Eight to twelve weeks before: notice

  • Read your tenancy contract for the notice period. Ninety days is common in Dubai, but it is set by your contract, not by a rule. Getting this wrong is the single most expensive move-out mistake, because a missed notice window can auto-renew the tenancy.
  • Serve notice in writing, in the form the contract requires. Some contracts specify notarised notice or registered post. A WhatsApp message to the agent is not notice.
  • Get written acknowledgement that the notice was received, and keep it.
  • Ask for the handover inspection date in writing at the same time. Everything else works backwards from that date.
Do this before you look at new properties. People find the new place first and then discover their notice period does not allow them to take it.

Four to six weeks before: the plan

  • Compare your move-out and move-in dates. If they do not line up, decide now how you are bridging the gap — see what to do when the dates do not match.
  • Book packing, transport and any storage. End-of-month slots are the busiest in Dubai. Collection and return timing is confirmed based on availability, so early notice gets you more choice.
  • Decide whether the flat needs repainting and book it. The painter needs the flat empty, so this has to be sequenced with the move, not after it.
  • Start the discard pile. Anything you would not pay to move or to store should be sold or given away now, not on the last weekend.

Two weeks before: paperwork and services

  • Contact DEWA about the final bill and closing the account. The final settlement is normally required before the deposit is released.
  • Cancel or transfer internet and TV. These carry their own notice periods, often thirty days, and the router usually has to be returned. An unreturned router is a charge.
  • Cancel chiller or district cooling if it is billed separately from DEWA. This is commonly missed in towers.
  • Cancel the gas account where the building has piped gas.
  • Redirect anything that comes by post and update your address with your bank, your employer and the RTA.
  • Find the access cards, parking fobs and spare keys now. Not on the day. Missing fobs and access cards are charged, and they are the item people most often cannot find.

One week before: the flat itself

  • Take down everything you mounted — shelves, TV brackets, mirrors, hooks — and fill the holes properly. Filler needs to dry before it is painted.
  • Photograph the whole flat before the move-out, with the date. This is your evidence if there is a dispute about condition.
  • Check the AC filters and grilles. Dirty AC is one of the most common deductions and one of the easiest to fix.
  • Deal with silicone and grout in the kitchen and bathrooms.
  • Confirm your collection slot and tell the building management if a service-lift booking or move-out permit is required. Most Dubai towers require both, and a move without a lift booking is a move that does not happen.

Move-out week: the order

  1. Pack and collect two or three days before the inspection, not the morning of it. Keep out the things you will need in the gap — clothes, documents, chargers, work equipment.
  2. Paint, if the flat is being repainted. This is why the flat has to be empty first.
  3. Deep clean after the paint, including inside cupboards, the oven, the extractor and the balcony.
  4. Final meter readings. Photograph DEWA and any chiller meters on the day.
  5. Handover inspection with the landlord or agent. Walk it with them rather than handing over the keys and leaving.
  6. Hand over everything. All keys, all access cards, all parking fobs, remote controls, and any manuals that came with the flat. Get a signed acknowledgement listing what you handed over.
Leave a buffer. If the inspection is on the last day of the tenancy and the paint or the clean runs late, you have no room to fix anything. Two or three days of buffer costs nothing.

After handover: the deposit

  • Ask when the deposit will be returned and in what form, in writing, at the inspection.
  • Ask for any deduction to be itemised with a quotation or an invoice — not a round number.
  • Keep your dated photographs and the signed handover acknowledgement until the money is back.
  • Confirm the DEWA account is closed and settled, and that the Ejari registration for the property has been cancelled.

If a deduction is disputed and cannot be resolved with the landlord or agent, the Rental Disputes Centre is the formal route. Having dated photographs and a signed handover record is what makes that conversation short.

The short version

  • 12 weeks: check the notice period, serve notice in writing, get the inspection date.
  • 6 weeks: book packing, transport, storage and painting. Start discarding.
  • 2 weeks: DEWA, internet, chiller, gas. Find the fobs and cards.
  • 1 week: take down mountings, fill holes, photograph everything, book the service lift.
  • Move week: collect, paint, clean, read meters, inspect, hand over with a signed list.
  • After: chase the deposit with your evidence in hand.