In this note
The rent for a new tenant is whatever the market will pay for your flat this month. Not what the last tenant paid, and not the highest listing in the building. Here's what new tenants actually signed for in 2026, where rents are heading, and what asking too much costs.
New tenant or renewal? Two different questions
For a new tenant, you can set any rent the market accepts. For a sitting tenant at renewal, the RERA index caps the increase; that's covered in how much a landlord can raise the rent. This guide is about the new tenant.
What is the average rent in Dubai in 2026?
New tenants on 12-month apartment leases from January to October 2026 paid a median AED 65,000 a year:
- Studio: AED 55,000
- One bedroom: AED 65,000
- Two bedrooms: AED 71,000
- Three bedrooms: AED 85,000
For the same flats in the same buildings, that's 2.2% less than a year earlier.
Source: Dubai Land Department Ejari records, new 12-month apartment tenancies starting 1 January to 26 October 2026 (73,159), against the same dates in 2025 (71,682). Like for like: each rent against the 2025 median of its own building and bedroom count, where that building had 5 or more lets then, averaged; the whisker is the change’s 95% interval. Rents of AED 20,000 or less, and buildings registering rents under half their community’s typical level, are left out. The chart shows the 19 communities most readers know by name; the table holds all 40 residential areas with at least 500 new lets, and leaves out 2 industrial areas. Rentinit analysis.
Show the numbers(40 communities)
| Community | Change, like for like | 95% interval | Median rent, 2026 | New lets, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All of Dubai | −2.2% | −2.6% to −1.8% | AED 65,000 | 73,159 |
| All of Dubai: studio | −4.0% | −4.7% to −3.2% | AED 55,000 | 16,565 |
| All of Dubai: one bedroom | −2.4% | −3.1% to −1.8% | AED 65,000 | 30,423 |
| All of Dubai: two bedrooms | −0.7% | −1.5% to +0.2% | AED 71,000 | 20,285 |
| All of Dubai: three bedrooms | −1.9% | −4.6% to +0.9% | AED 85,000 | 4,396 |
| All of Dubai: four or five bedrooms | −13.7% | −25.3% to −0.3% | AED 95,000 | 440 |
| Dubai Creek Harbour | −5.0% | −9.2% to −0.6% | AED 120,000 | 1,110 |
| Palm Jumeirah (named in the text)In the chart | −7.4% | −13.7% to −0.6% | AED 120,000 | 609 |
| Dubai Hills Estate (named in the text)In the chart | −7.0% | −11.2% to −2.7% | AED 106,762 | 696 |
| Downtown Dubai (named in the text)In the chart | −8.7% | −11.5% to −5.8% | AED 100,000 | 1,703 |
| Dubai MarinaIn the chart | −5.2% | −7.8% to −2.6% | AED 100,000 | 2,602 |
| Sobha Hartland | −3.0% | −6.8% to +0.9% | AED 92,000 | 587 |
| Business Bay (named in the text)In the chart | −7.2% | −8.8% to −5.5% | AED 82,000 | 3,189 |
| Al SatwaDLD area name | −1.5% | −5.7% to +2.9% | AED 80,000 | 612 |
| Barsha Heights | −1.7% | −4.7% to +1.3% | AED 80,000 | 1,022 |
| JLT | −4.6% | −7.5% to −1.6% | AED 75,208 | 1,370 |
| Town Square | +1.2% | −3.4% to +6.0% | AED 72,000 | 513 |
| Al Jaddaf (named in the text)In the chart | −7.6% | −10.4% to −4.6% | AED 70,000 | 1,250 |
| MirdifIn the chart | −3.3% | −11.6% to +5.8% | AED 70,000 | 602 |
| Al Furjan | −5.2% | −8.1% to −2.1% | AED 68,000 | 683 |
| JVCIn the chart | −4.3% | −5.5% to −3.2% | AED 66,000 | 6,596 |
| Al BarshaIn the chart | +1.8% | −2.0% to +5.7% | AED 65,000 | 1,167 |
| Discovery Gardens | +1.7% | −0.9% to +4.4% | AED 65,000 | 1,751 |
| Dubai South (named in the text)In the chart | +6.2% | +3.5% to +9.0% | AED 65,000 | 1,217 |
| Bur Dubai (named in the text)In the chart | +5.6% | +2.1% to +9.2% | AED 63,000 | 1,738 |
| DIP | +3.1% | −0.7% to +7.0% | AED 62,500 | 892 |
| Al Karama (named in the text)In the chart | +10.5% | +5.5% to +15.8% | AED 62,000 | 1,051 |
| JVTIn the chart | −2.3% | −4.3% to −0.2% | AED 62,000 | 2,445 |
| Liwan | +0.4% | −3.4% to +4.3% | AED 62,000 | 923 |
| DeiraIn the chart | +0.4% | −3.0% to +4.0% | AED 61,348 | 2,828 |
| Jabal Ali FirstDLD area name | −1.5% | −4.9% to +2.1% | AED 61,000 | 643 |
| Al NahdaIn the chart | +2.0% | −0.3% to +4.4% | AED 60,000 | 2,018 |
