In this work, we partially replaced Pb with non-toxic elements to form hybrid perovskites $$\hbox {CH}_{3}\hbox {NH}_{3} \hbox {Pb}_{0.9}\hbox {M}_{0.1}\hbox {I}_{3}$$ , where $$\hbox {M} = \hbox {Sn}^{2+}$$ and $$\hbox {Ba}^{2+}$$ and studied their dielectric properties. According to room-temperature Rietveld analysis, all compositions with 10 % substitution were tetragonal with a space group $$I4/\hbox {mcm}$$ . A notable dielectric relaxation was detected at $$T\sim 60$$ – $$100\hbox { K}$$ , far below the orthorhombic-to-tetragonal phase transition at $$T\sim 155\hbox { K}$$ . To clarify the conflicting literature reports, the dielectric relaxation was fitted to both Arrhenius and Vogel–Fulcher models and showed no indication of the finite (i.e. non-zero) dipolar freezing temperature. It is concluded, therefore, that the low-T dielectric dispersion is a signature of the Debye-type thermally activated re-orientation of the non-interacting electric dipoles with an activation energy of $$E_\mathrm{{a}} \sim 123-171\hbox { meV}$$ .