# Bounced cheque Dubai: what a returned rent cheque does now > A returned Dubai rent cheque splits into a bank stamp, a 30 day tenancy notice, and sometimes a later travel ban. This note keeps the 2022 civil rule, partial payment, and the AECB report in separate lanes. 26 September 2026 Expat Pocket Editorial A bounced cheque Dubai tenants meet is usually a rent instalment the bank will not pay in full. One path is the paper, under federal cheque rules in force since 2 January 2022. The other is the lease, under Dubai landlord and tenant law. The stamp records what the bank did. A notice, if the landlord sends one, starts the tenancy clock. This is orientation, not legal advice. It maps the public rules for a returned rent cheque. It does not decide your stamp, your notice, or an open file. ## What changed on 2 January 2022 Since 2 January 2022, a cheque that bounces for insufficient funds is not a criminal offence in the UAE. Federal Decree-Law 14 of 2020 amended the Commercial Transactions Law. The Central Bank cheque FAQ states the result. The holder needs neither a police report nor a full civil lawsuit. A cheque stamped unpaid for unavailable or insufficient funds is an **executive instrument**. In Dubai it can go to an execution judge for the whole sum or the unpaid part. Bad faith is still criminal: closing the account, withdrawing the funds, or writing the cheque so it cannot be cashed, knowing it would bounce. The fine is at least 10 percent of the cheque value, minimum AED 5,000. A short balance alone is not that case. ## Partial payment, then the stamp Start at the drawee bank. If the money is short, the bank pays whatever partial amount is available and marks the rest on the cheque. The holder takes that marked paper to the execution judge. Police are for bad faith, not for a plain return caused by insufficient funds. The criminal route is a complaint, investigation by the Public Prosecution, and then trial. The bank must report a bounced cheque to the Central Bank. If you bounce four or more cheques within a 12 month period, the account can be closed for two years, or for three years if it happens again. You are not facing arrest for insufficient funds alone. Settlement with the holder or the bank, before enforcement ends or before a related criminal case reaches final judgment, ends that matter. ## A travel ban is a later step One bounced cheque does not, by itself, create a travel ban. An ordinary insufficient funds return has been civil since 2 January 2022. The ban can still arrive later. If you do not settle while the court is enforcing the judgment, the execution judge can impose a travel ban until the debt is settled or arrangements are made. A bad faith criminal file can carry its own ban while it is open. Dubai Police runs a free check called Circulars and Travel Bans. Use the [financial cases service](/app/services/financial-cases.md) rather than guessing from a chat message. ## The rent clock is the notice A bounced rent cheque is also unpaid rent. Article 19 of Law 26 of 2007, as amended by Law 33 of 2008, requires payment on the due dates. Article 25(1)(a) lets the landlord seek eviction during the lease only if the rent is still unpaid **30 days** after a formal notice. One bounce is not an immediate eviction. In practice the landlord can run both files. The notice is the tenancy clock. The stamp is the cheque case. Paying within the 30 days answers the tenancy article. It does not, on these sources, close a bad faith case about a different act. Article 12 sets the due date you agreed, so early payment is optional unless you both change it. Article 9 blocks a unilateral change to the rent or any term for two years from conclusion or the last renewal. The article does not spell out an earlier mutual change, so put any new date in writing. The law sets no minimum or maximum. Monthly, quarterly, half yearly, yearly, or one cheque can be agreed. If you cannot agree, or the dates cannot be verified, the default is four equal instalments a year, in advance. A landlord may insist on four or more. After [Ejari](/blog/ejari-basics-for-new-renters-uae.md) registration, one side does not rewrite the dates. See [Law 26 of 2007](https://dlp.dubai.gov.ae/Legislation%20Reference/2007/Law%20No.%20%2826%29%20of%202007%20Regarding%20regulation%20between%20the%20lessor%20and%20the%20lessee.pdf). If the salary account and the cheque account differ, the gap is timing. See [salary transfer and rent cheques](/blog/salary-transfer-and-rent-cheques-uae.md). ## What reaches an AECB file A returned cheque can count against an AECB score. Al Etihad Credit Bureau lists avoiding bounced cheques among behaviours that help the score. Central Bank rules require banks to report returned cheques to AECB, including cheques that were only partly paid. That report is separate from the one sent to the Central Bank. Repeated returns can also affect later cheque leaves. No leaf count or point loss is stated here. See the [credit score page](/Individual/CreditScore.md) and [AECB credit score in the UAE](/blog/aecb-credit-score-uae.md). ## Six months from the date on the paper Present the cheque within **six months**. Article 618 counts from the issue date written on the cheque, for paper drawn and payable in the UAE or abroad. The count does not start on a later partial payment date. Missing the six months does not, by itself, end the right to the money. The bank may still pay. Delay mainly affects defences against the drawer and endorsers. Keep these papers together: - Cheque, front and back, with the stamp and any partial payment note. - Contract and Ejari record showing the agreed dates. - Written notice, and the day you received it. - Later payment proof, and the account line around the cheque date. The six month window, the 30 day notice, and a travel ban from an execution judge are three different clocks.