This year the Dubai’s rental market has been turbulent, and there are deals out there. Apartment rents have decreased up to 10 percent, villas have seen a slightly smaller decrease of just over seven percent.
The demand for townhouses and villas in areas such as Dubai Hills has increased, there is also a migration to villas from tenants who had been resulting in more stable rents, while apartments have faced a noticeable rental decline in most areas, especially in non-prime locations, tenants are more educated about the real estate market and the impact that COVID-19 has had, know their opportunity cost and are using the softening in rents and prices over the year to renegotiate rents.
Prices are stabilizing and there is a lesser backlog of tenants looking to move urgently, landlords who are looking to get their property rented out quickly at a good price should be looking to be more flexible when it comes to the rental payment method.
Before signing a contract make sure that the agent you are dealing with is reputable and RERA-registered as well as the brokerage they represent, never write cheque payments for rent to anybody other than the name on the title deed and this should match the owners’ passport copy, also agency commission payments to be made payable to the agents company with cheque.
Some areas like Dubai Hills have seen a rise in popularity, areas with a decline in rent Dubailand, Dubai Sports City, JVC and Dubai Production City. Key communities such as Downtown, Palm Jumeirah and Dubai Marina are still as popular as ever and offering great value for money.
There are plenty of options ranging from studios up to large-scale villas.
Whether you’re moving to or within Dubai, there’s a whole load of processes you’ll need to get your head around. From setting up Ejari to working out how much the whole thing is going to cost (beyond your rent cheques), connecting DEWA and making sure you’ve got working wi-fi, it can be a real undertaking.
Ejari means “my rent” in Arabic, and is a compulsory system that ensures all contracts between tenants and landlords are registered with the government, and regulated by it, in order to legally protect all parties. In order to register your contract and get your Ejari certificate, you will need the following documents:
- Original signed tenancy contract
- A copy of the tenant’s Emirates ID
- A copy of the tenant’s visa
- A copy of the tenant’s passport
- A copy of the landlord’s passport
- A copy of the title deed
- The security deposit receipt
- The nine-digit DEWA Premise Number for the property
- A copy of the previous tenant’s final
DEWA bill
Your Ejari can be done at approved typing centres across Dubai.
Move-in and move-out permits may be required by the developer of your building or community – while the documents are supplied by the developer, most of these call for an NOC from your landlord in order to allow you to move in or even out of the property, in addition to evidence of final bills from DEWA, district cooling (if applicable) and du. Big names like Emaar are among those developers most bureaucratic when it comes to tenants occupying or vacating properties in its towers and communities.
Make sure you have all the documents you need at least a week in advance – there’s no charming your way around this rule.
And you may need a permit to bring contractors into the new place
Yes, even if they’re just repainting the living room ceiling. Some communities require permits to be organised in advance for contractors coming in to do maintenance work on properties, so before to check with the developer of your tower or neighbourhood before booking any work in, or risk your contractors being turned away at the gates / doors.
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