| Al QusaisIn the chart | +3.4% | −1.2% to +8.3% | AED 60,000 | 718 |
| Al Warqa'a | −6.8% | −12.1% to −1.2% | AED 60,000 | 663 |
| Arjan | −4.8% | −7.4% to −2.2% | AED 60,000 | 1,275 |
| Dubai Silicon OasisIn the chart | +0.8% | −1.2% to +2.8% | AED 60,000 | 2,231 |
| Dubai Land | −1.7% | −4.9% to +1.7% | AED 59,000 | 877 |
| Al MuhaisnahIn the chart | −0.7% | −4.9% to +3.7% | AED 58,000 | 754 |
| DAMAC Hills | −0.5% | −4.5% to +3.6% | AED 56,000 | 555 |
| Meydan | −6.0% | −8.1% to −3.8% | AED 56,000 | 1,794 |
| Al Warsan | +4.6% | +2.2% to +7.0% | AED 55,000 | 1,944 |
| Dubai Production City | +1.3% | −1.1% to +3.8% | AED 55,000 | 1,324 |
| Dubai Sports City | −4.3% | −6.7% to −1.9% | AED 55,000 | 1,472 |
| Jabal AliDLD area name | +0.4% | −2.6% to +3.5% | AED 52,000 | 1,135 |
| Al MararrDLD area name | +3.8% | −3.6% to +11.7% | AED 45,000 | 692 |
| International CityIn the chart | +2.4% | +0.3% to +4.4% | AED 44,000 | 3,862 |
| Dearest first. The change compares each 2026 rent with the 2025 median of its own building and bedroom count (1 January to 26 October 2025); it covers the lets whose building had 5 or more lets then (56% of Dubai’s). Rents cluster on round sums, so medians move in steps. | ||||
The picture splits by price. Like for like, rents fell in 14 of the 15 areas where they sit above the Dubai median, most in Downtown (−8.7%), Al Jaddaf (−7.6%), Palm Jumeirah (−7.4%), Business Bay (−7.2%) and Dubai Hills (−7.0%). They rose in 16 of the 25 areas at or below it, most in Al Karama (+10.5%), Dubai South (+6.2%) and Bur Dubai (+5.6%).
A higher rent isn't the same as a better return. What you keep depends on what the flat cost and on the service charge, empty weeks and maintenance. For that, by area, see Dubai rental yields by area.
Are Dubai rents going down?
Yes, since February. New-tenant rents, with the mix of buildings held fixed, peaked in February 2026 and were 11% lower by October. In September they were 6% below a year earlier. Our second-quarter fall of 6.4% matches CBRE's 6.2% for the same quarter.
Source: Dubai Land Department Ejari records, new 12-month apartment tenancies starting 1 January 2025 to 26 October 2026, by the month the contract started. Each rent is divided by the 2025 median of its own building and bedroom count (where that building had 5 or more lets in 2025), and each month’s average is scaled so that 2025 = 100: the mix of buildings let is held fixed. October 2026 runs to the 26th and may gain late registrations. Rentinit analysis.
Show the numbers(22 months)
| Month | Index, 2025 = 100 | Median rent | New lets |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2025 | 97.4 | AED 63,000 | 7,111 |
| February 2025 | 99.2 | AED 65,000 | 6,898 |
| March 2025 | 98.5 | AED 62,000 | 6,789 |
| April 2025 | 99.1 | AED 63,000 | 6,023 |
| May 2025 | 99.2 | AED 63,000 | 6,692 |
| June 2025 | 100.3 | AED 65,000 | 5,919 |
| July 2025 | 99.5 | AED 65,000 | 7,190 |
| August 2025 | 100.8 | AED 68,000 | 8,209 |
| September 2025 | 100.2 | AED 67,000 | 8,884 |
| October 2025 | 100.7 | AED 67,500 | 8,789 |
| November 2025 | 101.6 | AED 66,000 | 8,112 |
| December 2025 | 102.7 | AED 67,000 | 6,978 |
| January 2026 | 103.0 | AED 68,000 | 8,188 |
| February 2026 (the peak) | 105.3 | AED 70,000 | 7,578 |
| March 2026 | 103.1 | AED 70,000 | 5,107 |
| April 2026 | 99.1 | AED 65,000 | 4,264 |
| May 2026 | 98.4 | AED 65,000 | 5,314 |
| June 2026 | 95.3 | AED 65,000 | 6,293 |
| July 2026 | 94.2 | AED 63,000 | 8,072 |
| August 2026 | 94.6 | AED 65,000 | 8,798 |
| September 2026 | 93.8 | AED 65,000 | 10,474 |
| October 2026 (the last month)Part month, to 26 October 2026 | 93.3 | AED 64,000 | 9,215 |
| The index holds the mix of buildings fixed; the median rent moves with whichever flats were let that month. New lets counts every new tenancy; the index reads those whose building was let in 2025. | |||
The clearest sign: in early 2025, 7% of new tenants paid less than the previous tenant of the same flat. By the third quarter of 2026, it was 44%.
