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What the property earns, and what it costs to hold

The rent from a Dubai apartment is not your income: out of it come the annual service charges the owner owes, remote management, maintenance the law places on the landlord, and empty periods. Dubai's tenancy law (Law 26 of 2007) bars rent increases in the first two years, and requires ninety days' notice not to renew or to change terms.

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What does a rented Dubai apartment actually earn?

The rent is not your income. Out of it come annual service charges you owe as owner and do not set, the cost of whoever manages the property for you from a distance, maintenance the law places on the landlord, and periods when the property is empty.

And two deadlines worth knowing in advance: rent cannot be raised nor terms amended in the first two years of the relationship, and any change or non-renewal at the end of a term requires ninety days' notice. Evicting the tenant to sell the property vacant or to live in it is a separate matter, and the notice it requires should be confirmed with a lawyer.1,2

What a Dubai landlord may charge, and when

  1. A written contract, always

    Article 4 provides that the relationship is governed by a written lease contract signed by both parties, setting out — in a manner allowing no room for uncertainty — a description of the property, the purpose of the lease, the owner's name and the rest of the particulars.1

  2. Two years without an increase

    Article 9 provides that the rent is specified in the contract, and that in any event it may not be increased nor any of the contract's terms amended before two years have elapsed from when the original contractual relationship was established. Anyone whose model assumes an annual increase from year one has assumed something the law does not allow.1

  3. And after that, not at will

    Article 10 empowers RERA to set criteria for rent-increase percentages in the emirate, in line with prevailing economic conditions. So even after the two years, an increase is subject to criteria set from above rather than to free negotiation. The current percentages should be checked with RERA at the time — they move, which is why they are not reproduced here.1

  4. Ninety days' notice

    Article 14 provides that a party who does not wish to renew, or who wishes to amend any term, must notify the other at least ninety days before the contract expires, unless otherwise agreed. Article 6 supplies the other side of the same coin: if the term ends and the tenant stays on without objection, the contract renews for the same term or one year — whichever is shorter — on the same terms.1

  5. Evicting to sell or move in is a different article

    A notice not to renew is not an eviction. A landlord who wants the tenant out at the end of the contract — to sell the property vacant, or for a family member to live in it — relies on Article 25, not Article 14. The text on Dubai's legislation portal is the 2007 original, which speaks of ninety days and own use only; the law was amended in 2008 (Law 33/2008), and we could not open the amending text. So: do not plan a vacant sale around ninety days. Ask a local lawyer what notice is required today, how it must be served, and how far in advance.1

What it costs to hold a rented Dubai apartment

Service charges are the large fixed cost, and the one most buyers fail to price. Law No. (6) of 2019 defines them as the annual charges collected from owners to cover the cost of management, operation, maintenance and repair of jointly owned real property. Alongside them it defines usage charges — annual charges for common facilities.

Two points change the planning. First, these are annual and variable, not a fixed number you can pin to the purchase contract. Second, the Owners Committee reviews the annual maintenance budget and makes recommendations, and may request the financial reports — but does not set the budget. An owner is not a customer who can switch supplier.

The Land Department states in an official notice that a property owner is obliged to pay service and usage charges. It is an obligation, not a service you can decline.2,3

  • Maintenance during the term. Article 16 of the tenancy law provides that unless otherwise agreed, the landlord is responsible for maintenance works and for repairing any defect or damage affecting the tenant's intended use. From Israel that is not only a cost — it is an errand somebody has to run.
  • Property management. An owner outside the country needs someone local to find a tenant, collect, and deal with faults. That is a commercial arrangement rather than one the law provides, and its terms are settled with the management company.
  • Void periods. Between tenants there is no income, and the service charges keep being levied.
  • Included amenities. Article 11 provides that unless otherwise agreed, the rent covers use of the property's amenities — pools, gyms, parking and the like. They cannot be charged for separately by default.
  • The deposit. Article 20 permits the landlord to take a security deposit against maintenance of the property, provided he undertakes to refund it, or its remainder, at the end of the term. That is money held, not money earned.1

Why there is no yield figure here

A net yield is not a figure any authority publishes. It is assembled from an assumed rent, an assumed occupancy and a service charge that changes year to year — and this site cannot source any of the three.

What can be done, and what this page exists to make possible: ask the developer or the management company for the service charge in writing, ask what the building actually rents for rather than what the brochure says, and subtract the list above. That arithmetic is yours, with your project's numbers — not somebody else's average.

What about tax on the rent?

Rental income is income, and for an Israeli it engages Israeli law regardless of where the property sits. This page decides nothing about that. The guide on tax and reporting explains what the Israel-UAE treaty says and which questions to bring to your accountant, and that is the address — before the purchase, not after it.

Common questions

Can a Dubai landlord raise the rent at the end of the first year?
No. Article 9 of Law 26/2007 bars any increase in rent or amendment of the contract's terms before two years have elapsed from when the original contractual relationship was established. Even after that, an increase is subject to criteria set by RERA.
In Dubai, who pays to fix an air conditioner that fails mid-tenancy – landlord or tenant?
Unless the contract agrees otherwise, the landlord. Article 16 places on the landlord the maintenance works and the repair of any defect or damage affecting the tenant's intended use. For an owner outside the country that means someone local has to actually deal with it.
Can service charges on a Dubai building be waived or negotiated?
No. The Land Department states that a property owner is obliged to pay service and usage charges, and Law 6/2019 defines them as annual charges covering the management, operation, maintenance and repair of the jointly owned property. The Owners Committee reviews the budget and recommends — it does not set it.
In Dubai, what happens if the tenant stays on after the lease ends?
Under Article 6, if the term has ended and the tenant remains without objection from the landlord, the contract renews — for the same term or one year, whichever is shorter, on the same terms. Which is why the ninety days' notice under Article 14 is not a formality but the moment at which control is retained.

In the book (Hebrew) 3.5 השכרה קצרת־טווח (Holiday Homes) מול ארוכת־טווח · page 12

Sources

Every link here is to a publication of the issuing body itself. If something on this page looks wrong to you, the source governs – not us.

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