Paper checklist and a phone beside the line that a still-active contract needs an owner letter — That contract state decides whether the owner letter goes in the cancel file

How to Assemble an Ejari Cancellation Documents File When the Tenant Vacates

After a Dubai tenant vacates, record whether the Ejari term has ended, add an owner letter only if it is still active, and keep the approval email.

5 October 2026•3 min read•Article•IziRento Editorial

Rental operations notes from the IziRento team. Not legal advice.

Key takeaways

Ejari, Dubai's tenancy registration, is closed from a cancellation documents file once the unit is vacated. The first line says whether the term has already ended or the contract is still active. Only the still-active file adds the owner's written request. The Land Department does not issue a cancellation certificate. Keep the approval email from a channel whose published rules fit.

The unit is vacated, and Ejari, Dubai's tenancy registration, has not been cancelled. This file is not the pack used to register a new contract. The first line names the contract state: the term has already ended, or the contract is still active. That line decides whether the owner's letter goes in. Handing the papers to a relative, or waiting for a cancellation certificate, does not close the record.

Disclaimer: IziRento is operations software, not legal advice. Local tenancy rules vary; check a qualified adviser for binding decisions.

Vacated, and still inside the term or already past it

The cancellation file opens with a vacated line. The signed move-out file is that note: the unit is empty and the handover is already signed. Compare the contract end date with the day the keys came back. Write either “term ended, unit vacated” or “still inside the term.”

The Land Department service Cancel Tenancy Contract covers a tenancy that has expired on a property vacated in Dubai. The page lists the Dubai REST app, the Ejari system on the department’s website, and a Real Estate Services Trustee Centre. Name the contract state before you use any of them.

When the lease has already expired, the department’s campaign FAQ says landlord approval is not required. A contract still inside its term is a different file. On the English text of Law No. 26 of 2007, a valid lease is not ended by one side during the term. It ends by mutual consent or in line with the law, and the Arabic text prevails. The owner’s letter shows that agreement, and only the still-active file includes it.

Checklist naming whether the vacated contract is still inside the term or already past it — Write the vacated line before you choose which cancel pack to build

Term ended, unit vacated

Contract or Ejari copy, and the applicant’s Emirates ID
Original Unified Tenancy Contract if the visit is at a Trustee Centre
Official power of attorney only if a representative files

Owner’s letter requesting cancellation
Landlord approval once the lease has expired

Contract still active

The same contract and the applicant’s Emirates ID
Owner’s written request for cancellation
Landlord approval, or an NOC, if the tenant starts the request

An expired lease, which needs no owner letter

The papers both packs share, and the letter only one needs

A trustee visit includes the original Unified Tenancy Contract. If someone else files, add an official power of attorney, the written authority for that person. A Dubai-issued power of attorney is entered as a number, and the document is not attached. One from another emirate is attached.

The owner’s written request belongs only in the still-active pack. On the trustee document list, that letter is the owner asking for cancellation, and an expired lease does not need it. If the tenant starts the request while the lease is still valid, the trustee centre expects the landlord’s approval, often called an NOC. The department does not publish a form for the letter.

A Bayut guide updated on 12 August 2026 suggests the owner’s name, the building, and a line that the unit is vacant. You can use those lines in the still-active letter. They are not a Land Department form.

Clearance in the order the utility describes

The trustee document list does not name a utility bill. Clearance still goes in this file in the order DEWA describes. DEWA is Dubai’s electricity and water utility. When the owner requests cancellation, DEWA emails the tenant a link to settle any remaining balance and to choose the deactivation date and time. Keep the acknowledgment’s reference number and tracking link with the file.

Electricity and water are deactivated after the date and time the tenant selects, and the final green bill is sent to the registered email. After that bill is settled, the clearance certificate is emailed to the customer and shared with RERA, the Real Estate Regulatory Agency, so the cancellation can continue. The customer asks for move-out before requesting clearance, except an owner who is selling.

That link is only for a residential Ejari with one premise number. Business supplies, property-owner accounts, free-zone premises, non-DEWA customers, expired certificates, and court cases go through Dubai Now or DEWA’s own digital channels. File the clearance those channels send. Law No. 26 of 2007 says the landlord may not disconnect services to the property.

