Renting an Apartment in Dubai: Everything I Wish I’d Known!

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A Guide to Renting an Apartment in Dubai

Housing options: apartment or villa

In Dubai, most people either rent (or buy) an apartment or a villa. Villas are super popular options for families with children. They are usually a bit removed from other areas of the city and the metro, so you will definitely need a car to get around town.

Apartments are by far the most popular housing option. Because I only have experience renting apartments in Dubai, that’s what this article will focus on.

Popular areas to live in Dubai

This is going to depend entirely on your situation. For example, if you have a job lined up, you’ll likely want to live somewhere that gives you easy access to your workplace, or if you’re moving here with children, you’ll probably want to be within close proximity to their school. After all, traffic in Dubai is notoriously bad, and you don’t want to spend all your free time commuting!

When it comes to apartment living, Downtown Dubai, Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Beach Residences (JBR), and Palm Jumeirah are all super popular areas for expats, but they do come with a higher price tag than other neighborhoods. For access to green spaces and walking areas, The Greens and Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT) are both excellent family-friendly communities.

For something more affordable, Jumeirah Village Circle and Motor City are hugely popular. They’re a bit more removed from the action, but you’ll get larger units and much more affordable prices than in other areas of town.

READ MORE: The Best Areas to Stay in Dubai

The limited role of real estate agents

One important thing to know is that real estate agents in Dubai don’t do all that much to help with your apartment search. They pretty much unlock the door and handle the paperwork if you decide to rent the unit. Actually, don’t be surprised if the agent doesn’t show up to the viewing and just leaves the door unlocked for you. It’s super common.

Instead of using one agent to help with your search, which is customary in other countries, you’ll have to research units yourself and reach out to individual agents to show you a specific property. So understand that you’ll be working with a number of agents during your apartment search.

Insider tip: You’ll want to get WhatsApp on your phone. This is how you’ll contact most agents.

Extra fees for annual rentals

Another important thing to note is that you’ll need to pay a substantial sum of money upfront for an annual rental: a 2-5% agent fee (of your annual rent), a 10% deposit for a furnished apartment or 5% for unfurnished, as well as a variety of deposits: AED 2,000+ for DEWA (Dubai Electric and Water Authority), du or Etisalat (internet), AED 120+ for the Ejari fee, etc.

As a general rule of thumb, the tenant is responsible for all maintenance costs below AED 1,000, while the landlord should handle anything above AED 1,000. This is another cost to know about since things can add up – especially if you rent an older unit.

Insider tip: Be sure to double-check this clause before you sign your contract and try to bargain that amount down if possible. I was able to bargain my first landlord down to AED 500.

Paying with post-dated checks

Another quirk about renting annually is that you’ll likely have to pay with checks from your local bank account. While direct deposits are supposedly becoming more commonplace, I still pay with checks, so it’s worth mentioning.

It’s commonplace for landlords to prefer one check, which essentially means that you’re paying an entire year’s worth of rent upfront. Paying with one check can be used as a bargaining chip on your end if you want to negotiate the price or try to “outbid” other renters who may be paying with multiple checks.

That being said, paying with multiple checks is totally possible. Some landlords will allow you to pay twice a year with two checks, three times a year with three checks, etc. But it’s unlikely you’ll ever pay monthly rent, like you may be used to back home!

Short-term rentals

If you don’t have an Emirates ID yet or can’t afford the hefty upfront costs of renting annually, there are plenty of monthly rentals and apart-hotels , which will include utilities and don’t require huge deposits. You can find a lot of options on Airbnb, Facebook housing groups, and Booking.com.

Where to search for rentals online

From my experience, there are two helpful sites where you can look for rental properties: propertyfinder.ae and dubizzle.com. These will mainly list annual rentals, but you will find some monthly options as well.

One quirk about using these sites is that a lot of the listings are old and not actually available and the pictures can be very misleading. So you’ll always want to go see the units in person.

Insider tip: Ideally, you should view the apartment a few times on different days of the week and at different times of the day. That way, you’ll get a better feel for noise, traffic, etc.

