In 2026, Al Etihad Credit Bureau (“AECB”), the UAE’s federal credit information authority, introduced the ‘Tenant Inquiry’ service, a regulated solution intended to assist landlords and property owners in assessing the financial standing of prospective tenants prior to entering into tenancy arrangements.
The service enables landlords to obtain a structured credit-based assessment relating to a prospective tenant’s financial reliability, including indicators concerning the individual’s history of meeting financial obligations and their general ability to satisfy rental payment commitments. Importantly, the mechanism does not provide unrestricted access to a tenant’s underlying credit file; rather, it delivers a regulated assessment derived from data maintained within AECB’s credit reporting system.
Legal Basis and Consent Requirements
A fundamental feature of the Tenant Inquiry service is its reliance upon the tenant’s prior and express consent. Pursuant to the UAE’s credit information framework and the UAE Personal Data Protection Law (“PDPL”), personal credit information cannot be disclosed to third parties, including prospective landlords, in the absence of the informed consent of the relevant data subject.
Consent under the service is obtained digitally through UAE PASS, the UAE’s national digital identity platform. The integration of UAE PASS serves not only to authenticate the identity of the individual providing consent, but also to establish a secure and verifiable audit trail evidencing the timing and validity of the consent process.
From a data protection perspective, the structure of the service reflects several core privacy principles embedded within the UAE’s regulatory framework, including:
- Lawfulness and transparency, as the disclosure process is expressly based upon the tenant’s consent;
- Purpose limitation, whereby the information is utilised exclusively for the purpose of evaluating tenancy suitability; and
- Data minimisation, given that landlords receive a limited assessment rather than comprehensive access to the tenant’s full credit history.
Implications for Landlords and Property Owners
For landlords, developers, and property managers, the Tenant Inquiry service introduces an additional due diligence mechanism aimed at enhancing risk assessment during the leasing process. Access to a regulated and consent-driven credit assessment may assist in reducing payment-related disputes and improving overall tenancy risk management.
Nevertheless, the availability of such assessments should not be regarded as a substitute for robust lease documentation or comprehensive contractual safeguards. Rather, the service operates as a complementary tool within the broader framework of prudent real estate and asset management practices.
Implications for Tenants
From the tenant’s perspective, the framework reinforces individual control over personal financial information. No credit-related assessment may be shared unless the tenant actively authorises the request through UAE PASS.
Accordingly, prospective tenants retain the discretion to approve or decline a landlord’s inquiry request, thereby ensuring that participation in the process remains consent-based and transparent.
The Cheque Collection Index
In parallel with the Tenant Inquiry service, AECB has also launched the “Cheque Collection Index”, an artificial intelligence-driven tool intended to assist cheque holders in evaluating the likelihood of cheque clearance based upon the issuer’s credit profile.
Although distinct in application, the Cheque Collection Index addresses a related concern commonly arising within the UAE real estate sector, namely the risk associated with dishonoured cheques. Publicly available information indicates that the tool similarly operates within an established regulatory and consent-based framework.
Broader Regulatory and Digital Governance Context
The development of the Tenant Inquiry service was undertaken in collaboration with Digital Dubai and the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (“TDRA”). The initiative reflects the UAE’s broader digital transformation strategy, which focuses upon the integration of secure and interoperable government systems to facilitate trusted digital transactions across sectors.
By linking national credit infrastructure with the UAE’s digital identity ecosystem, the service represents a notable advancement in the implementation of secure and consent-based data-sharing mechanisms within the real estate market.
Conclusion
The introduction of the Tenant Inquiry service marks a significant development within the UAE’s regulatory and digital governance landscape. By integrating a national digital identity platform into a consent-based credit disclosure framework, the UAE has adopted an innovative model that seeks to balance commercial transparency with the protection of individual privacy rights.
For the real estate sector, the initiative reflects the continued evolution of a sophisticated regulatory environment designed to enhance market confidence, strengthen transactional transparency, and support responsible risk management practices. Landlords, tenants, property managers, and legal practitioners alike should familiarise themselves with the service and consider its role within the UAE’s increasingly technology-driven legal and commercial ecosystem.
If you have any questions or need further advice on related matters, please feel free to contact Abubaker Karmustaji : abubaker@sat-law.com
Written by Abubaker Karmustaji
June 4, 2026
