Dubai Rental Index Protects Tenants

How the Dubai Rental Index Protects Tenants Against Unfair Rent Hikes, Eviction.

Rents have been on the rise in Dubai after the Covid-19 pandemic, with apartment rent increases now approaching the same rate as villas. Due to the shortage of villas and townhouses following the pandemic, rents were rising faster for them than apartments across the emirate as tenants increasingly opted for bigger spaces.

Landlords who have been in a downward market for a long time and are looking to capitalize on favoring market conditions are pushing to increase rents during renewals – while many tenants are resorting to the Rera rental calculator to protect themselves from such increases.

We are witnessing many cases of 12-month evictions or refurbishment notices being served to tenants where landlords are trying to get the unit vacant and [bring it] back in the market.

Some landlords leverage the rental valuation certificate to increase rents during renewals, but until Rera officially announces that the rental valuation certificate supersedes the Rera rental index, the rental index remains applicable for rental renewals.

High Rental Growth is not Sustainable

Apartments in Palm Jumeirah continue to lead with a rental rise of 38 per cent, followed by Downtown (37 per cent) and The Greens and The Views (37 per cent). The outer districts such as Discovery Gardens (27 per cent), Dubailand (25 per cent) and Dubai Sports City (21 per cent) have also picked up momentum, and have seen sharp rises in rents compared to Q3 2021.

In the villa segment, the steepest rise in rents was again seen in Emirates Hills (42 per cent) and Palm Jumeirah (41 per cent) followed by Jumeirah Village Circle (28 per cent) and the Springs and the Meadows (20 per cent).

Most districts have witnessed over 25 per cent increases, such a sharp rise in rents is not sustainable. This is significantly impacting affordability and is a growing concern amongst tenants.