Rents in Dubai can vary drastically from one location to another, but on an average, residents in the emirate spend between 15 and 30 per cent of their income on paying for the house they live in.

“This [the rent] will vary considerably from family to family, but I would suggest a range of 15 to 30 per cent of income, the lower-end being for bachelors living in studios, to families with two children who need more space,” Charles Neil, Chief Executive Officer at Landmark Properties told Emirates 24|7.

Tareq Gouda, Team Leader, City Tower Office at Better Homes believes Dh4,000 would be the minimum that a family may have to shell-out for rent.

“Depending on location, property type, amenities and services, a family/individual can determine the average on rent. Nevertheless, an average rent can start from Dh4,000 onwards, considered competitive in terms of global average,” he said.

As rents look up, many residents now fear they will have to spend more on housing in the near future

“I was paying Dh75,000 for a two-bed villa in The Springs area in 2010.

"This year my landlord asked for a hike, but legally he’s bound to stick to the earlier slab. Next year he will ask for more and I will have to pay," said a resident in Dubai.

According to London-based Knight Frank, rents in Dubai have stabilised in the past one year.

The figures show that the emirate saw a -4.9 per cent drop in rents between December 2010 to December 2011.

This improved to -0.9 per cent between June 2011 to December 2011 and rents actually went up by a mere 0.1 per cent between September 2011 to December 2011.

Globally, prime rents across key global cities struggled in the last three months of 2011.

Financial centres like London, Zurich and Hong Kong saw quarterly growth drop from 0.9%, 3.3% and 1.8% in the third quarter to -0.4%, -3.2% and -1.0% in the final quarter, respectively.

Shanghai and Beijing's and other prime Chinese cities’ rental markets remained strong in 2011 due to demand from expatriate workers and limited supply.

Nairobi saw the biggest increase. New York and Singapore also witnessed increases.

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