Apartment not renting in Dubai? What to change first

Start with the asking rent. It is the one reason you can test against official records in a few minutes. An advert shows what a landlord hopes to get. A registered tenancy contract shows what a tenant agreed to pay.

If the rent passes that test, check these next, in this order:

• The advert: too few photos, or missing details.
• The terms: one or two cheques only, or a fixed move-in date.
• The flat: it needs paint, cleaning or repairs.
• The advertising: several agents showing different rents.

Compare it with signed leases in your own building, not with other adverts. Dubai Land Department (DLD) publishes registered tenancy contracts in its open data. Each record shows the start date, the yearly rent, the number of rooms, the building or project, and whether the contract is new or a renewal.

Our free Rent Check does the comparison for you. Pick the building, the bedrooms and your yearly rent. It compares your rent with the middle one of the latest five new leases signed there in the last six months. The middle one is used so that one unusual lease cannot move the figure.

If the building has fewer than five such leases, the check says so and gives no figure.

Because a renewal shows an older agreement. When a tenant renews, any increase is limited by Decree No. (43) of 2013, which ties it to the rental index approved by the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA). A renewed contract can therefore sit well away from what a new tenant would pay today.

New leases show what people agreed to pay recently. For the renewal rules themselves, see our guide: When can my landlord increase the rent in Dubai?

Two recent reports found lower rents in several large apartment areas. Both come from other firms, as reported by Khaleej Times:

• Savills: apartment rents in July to September 2026 were lower than a year earlier by 12.8% in Dubai Marina, 12.2% in Business Bay and 10.4% in Jumeirah Village Circle (reported 13 October 2026).
• fäm Properties, using DLD data: rents on new leases, for the same building and flat type, were 15.3% below their January level (reported 23 September 2026).

These are area and city-wide findings, not a forecast and not a figure for your building. They show why last year’s rent may no longer be the right asking rent. Check your own building.

Compare what the reduction costs with what the empty weeks cost. One empty month is one-twelfth of the yearly rent, about 8.3%.

Example with made-up figures. Suppose you ask AED 80,000 a year for a one-bedroom flat, and the Rent Check figure for your building (the middle one of the latest five new leases) is AED 72,000.

• One empty month: AED 80,000 ÷ 12 = AED 6,667 of rent not received.
• Reducing to AED 72,000: AED 80,000 − AED 72,000 = AED 8,000 less over the year.
• AED 8,000 is 10% of AED 80,000, and 10% of a 52-week year is about five weeks.

So in this example, once the flat has stood empty for more than five weeks at AED 80,000, waiting has cost more than the reduction would have.

The same sum works for any reduction: multiply the percentage by 52 weeks. A 5% reduction equals about two and a half empty weeks. A 15% reduction equals about eight.

One caution: after a tenant moves in, increases at renewal are limited by Decree No. (43) of 2013. Set a rent you can live with.

The missing rent, plus bills that do not stop.

• Rent not received: your yearly rent ÷ 12.
• Service charges: Article 25 of Law No. (6) of 2019 makes the owner of a unit responsible for its share of the yearly service charges. The article does not make this depend on the flat being let.
• Electricity, water and cooling: clause 4 of Dubai’s unified tenancy contract makes the tenant responsible for these when they result from occupying the flat. While it is empty, there is no tenant to pay them.

Take the amounts from your latest service-charge invoice and utility bills, and add them to the monthly rent you are missing.

They can help a tenant who likes the flat but cannot meet your terms. Clause 5 of the unified tenancy contract says the tenant pays the rent in the manner and on the dates agreed with the landlord. The number of cheques is therefore yours to offer.

• If you ask for one or two cheques, consider four or more.
• A rent-free month in a 12-month contract costs you the same as an 8.3% reduction for that year (one month out of twelve). Write it into the contract.
• Offer a flexible move-in date if you can.

Give a tenant everything needed to decide from a phone screen.

• Photos of every room, taken in daylight, with the flat clean.
• The size, bedrooms, bathrooms, parking and floor level.
• The yearly rent, number of cheques, security deposit, furnishing and the date it is available.
• Whether cooling is included in the rent or billed separately.

Ask your agent for the permit number of each advert. DLD issues a Real Estate Ad Permit, and its terms ask a broker for a copy of the marketing agreement with the property’s owner.

It can be, if the adverts disagree. Check that every advert shows the same rent, size and terms. Ask each agent where the flat is advertised and at what rent, and have out-of-date adverts taken down.

Yes, if the rent is at or below the Rent Check figure. Flats for rent on distress.ae are listed by agents only. Each one carries its DLD advertising permit, and we approve it before it goes up. Listing is free for agents.

Send this page to your agent. They can start from Post a listing, and tenants see approved flats on the For rent page.

Then look at the flat itself, and at your plan for it.

• The Rent Check lists the five leases it used, with their sizes. A smaller flat, a lower floor or a weaker view can justify a rent below the middle figure.
• Ask your agent how many enquiries and viewings the advert has had. Viewings without offers point to the flat. No enquiries point to the rent or the advert.
• If the rent tenants are signing for no longer covers your costs, compare it with selling. Start with what you would receive after selling, or ask for a free valuation.