Chiller-free apartments

I’m not an expert on this, since I’ve only rented “chiller-free” units. But I can at least explain the chiller-free concept to you. There are some buildings in Dubai that offer “chiller-free” apartments, which essentially means that the tenant does not pay for air-conditioning, but they do pay for the electricity for it. The AC part is just covered by the landlord. Basically, I can leave my AC on 24/7 and never have to think about a hefty AC bill.

Apartments that are not chiller-free are run by Empower (a power company in Dubai), so you’ll pay a separate utility bill each month for this. But again, I don’t have any experience with what this monthly cost would be. Though I hear it’s not bad.

I live in the Dubai Marina and due to the high humidity in the area, I’ve always been told to leave the AC running all summer long, despite the fact that I always spend the summers traveling. I’ve heard horror stories of people leaving Dubai for the summer only to return to moldy homes and burst pipes because they turned off their AC.

For me, it just made sense to seek out a chiller-free unit since I didn’t want to face high electricity bills but I’m not entirely sure if it’s really cheaper or if AC costs are just factored into my annual rent!  

Annual RERA increase

There are strict laws in place that prohibit landlords from completely hiking your rent each year. As a general rule, they can’t increase rent by more than 10% per year. That being said, both landlords and tenants will want to refer to the RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority) rental index, which will tell you if your rent will increase and by how much.

Unfurnished vs. furnished apartments

My first year in Dubai, I opted for a furnished apartment, mainly because the last thing I wanted to do was pay more to furnish an entire apartment. Furnished apartments will generally cost more than unfurnished ones – especially if they’re furnished nicely – and the deposits are a bit higher. But they are super convenient, especially if you don’t plan on staying in Dubai for more than a year or two.

My second year here, I ended up renting an unfurnished apartment, which ended up being a way better value. But do note that unfurnished apartments in Dubai often don’t include large appliances like a refrigerator, washing machine, or stove. So if you go this route, you’ll have some extra upfront costs.

The process goes quickly

If you’re thinking you need to start looking for a new apartment months in advance, that’s not exactly how things work here. If a place is vacant, things will move very quickly, and you may be able to move in as little as a couple of days.

But even if it’s not, you generally don’t need to start seriously looking more than a month or even a couple of weeks in advance. Many real estate agents won’t even show you properties if you’re not moving within a few weeks.

Getting an Ejari certificate for your new apartment

Once you’ve signed your rental contract, you’ll need to get an Ejari certificate before you can move in. This is essentially a formal system that registers the contract between the tenant and landlord. You’ll need the certificate to activate DEWA (your water and electricity) in your new apartment. This process can take a few days, so plan accordingly so you’re not living in the dark!

Insider tip: One thing that’s super important is to make sure your landlord’s phone number is on the Ejari and not the real estate agent’s.

Be sure to document everything

Landlords in Dubai don’t have the best reputation. I’ve had decent luck but I always make sure to take photos of everything and document any damage that was caused to the apartment by the previous tenant. My first apartment was a mess when I moved in. Thankfully, I had photo evidence to prove it when I moved out and didn’t have to pay a single dirham.

Where to buy furniture in Dubai

This is Dubai, so shopping is easy peasy. You can order stuff on Amazon.ae and get it delivered as soon as the next day (without paying for next-day shipping!). Dubai is also home to two IKEAs, which makes furnishing a new place simple and relatively affordable. There’s also JYSK, which is like a higher-end IKEA.

If you’re on a budget, you’ll find tons of people offering excellent prices on barely used furniture on Facebook Marketplace or Facebook groups like IKEA Furniture Second Hand Dubai. If money’s not an issue, then you can shop till you drop at Marina Home!

Insider tip: Sales are a big part of Dubai’s culture. For example, during Ramadan and summer, Dubai’s stores often have huge sales, so these are excellent times to furnish a place or get killer deals on new stuff!

That’s it! My guide to renting an apartment in Dubai. Feel free to ask me anything in the comments below!