable, if at all, only from a person who has left the country.

An occupant in this position who is approached by the landlord should take advice immediately rather than ignoring correspondence. A negotiated regularisation — a fresh tenancy contract in the occupant’s own name, on documented terms — is frequently achievable and is very often what the landlord actually wants, because the landlord’s objective is a paying tenant rather than an empty unit.

The nominee’s position: liability does not end at the airport

Leaving the UAE does not close the file.

The tenancy contract remains binding, and the landlord may obtain judgment in absentia for the rent for the balance of the term together with costs. The dishonoured cheques are enforceable instruments and generate execution files that remain live. Where the account was closed or payment stopped, criminal exposure under Article 675 survives. All of it becomes immediately operative on any return to the UAE, and it will surface in banking, employment and visa processes long before that.

People who agree to act as nominee tenants are usually doing a favour for a relative, a friend or a colleague, and are told the arrangement carries no risk. It carries all of the risk. The occupant’s name appears nowhere.

The brokerage’s position: a regulatory problem, not just a commercial one

Where a leasing agent has facilitated a nominee tenancy, the exposure is regulatory as well as civil.

Article 22 of Bylaw No. 85 of 2006 makes a broker liable for loss or damage caused to a contracting party by deception, fraud, or failure to observe the Bylaw or the Code of Professional Ethics. Article 39 empowers the Permanent Real Estate Brokerage Committee to issue warnings, suspend the broker’s activity for up to six months, or blacklist the broker, with licence cancellation available by resolution of the Director General of the Dubai Land Department.

Separately, real estate brokers are designated non-financial businesses and professions under the UAE anti-money laundering framework. Customer due diligence, verification of the identity of the contracting party, and reporting of suspicious activity are mandatory obligations, not best practice. An arrangement in which the contracting party is not the beneficiary of the contract is, on any view, a matter requiring enquiry.

Agents who spot the pattern and decline the deal are protecting their licence. Agents who process it because the file closes faster are not.

The verification infrastructure the UAE has built

It is worth being clear about why this is a documentation failure rather than a shortcoming in the law. The Dubai rental market is among the most heavily instrumented in the region, and every element of the nominee pattern is detectable using tools that are already in place.

Consent-based tenant credit screening. In May 2026, Al Etihad Credit Bureau — the UAE’s federal credit information entity — launched a Tenant Screening service developed with UAE PASS, the national digital identity platform, together with the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority and Digital Dubai. A landlord may request a prospective tenant’s credit score through the Bureau’s app, and the data is released only once the tenant approves the request through their own verified UAE PASS account. The service was previewed at GITEX 2025 and went live in April 2026.

Its significance for nominee tenancies is not the score itself. It is the consent step. A screening request must be accepted by the named tenant, personally, through a verified national digital identity tied to their Emirates ID. A person who has agreed to lend their name to a lease but has no intention of engaging with it will frequently not complete that step — and a refusal is itself information the landlord did not previously have.

The Cheque Clearance Indicator. Alongside the screening launch, Al Etihad Credit Bureau upgraded its Cheque Clearance Indicator, which applies artificial intelligence to the drawer’s credit record to indicate the likelihood that a cheque will be honoured. For a landlord being offered a cheque book by a person with no other visible connection to the transaction, this is the most directly useful tool available.

Mandatory registration and licensed intermediation. Every tenancy contract in Dubai must be registered through Ejari, and registration ties the contract to identified parties and a specific unit. Brokers must be licensed and registered with RERA under Bylaw No. 85 of 2006, are bound by a code of professional ethics, and carry customer due diligence and suspicious transaction reporting obligations as designated non-financial businesses and professions. The Rental Disputes Centre provides a specialised judicial forum with jurisdiction over the whole of the relationship.

The framework is not the weak point. The weak point is a leasing file closed without using it.

Prevention: what landlords and managing agents should actually do

Detection is cheap. Litigation is not.

1. Verify residence visa validity against the lease term. A twelve-month tenancy signed by a person whose visa expires in three months is the single clearest indicator.
2. Use the Al Etihad Credit Bureau Tenant Screening service. The request is made through the Bureau’s app and answered by the tenant through UAE PASS. Where a named tenant will not complete a consent step tied to their own verified digital identity, that is the answer.
3. Require the tenant’s own Emirates ID, and check that the cheque account is in the tenant’s name. Where it is not, require written disclosure of the payer and the reason, and document it as an annexure.
4. Ask who will occupy, and record the answer in the contract. A clause naming the permitted occupants converts an evidential problem into a contractual breach.
5. Include an express prohibition on subletting, sharing or assignment without prior written consent, so that Article 25(1)(b) is available without argument about the contract’s terms.
6. Meet the tenant, at the property, at handover. A nominee arrangement rarely survives a face-to-face handover and a photograph of the tenant with the keys.
7. Require immediate notification of any change in the tenant’s visa or employment status, with a right of termination on breach.
8. Present the cheques on time and act on the first dishonour. The single most expensive mistake landlords make is waiting for the second or third bounce before serving notice. By then the nominee has usually gone.

When to instruct a rental lawyer in Dubai

Instruct at the point of the first dishonoured cheque, not at the point of the third. The remedies available under Law No. 26 of 2007 are conditional on a properly served notice, and defective service is the most common reason RDC claims fail. Filing the notary notice and the cheque execution file correctly in the first week frequently determines whether the landlord recovers possession in three months or twelve.

