Renting an apartment in Dubai is little bit different compared to other cities, so it is a good idea to do your homework in advance so that you will be better prepared to navigate the process and avoid any unnecessary scams. Here in this article we will explain everything you need to know on how to rent an apartment in Dubai.



The property rental market in Dubai is developing quite fast, there are always new construction and developments being built in various parts of the city. This is why the stock of housing is fairly good in several areas, making it lot easier to find a property to rent. However, in premium locations you can expect the market to move lot faster and all properties to be rented out in no time, this is simply because there are more prospective tenants than there are apartments. This is were working with an agent comes in handy as they will have full knowledge of the market.



Step by step guide on how to rent a property in Dubai:



1- Search

In Dubai there are lots of search platforms that you could use to search for properties for rent, in which some are better than the other, to ease your search process our engineers developed an easy to use property search engine which we highly recommend to use. You could filter your search by type, category, community, price range and number of bedrooms.

Key elements you should look for in any listing:
- The Amount
- Number of cheques over a year
- Furnished or Unfurnished
- Starting Date



2- Narrowing your list

In this stage it would be helpful if you could shortlist the list of apartments to only few and from there get in touch with an agent to ask for further-more details.



3- Viewing 

We recommend our clients to take notes as they are viewing the property, so in that way they could ask all there questions either to the landlord or agent.
There are certain features you should keep an eye on like:
- How far is the property from your work
- Easy access to metro station
- Security 
- Convenient parking slots
- Other amenities



4- Offer

With the help of an agent try to negotiate the price once you have decided that you want this particular unit. Usually if you could reduce the total number of cheques, it will be lot easier to negotiate the total amount as the landlord will be more keen to reduce the price in exchange for reduced number of cheques per annum. 



5- Reservation

You could reserve the unit by paying a security deposit which is usually 5% of the rental amount. This amount could be paid in cash or cheque and will be held by an agent until the deal is finalized. In this stage the documents required are your passport and a residence visa copy.



6- Drafting and singing the contract

First the agent will send a tenancy contract which you should carefully read and make sure it conveys what you have been told prior to the contract exactly. If you are happy with the document you will sign and submit the form, followed by handing over the cheques with the agents commission. Tip: Always ask for invoice and keep it safe.
The landlord will have to sign the contract, he will get to keep one contract and handover the other contract to the tenant. After this the tenant will be given the keys and access cards.



7- Connecting with DEWA online

- Fill the online application form with required information.
- Required attachments – Passport with valid visa and trade license.
- There is a security deposit that could be paid using e-Pay.

*There is an offline procedure to connect DEWA which our agents could help you with.



8- Ejari

The next step is to register with Ejari, this are the documents needed:

- Original tenancy contract
- Title deed
- DEWA registeration original receipt
- copy of both tenant’s and landlord’s passport.
- Emirates ID



Some helpful tips:
- Use the rental calculator to know how much your landlord can legally increase your rent.
- Check the RERA ID of your agent
- Insure your apartment
- Visit the property in person
- Take some pictures or a video of the apartment, that way you could have an actual footage of how the property looked like exactly, this will be helpful once claiming your security deposite.
- Internet Broadband - For your Internet, TV and Phone services there are mainly two providers Etisalat and Du, which both provide different unique packages.
- You must have the copy of service charges payment receipt from the owner. Make sure there is no overdue service charges.

We hope this easy step by step guide was helpful, if interested in renting or buying a property in Dubai, feel free to get in touch with one of our expert agents by clicking in the “Book a meeting” button below or use the chat box to write us your enquiry.