Rents in UAE are 'not dropping': Emirates 24|7 poll

Local and global real estate consultancies may be releasing reports that reveal rents declining in UAE, but 53 per cent of respondents in a poll conducted by Emirates 24|7 said 'rents were rising'.

Twenty one per cent of the respondents to the website's poll said rents declined by 10 to 20 per cent, while only 8 per cent said rents fell by 5 to 10 per cent.

However, 18 per cent of the respondents said rents remained stable.

“My rent has gone up by five per cent. I am fine with it and consider myself lucky as my landlord followed the regulations laid by the Dubai authorities,” Serena S, a reader said.

IA, another of our reader, commented: “Rents have gone up by 30 per cent for new tenants and 10 per cent for existing tenants due for renewal.”

“Tenants in Dubai are powerful today and no eviction from an apartment can take place unless the landlord has served a 12-month notary public notice,” Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) chief Marwan bin Ghalita said recently.

Read: No eviction if no 12-month Dubai notary notice

Dubai has a rental slab in place (rent index calculator) that has to be followed by landlords when increasing rents.

Rera has always emphasized that tenants should approach the Rental Dispute Settlement Center of Dubai Land Department in cases of higher rental hikes.

However, in their latest report, MPM Properties, the real estate subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, said rents were falling in Dubai's prime areas as tenant demand diverts to other not-so-posh locations of the emirate.

Rents in the Greens community fell by 15 per cent in the third quarter 2014 compared to the second quarter 2014. During the same period, Dubai Marina was down four per cent and Downtown Dubai declined by three per cent.

Similarly, Asteco, a property consultancy, also said this month rents fell by seven per cent in Discovery Gardens and International City, respectively, in the third quarter compared to the second quarter.

Dubai Marina was down two per cent, but Downtown Dubai remained stable, the consultancy said.

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