DY Lawyers and Legal Consultants advises landlords, tenants, occupants and brokerages on Dubai tenancy matters, including RDC proceedings, eviction and non-payment claims, cheque enforcement, Ejari and registration disputes, and RERA regulatory complaints. We work on fixed fees agreed in advance.

Frequently asked questions

Is it illegal in Dubai to rent an apartment in someone else’s name?

Signing a tenancy contract as a nominee for a person who intends to occupy the property is not, by itself, a defined criminal offence. But it exposes the named tenant to full contractual liability for the rent, exposes the occupant to eviction with no right to be heard, and may engage the deception and forgery provisions of Federal Decree-Law No. 31 of 2021 where false documents or false statements were used to obtain the tenancy.

Can a landlord evict someone who is not named on the tenancy contract in Dubai?

Yes. The occupant’s right to be in the property derives entirely from the named tenant. Once the tenancy is terminated by the Rental Disputes Centre, execution of the eviction judgment extends to those occupying under the tenant. Article 30 of Law No. 26 of 2007 protects a subtenant only where the sublease was approved by the landlord in writing.

My tenant left the UAE and the rent cheques bounced. What do I do first?

Serve a notice to pay through a notary public or by registered mail, and simultaneously file the dishonoured cheque for direct execution under Article 667 of Federal Decree-Law No. 50 of 2022. If the arrears are not cleared within thirty days of service, file an eviction claim at the Rental Disputes Centre under Article 25(1)(a) of Law No. 26 of 2007.

Can I file an RDC case against a tenant who is outside the UAE?

Yes. The Rental Disputes Centre can effect service at the leased premises and, where that fails, by publication, and can give judgment in the tenant’s absence. The practical difficulty is not obtaining the judgment; it is enforcing a money judgment against a person with no UAE assets.

Is a bounced rent cheque a criminal offence in the UAE?

Generally no. Since the reforms consolidated in Federal Decree-Law No. 50 of 2022, a cheque dishonoured for insufficient or absent funds is enforced as a civil matter through the execution court. Criminal liability under Article 675 arises only for specific bad-faith conduct, such as instructing the bank to stop payment or closing the account before presentment.

Is it legal for someone else to pay my rent in Dubai?

Yes. There is no requirement that the rent cheques be drawn on the tenant’s own account, and employers, family members and companies commonly issue rent cheques on a tenant’s behalf. The arrangement should be disclosed to the landlord in writing. What is problematic is not third-party payment but a contract signed by a person who never intends to occupy.

I am living in a unit rented in a friend’s name and they have left the country. What are my rights?

Very limited. You cannot file at the Rental Disputes Centre without an Ejari-registered contract in your own name, you have no protection against eviction, and you cannot obtain DEWA or use the address for visa purposes. The practical step is to approach the landlord and seek a fresh tenancy contract in your own name. Take advice before responding to any legal notice.

What is the penalty for subletting without permission in Dubai?

Under Article 25(1)(b) of Law No. 26 of 2007, subletting without the landlord’s written approval entitles the landlord to seek eviction during the lease term. The eviction extends to the subtenant, who may claim compensation from the tenant. The landlord may also claim damages, including where the sublease generated a higher return than the head lease.

Can a landlord check a tenant’s credit score in Dubai?

Yes, with the tenant’s consent. Al Etihad Credit Bureau launched a Tenant Screening service in 2026 that allows a landlord to request a prospective tenant’s credit score through the Bureau’s app. The score is released only after the tenant approves the request through their verified UAE PASS account, so the tenant retains control of their own credit information.

What is the Al Etihad Credit Bureau Tenant Screening service?

It is a consent-based rental screening service launched by the UAE’s federal credit information entity in collaboration with UAE PASS, the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority and Digital Dubai. It was previewed at GITEX 2025 and went live through the Bureau’s mobile app in April 2026. Landlords request the score; tenants approve or refuse through UAE PASS.

Can a landlord check whether a rent cheque is likely to clear?

Al Etihad Credit Bureau operates a Cheque Clearance Indicator, upgraded in 2026 to apply artificial intelligence to the drawer’s credit record, which indicates the likelihood that a cheque will be honoured. It is a useful check where the cheques are drawn on an account belonging to someone other than the occupying tenant.

Does the security deposit cover the arrears?

Rarely. Dubai security deposits are typically five per cent of annual rent for unfurnished units. Against a nominee default occurring early in the term, the deposit will cover a fraction of the outstanding rent and none of the legal costs.

Can a real estate agent be held responsible for arranging a nominee tenancy?

Yes. Article 22 of Bylaw No. 85 of 2006 makes a broker liable for loss caused by deception, fraud or failure to observe the Bylaw or Code of Professional Ethics. The Permanent Real Estate Brokerage Committee may issue warnings, suspend the broker for up to six months or blacklist them under Article 39. Brokers also carry mandatory customer due diligence and suspicious activity reporting obligations as designated non-financial businesses and professions.

How long does an RDC eviction case take in Dubai?

Where the papers are in order and service is straightforward, a non-payment eviction is commonly determined within two to four months, with execution following. Where the tenant is outside the jurisdiction and service must be effected by publication, the timeline extends materially.

Do I need a lawyer for a Rental Disputes Centre case?

Not as a matter of law. But the great majority of claims that fail at the RDC fail on procedure rather than merits — defective notice, wrong service method, wrong statutory ground, or a claim brought against the wrong party. Those errors are cheap to prevent and expensive to correct on appeal.