Property for rent in Dubai

Rent is quoted per year and paid in cheques — one, two, four, sometimes twelve. Fewer cheques buys a lower rent, and the number is negotiable in a way the headline figure often is not. On top of the rent there is a security deposit, conventionally 5% of the annual rent for an unfurnished property and 10% furnished, refundable at the end, and an agency commission conventionally 5%, which carries 5% VAT — 5.25% of the annual rent all in.

Every tenancy has to be registered with Ejari, the Dubai Land Department’s contract registry. It is not paperwork for its own sake: you need the Ejari certificate to connect DEWA, to get a parking permit, to sponsor a family visa. Utilities are separate from the rent — DEWA for water and power, and in most towers a district-cooling account for the chilled water, which can carry a standing charge whether you use it or not.

A landlord cannot raise the rent at will. Increases are governed by the RERA rental index, which compares your rent against the market for similar properties in the same area and caps the rise accordingly, and any increase requires ninety days’ written notice before renewal. The same notice period applies if a landlord wants the property back. Disputes go to the Rental Dispute Centre, which is quick and used often.