If you’ve decided to move to Dubai, you certainly won’t struggle to find an apartment to rent. There are a plethora of options, including studio, 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments and villas scattered throughout Dubai. You can also choose to rent short-term or long-term on most rentals depending on the real estate agency or private owner’s policies. While rental prices in Dubai have dropped significantly over the last few years, they are still not “cheap” by world standards. But they are certainly considered luxury and modern by world standards. Depending on location and accommodation size, there are some more affordable options, but one does also need to consider all the overhead costs involved in renting an apartment in Dubai.
In this blog, we’ll discuss the average rental price for apartments in Dubai, as well as all the overhead fees involved for a more comprehensive idea of total costs.
Monthly and Annual Rent Costs
The general practice for long-term rentals in Dubai is to pay a single upfront fee to secure an annual tenancy contract. While this has it’s benefits, and costs less in the long-run, not everybody is able to put down such a large amount of money at once. While there are quarterly, bi-annual and monthly payment options for some long-term rentals in Dubai, they are considerably more expensive than a single cheque option. Your choice at the end of the day will depend entirely on the finances you have available at the time.
According to Numbeo, you can expect the following average monthly rental costs in Dubai:
- Apartment (One bedroom) in City Centre: AED 5,489.63 (or between AED 4,000 to AED 9,000)
- Apartment (One bedroom) Outside of Centre: AED 3,700.28 (or between AED 3,000 to AED 6,000)
- Apartment (Three bedrooms) in City Centre: AED 10,681.39 (or between AED 8,000 to AED 15,000)
- Apartment (Three bedrooms) Outside of Centre: AED 7,102.48 (or between AED 5,000 to AED 11,000)
According to Internations, you can expect the following average annual rental costs in Dubai:
High End Apartments
- One-Bedroom Apartment: AED 96,670
- Two-Bedroom Apartment: AED 140,000
- Three-Bedroom Apartment: AED 190,000
Lower End Apartments
- One-Bedroom Apartment: AED 56,200
- Two-Bedroom Apartment: AED 79,000
- Three-Bedroom Apartment: AED 105,000
Additional Expenses
Once you’ve found the ideal apartment in a location that suits your requirements, before you do anything else, you will need to put down a security deposit to secure the property. Upon signing your tenancy contract, you’ll also need to provide post-dated cheques (or single annual cheque) for rental repayments.
However, the payments don’t end there.Here are some of the additional costs you’ll have to budget for when renting an apartment in Dubai. We’ll expand on each fee below.
- Security Deposit: 5% of the annual rent
- Agency Fees: Between 2-5% of annual rent
- DEWA Fees (Apartment): AED 2,000 (refunded on departure) and AED 110 (non-refundable connection fee)
- Housing Fees (Dubai Municipality Fee): 5% of annual rent paid in 12 parts, added to DEWA bills
- Ejari Fees: Approximately AED 220
- Chiller Fees: Comprised of [Consumption Charge + Demand Charge + Fuel Surcharge]
Security Deposit
Whether furnished or unfurnished, you’ll have to put down a deposit of 5% of the annual rent amount. This amount enables you to secure the apartment before you sign the contract and move in. While this deposit is refundable, the real estate agent uses it as security against potential damage to property during your stay. If you return the property in exactly the same state as when you first occupied it, you are likely to receive the full deposit back. However, if you have not fulfilled all the obligations under your contract, including paying all outstanding bills or fees, you won’t be eligible to receive the full deposit back.
If we consider the average annual cost of a high end 2-bedroom apartment (AED 140,000), you will have to put down a AED 7,000 security deposit.
Agency Fees
Majority of rental contracts are dealt with by real estate agencies in Dubai, and they charge between 2 and 5% of the annual rent amount for a residential property. This agency fee is non-refundable and ensures that your tenancy contract legally protects your rights and best interests for the duration of the rental agreement.
DEWA Charges
Utilities are facilitated and managed by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA). Regardless of the property, you have to pay a DEWA activation fee of AED 110 (for small metres), which is non-refundable. For an apartment, the security deposit is AED 2,000 whereas, for villas, it is AED 4,000. In addition to this, there will also be an additional Knowledge and Innovation fee to be paid.
Your DEWA bill includes charges for water, electricity, sewerage and housing fees. The housing fee is borne by the property owner but 5% applies to tenants.
The company charges standard per-unit rates as follows:
- Electricity: AED 23 fils
- Water: AED 3 fils
- Sewerage: AED 0.5 fils
The electricity charges are for consumption below 2000KWh per month. If you use more than 6000KWh, charges will be AED 38 fils per unit.
When you do a DEWA bill check, you will notice that prices will be higher in summer because of the increased usage of cooling appliances. Likewise, water consumption will be higher in homes with pools and gardens. The security deposit is refundable upon vacating the property and settling your final bill.
Housing Fee
The housing fee in Dubai is an additional, annual charge which is to be paid along with the Dubai DEWA monthly bill.
The Dubai Municipality housing fee is charged to expats (UAE nationals are exempt), and is set at 5% of the property’s annual rent and is paid in monthly instalments. The fee is charged for providing civil services like cleaning, pollution reduction, food safety, opening and upkeep of recreational facilities, waste management services and burial ground.
Ejari Fees
“Ejari” translated literally means 'my rent' in Arabic, but in this context it is a government-run program to regulate all tenancy contracts in Dubai. The Ejari system in Dubai is a Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) initiative under the provisions of Law No. 26 of 2007. The law states that all rental contracts for properties in Dubai have to be registered online through the official portal, a state-of-the-art system built to protect landlords and tenants in the city.
It is an integral part of renting apartments in Dubai to ensure tenancy contracts are drafted into a legally binding document structured in a government-approved format, and acts as evidence of the validity of your tenancy should any dispute arise.
Ejari Registration Fees:
- AED 220 at a typing centre
- AED 172 via the mobile app
Chiller Fees
As a tenant choosing a rental apartment, you have the option of choosing between chiller-free and district cooling in Dubai. District cooling in Dubai provides a climate-friendly and cost-effective temperature control system for all residential and commercial properties in the city. Currently, Emicool and Empower in Dubai are the major District cooling service providers, offering services in Ghoroob Mirdif, Al Khail Gate, Palm Jumeirah, Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR), Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT), Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), Dubai Investment Park (DIP), Dubai Motor City and Dubai Sports City.
District cooling deposits and connection fees vary according to the provider and size of the property, but you can expect to pay the following average costs:
- Consumption Charge is billed at a rate of AED 0.568 fils per Refrigeration Ton (RT) per hour. Usage is recorded by an on-premise meter.
- Demand Charge is charged to the tenant/owner/company for providing District Cooling Service to the apartment at AED 750/ RT per annum.
Here’s the example from Empower’s website on what District Cooling charges in Dubai look like. This is an approximate figure and can vary depending on the size of the area and the usage.
Yearly Demand Charge: 6 RT (The RT load of the A/C of your unit) * 750 = AED 4,500 per year.
Monthly Demand Charge for the month of January: 4500/365*31 = AED 387.50
Other charges that can apply for obtaining a District cooling system in Dubai include Meter Maintenance Charge, Connection Charge, Administration Charge, Disconnection Fee, Meter Testing Fee and Voluntary Disconnection Request. For a more in-depth explanation of each of those district cooling charges in Dubai, check out this detailed price breakdown of Empower’s district cooling service charges.
Is There a More Affordable Alternative to Renting an Apartment in Dubai?
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