What does asking too much cost?
Flats let well above their previous rent stood empty longer. In 2026, a flat let at about the old rent typically had no empty days, and 19% stood empty for more than two months. At 10–20% above the old rent it was 23 days and 30%; at more than 30% above, 39 days and 42%. Flats let below their old rent waited too: a 2.5–10% cut typically took 24 days.
Source: Dubai Land Department Ejari records, consecutive 12-month apartment contracts on one unit with a different tenant, the new contract starting 1 January to 26 October 2026 (42,657). Days empty run from the old contract’s end to the new one’s start; an overlap counts as none, and a gap over 365 days is left out. Both rents above AED 20,000. The rent is the one finally agreed, not the first asking price, and a landlord who waited may have cut to let: this shows what happened, not why. Rentinit analysis.
Show the numbers(7 bands, 2 years)
| New rent against the last tenant’s | Typical days empty | Empty over 2 months | Re-lets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026: new contracts starting 1 January to 26 October 2026 | |||
| Cut over 10%Typical change −16.7% | 18 | 32.4% | 6,957 |
| Cut 2.5–10%Typical change −6.3% | 24 | 29.3% | 5,604 |
| Within 2.5%Typical change 0% | 0 | 19.0% | 7,919 |
| Up 2.5–10%Typical change +5.9% | 16 | 26.7% | 7,068 |
| Up 10–20%Typical change +14.5% | 23 | 30.4% | 7,100 |
| Up 20–30%Typical change +24.7% | 31 | 37.2% | 3,544 |
| Up over 30%Typical change +41.0% | 39 | 42.0% | 4,465 |
| All re-lets | 19 | 29.6% | 42,657 |
| 2025: new contracts starting 1 January to 31 December 2025 | |||
| Cut over 10%Typical change −19.6% | 2.5 | 29.0% | 1,584 |
| Cut 2.5–10%Typical change −5.3% | 21 | 29.1% | 2,535 |
| Within 2.5%Typical change 0% | 0 | 14.4% | 8,008 |
| Up 2.5–10%Typical change +6.2% | 14 | 20.0% | 9,987 |
| Up 10–20%Typical change +14.5% | 21 | 27.4% | 11,074 |
| Up 20–30%Typical change +25.0% | 32 | 36.2% | 6,811 |
| Up over 30%Typical change +40.7% | 50 | 46.1% | 9,751 |
| All re-lets | 20 | 28.8% | 49,750 |
| Typical = median. Days empty run from the old contract’s end to the new one’s start; an overlap counts as none. The rent is the one finally agreed, not the first asking price, and a landlord who waited may have cut to let. | |||
At AED 65,000 a year, every empty month costs about AED 5,400 in rent, plus the service charge you keep paying. A 10% higher rent earns AED 6,500 a year, so one slow month wipes out most of it. We see signed rents, not asking prices, so this shows what happened, not why. But it's the trade-off to weigh before you list high.
How Hazel prices a new let
I start from what new tenants signed for in your building, for your layout, in the last few months. Then I check what's on the market right now that a tenant could choose instead. You get one number to list at, with the signed rents behind it.
Add your property, and I'll reach out on WhatsApp. I'll price your flat against the latest signed rents in its building.
Sources
- Rents: Dubai Land Department Ejari records, new 12-month apartment tenancies starting 1 January to 26 October 2026 (73,159) and the same dates in 2025 (71,682). Year-on-year changes compare the same buildings and bedroom counts. Rents of AED 20,000 or less, and buildings registering rents under half their community's typical level, are left out. Rentinit analysis.
- Empty days: consecutive new-tenant contracts on the same flat, 2025–26; days from the old contract's end to the new one's start.
- Market comparison: CBRE UAE Real Estate Market Review, via Gulf News, 29 July 2026.
General information, not a valuation.