Shared papers on a checklist, with the owner request only in the still-active pack — An expired lease does not need the owner letter

No cancellation certificate

The Dubai Land Department does not issue a certificate or a receipt for a cancelled Ejari. Once cancellation is complete, the lease is invalid with no further certificate. Keep the approval email, and the trustee payment receipt only if you paid. That receipt is not a cancellation certificate.

Build the cancellation file

Write the vacated line
Compare the contract end date with the day the keys came back. Note “term ended, unit vacated” or “still inside the term,” and use that line to choose the pack.
Add the contract and the applicant’s identity
File the contract or Ejari copy with the applicant’s Emirates ID. A trustee visit also needs the original Unified Tenancy Contract, and a representative needs the official power of attorney.
Add the owner’s letter only while the contract is active
Include the owner’s written request only if the contract is still active. If the tenant starts that request, add the landlord’s approval.
File clearance in the utility’s order
For one residential premise, the owner’s cancellation request is what prompts DEWA’s email to the tenant. Keep the reference, the final green bill, and the clearance email. Other supplies use Dubai Now or DEWA’s own channels. Do not disconnect electricity or water.
Submit where that channel’s rules fit
Log in, fill in data if the form asks, and submit on a channel the cancel page allows. Keep the payment receipt if a Trustee Centre visit is paid. An unapproved request drops after 5 days.
Keep the approval email
Store the approval email with the tenancy, and the trustee payment receipt only if that visit was paid.

An eligible channel, then the approval email

A Trustee Centre is not the channel when a real estate company manages the property, or when the owner already has Ejari system access. The applicant there is the tenant or a legal representative with an official power of attorney, and the landlord is the owner or a representative with that authority. Dubai REST needs the tenant and the landlord to be individuals, with the owner’s data up to date. The Ejari system is for a company licensed to manage property, an owner managing their own property, or a representative whose power of attorney authorises management.

The app and the Ejari system are free of charge. A Trustee Centre charges a Service Partner Fee of AED 40 + VAT. The page does not publish a VAT-inclusive total. Payment there is by credit card, cash, or Noqodi wallet, and the service time is 25 minutes.

Online, log in, fill in data if the form asks, and submit. An email is sent if the request is approved. If it stays unapproved for 5 days, the request is cancelled. Those 5 days are about the request, not a notice to end the tenancy. Keep the approval email with this tenancy, and the trustee payment receipt only if the visit was paid.

The tenancy file shows the record was closed when the vacated line names the contract state, the owner’s letter is there only if the contract was still active, and the approval email is filed. That email is the confirmation. Do not wait for a cancellation certificate. The next tenant’s registration documents are a separate file. IziRento can store this cancel file beside the tenancy, and it does not submit the cancellation.

Blank email card beside the approval confirmation, an invalid lease, five unapproved days, and the tenancy file — Store the approval email; an unapproved request drops after 5 days

FAQ

Who can start the cancellation?

Landlords can start on the Ejari system as business users, at a Trustee Centre, or on Dubai REST. Tenants can cancel with the landlord’s approval: a still-valid lease at a trustee centre needs an NOC, and an expired lease does not need one. Dubai REST is listed for tenants as well. A representative needs an official power of attorney. The campaign FAQ does not make cancellation one side’s legal duty, and an unapproved request is dropped after 5 days.

Is Trustee Centre cancellation charged?

On the cancel page, the app and the Ejari system are free of charge. A Trustee Centre charges a Service Partner Fee of AED 40 + VAT, and the page does not publish a VAT-inclusive total. The customer receives a payment receipt. That receipt is not a cancellation certificate.

What blocks cancellation most often?

A still-active contract with no owner’s letter, or a request left unapproved for 5 days, is what blocks it most often. A Trustee Centre is not available when a company, or an owner with Ejari system access, already manages the unit. The app is not available when a party is not an individual or the owner’s data is out of date. A representative needs an official power of attorney. If single-premise clearance has not reached RERA, the cancellation stays open. A certificate the department does not issue will not close it.