There is no Ejari in Ras Al Khaimah. Ejari is a Dubai system. Here, a tenancy contract is registered with RAK Municipality through its Lands and Properties Sector, on the RAK Digital portal, and the service is called Tenancy Contract Registration. There is no separate rental regulator in the emirate.
That one difference changes the sequence of a move, because Etihad Water and Electricity will not switch a supply on without a registered contract.
The steps
- Decide the area before the building. Al Hamra Village for golf, beach and an established family crowd. Al Marjan Island for waterfront apartments. Mina Al Arab for lagoon-side villas. Al Nakheel for lower rents and a short drive to the offices and hospitals.
- View in a half day. Two or three communities in one run, in the order that makes geographic sense, with the drive times as you go.
- Agree the rent and the cheque count. One, two, four or twelve cheques are all normal here, and monthly payment is more common than in Dubai. Fewer cheques usually buys a lower headline rent.
- Sign the tenancy contract. Rent and payment schedule, term and renewal, notice period, maintenance split, the security deposit and how it comes back, and a sublet clause if you have any thought of short letting.
- Register with the Municipality. Fully digital, both parties sign with UAE Pass, no typing centre, about two working days for a residential contract.
- Connect the utilities. Etihad Water and Electricity for power and water, then internet, then the community access cards and parking permit.
- Do the inventory. Photograph everything on the day you take the keys, including meter readings, and send the photographs to the landlord in writing.
What registration costs, and who pays
For a residential tenancy the fee is AED 50 plus 5 per cent of the annual rent, with a minimum of AED 200. Commercial and investment property is AED 100 plus 5 per cent with a minimum of AED 500. The tenant pays.
The 5 per cent is not taken upfront. It is split into twelve monthly instalments and added to the Etihad Water and Electricity bill as municipal fees, so on a rent of AED 100,000 that is roughly AED 417 a month. If the tenancy ends early, the charge is pro-rated. Figures of “AED 25 plus 5 per cent” still circulate online and are out of date.
Documents you need
- Emirates ID for both parties, or a passport and visa page while yours is being issued.
- A trade licence if either party is a company.
- A power of attorney where somebody else is signing.
- The Etihad Water and Electricity premise number for the unit.
- You do not need the title deed. The Municipality already holds the ownership record, which is a point most guides get wrong.
Notice, renewal and rent increases
Under the standard lease terms used here, either party gives two months’ written notice before expiry or the contract renews automatically. A tenant leaving early gives three months’ notice and pays the rent for that period. The rent cannot be increased until at least a year has passed from the expiry of the first lease term.
Ras Al Khaimah has no rent calculator and no published rent index, so a renewal negotiation here is a conversation about comparable units rather than a lookup.
Deposits and disputes
The security deposit is customarily one month’s rent and is not fixed by law. It is a separate thing from the 5 per cent municipality fee, which is not a deposit and does not come back.
Disputes go to the Committee for the Resolution of Real Estate and Rental Disputes, a special judicial committee separate from RAK Courts. The filing fee is 10 per cent of the claim, capped at AED 30,000.
If you are thinking of short letting
A tenant cannot run a holiday home on a normal tenancy. It takes a contract that expressly permits subletting, a separate written no objection certificate from the landlord, and a permit from the tourism authority for that one unit.