How to Keep a Security Deposit Receipt and Register for Each Dubai Tenancy

The deposit arrives as a cheque, a bank transfer, or cash at signing, and the only “proof” is a chat or an unlabelled bank line. The risk is a year-later refund ask with no cheque number and no held / deducted / refunded status. Do write the agreed amount on the signed contract, issue a same-day receipt with the payment reference, open one register row marked held, attach evidence before any deduction, and mark refunded only when money leaves — so the trail still matches the Ejari deposit field.

Friday signing in JLT. The tenant hands a manager’s cheque for AED 6,000 marked “deposit”. The agent texts “all good”. A year later the tenant asks for the refund: WhatsApp has no cheque number, the bank line says “transfer”, and the spreadsheet has one cell “deposit?” with no held, deducted, or refunded status. A same-day receipt plus one register row would have been the file.

Surprising fact: Dubai Law No. 26 of 2007 Article 20 lets the landlord obtain a security deposit for maintenance and requires refund of the deposit or the remainder when the lease expires — with no maximum percentage and no fixed day-count in the article. Common “5% / 10%” and “30-day refund” lines on tenant guides are market talk, not Art. 20 text.

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

What to write as the deposit amount on the contract and Ejari?

Do write the agreed security deposit amount in AED on the signed unified tenancy contract before money changes hands. Match that figure on the receipt and the register row. Do not leave the deposit field blank if a deposit will be paid. One number across contract, receipt, and register beats three conflicting notes.

The DLD Unified Tenancy Contract includes fields for Security Deposit Amount and Mode of Payment. When you register the lease on Ejari — Dubai’s tenancy registration — mirror the same amount so the registered file matches the signed form. The DLD Register / Renew Ejari service requires the unified contract (online fees around AED 177.75 via the app channel as listed in September 2026). Do set one AED figure before signing. Do not invent a statutory “maximum percentage” — Art. 20 does not set one.

How do you issue a same-day security deposit receipt?

When the cheque or transfer lands, issue a dated receipt the same day. Do file a copy with the tenancy. Label the purpose “security deposit”, not rent and not commission. Cheque and bank transfer are both normal — always receipt. Cash without paper is the weakest trail. In practice, a manager’s cheque for AED 6,000 with no cheque number on file is almost as weak as a WhatsApp “received”. Do write method, reference, unit, and who received it. Do not rely on chat alone.

How do you keep one held / deducted / refunded register?

Open one register row per tenancy and link it to the contract or Ejari number. Start as held with the receipt attached. Move to deducted only with a dated amount and invoice or evidence note. Mark refunded only when the outbound transfer or cheque leaves. The remaining balance should always be visible.

Under Art. 20 the landlord undertakes to refund the deposit or the remainder upon expiry — a clean held → deducted → refunded history makes that remainder visible. DLD’s Tenancy Guide reprints the Art. 20 obtain-and-refund text beside Ejari’s purpose. Do set one row per tenancy. Do not park every deposit in one Excel cell labelled “deposit?”. Useful fields: Ejari or contract number; amount held; date received; receipt link; deduction and refund lines with dates and references; balance. Law Art. 4 also ties disputes to a registered lease — so the money trail sits next to Ejari, not a chat folder.

What to file before any deduction note?

Before you write a deduction on the register, file the handover or inspection note and any utility clearance evidence that belongs to the refund gate. Ordinary wear and tear is not a default charge. Deduction notes need evidence — or they should not happen.

Art. 21 requires surrender in the condition received, except ordinary wear and tear or damage beyond the tenant’s control. DLD FAQ on insurance and ordinary wear stresses proving condition at delivery, and notes that minor damage from normal daily use is not the tenant’s repair bill. RDC FAQ treats comprehensive cleaning and interior painting as typically the owner’s customary responsibility. Do file inspection and clearance notes before a deduction line. Do not rebuild a full room-by-room walkthrough or a DEWA deactivation how-to here — stay on the money trail.

When to mark the register refunded?

Mark refunded after handover and any documented deductions, when the refund transfer or cheque actually leaves — not when the tenant first asks, and not while utility clearance is still open. If a private contract term sets a refund window, follow that term; Art. 20 itself triggers on lease expiry and remainder, without a day-count in the statute.

Send the remainder by a traceable method and record the outbound reference. Partial refunds need evidenced deductions until the balance is zero. If a dispute later escalates, RDC’s Payment Writ route for deposit return lists prerequisites such as the latest Ejari lease copy and written proof of the amount due — your receipt and register are that trail. Keep the ops file ready; do not turn this guide into a claim-filing pack.

Success bar: deposit amount on the signed contract before Ejari; same-day receipt with payment reference; one register row marked held; inspection and clearance notes before any deduction; register marked refunded only when funds left; no invented statutory percentage; product stores the receipt and row — not escrow. Verify that checklist before you close the tenancy file.

IziRento is a SaaS workspace for properties, leases, bills, payments, meters, inspections, and related records. It can store the deposit receipt PDF and the register row with the tenancy file. It does not hold the deposit, is not escrow, and is not a payment guarantor. See izirento.com for the product overview. Pre-launch; homepage prices are indicative.