Dubai Land Department (DLD) records show a median rent of AED 67,000 a year on new apartment leases and AED 180,000 on new villa and townhouse leases with start dates between 1 September 2025 and 31 August 2026, across 228,020 Ejari contracts. By community, the median new apartment lease ranged between AED 43,000 in DAMAC Hills 2 and AED 420,000 on Bluewaters Island.
In brief
- Median annual rent on new leases: AED 67,000 for an apartment (203,193 contracts) and AED 180,000 for a villa or townhouse (24,827), for contracts starting 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2026 (DLD open data, exported 4 September 2026).
- The lowest apartment medians in our community guides were DAMAC Hills 2 (AED 43,000, 250 leases), Dubai Production City (AED 52,000) and Discovery Gardens (AED 53,000), in the same DLD data and window.
- Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC) registered more new apartment leases than any other guide community, 17,712, at a median of AED 70,000 (same data).
- Renewals are excluded; DLD's FAQ, read on 1 October 2026, puts renewal increases at 0% to 20%.
- A tenant also pays a municipality tax of 5% of the annual rent, shown separately on the electricity bill (DLD FAQ, read 1 October 2026).
Dubai rent prices at a glance
The Dubai rent prices on this page are agreed rents, not asking prices. Each figure is the median annual rent on a new residential lease registered through Ejari, which our Ejari guide explains.
| Property type | Median annual rent (AED) | New leases counted |
|---|---|---|
| Apartment | 67,000 | 203,193 |
| Villa or townhouse | 180,000 | 24,827 |
| All new leases counted | Not combined | 228,020 (203,193 + 24,827) |
We keep the two medians apart. Apartments account for 203,193 of the 228,020 contracts, so a combined figure would mostly describe flats.
Average rent in Dubai: what the median measures
Searches for the average rent in Dubai want one typical number. We use the median: half of the new leases in a group were below it and half above, so a few very expensive leases cannot drag it up as they would a mean.
- New contracts for one home, 11 to 14 months long. Multi-property contracts are dropped because they repeat one amount on every line. For holiday lets, see our short-term rental guide.
- The annual rent, not the contract value. On a 24-month lease the contract value is twice the yearly rent.
- Studios to 6-bedroom homes together, with no split by bedroom count. Groups of fewer than 20 contracts are not shown, and medians are rounded to the nearest AED 1,000.
- No building name. Rent contracts carry none, and many carry no project number, so each is placed by master project, project name or DLD area.
Apartment rents by community, lowest to highest
The table ranks every Dubai community in our guides with an apartment figure. "DLD match" is high where a dedicated master project, area or developer isolates the community, and medium where the filter relies on names or DLD registers much of its sales outside the residential definition.
| Rank | Community | Median annual rent (AED) | New leases counted | DLD match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DAMAC Hills 2 | 43,000 | 250 | Medium |
| 2 | Dubai Production City | 52,000 | 3,261 | High |
| 3 | Discovery Gardens | 53,000 | 4,161 | High |
| 4 | Dubai Sports City | 54,000 | 4,190 | High |
| 5 | Dubai Studio City | 55,000 | 1,240 | High |
| 6 | Dubai South | 57,000 | 2,585 | High |
| 7 | Dubai Silicon Oasis | 58,000 | 5,082 | High |
| 8 | DAMAC Hills | 60,000 | 1,827 | High |
| 9 | Meydan | 63,000 | 5,540 | Medium |
| 10 | Arjan | 64,000 | 5,803 | High |
| 11 | JVT | 66,000 | 1,671 | High |
| =12 | Al Furjan | 70,000 | 2,670 | High |
| =12 | JVC | 70,000 | 17,712 | High |
| 14 | Motor City | 80,000 | 871 | High |
| 15 | Business Bay | 95,000 | 10,125 | High |
| 16 | Expo City Dubai | 96,000 | 487 | High |
| =17 | Rashid Yachts & Marina | 100,000 | 70 | High |
| =17 | Sobha Hartland | 100,000 | 3,002 | High |
| 19 | District One | 108,000 | 573 | Medium |
| 20 | Dubai Marina | 110,000 | 7,192 | High |
| 21 | Dubai Maritime City | 115,000 | 78 | High |
| =22 | Dubai Hills Estate | 120,000 | 2,884 | High |
| =22 | Jumeirah Golf Estates | 120,000 | 204 | Medium |
| 24 | Dubai Creek Harbour | 135,000 | 3,457 | High |
| =25 | JBR | 140,000 | 1,411 | High |
| =25 | Madinat Jumeirah Living | 140,000 | 461 | High |
| 27 | Downtown Dubai | 145,000 | 5,246 | High |
| 28 | Emaar Beachfront (and Dubai Harbour) | 175,000 | 1,007 | High |
| =29 | City Walk | 200,000 | 542 | High |
| =29 | Palm Jumeirah | 200,000 | 1,933 | High |
| 31 | Bluewaters Island | 420,000 | 134 | High |
| All Dubai (every district) | 67,000 | 203,193 |
Of the 31 ranked communities, 11 sit below the Dubai-wide AED 67,000 and 20 above it. The Dubai figure includes districts we do not cover, so it is not an average of the rows.
Cheapest areas to rent in Dubai
The lowest apartment medians were in DAMAC Hills 2 (AED 43,000 across 250 leases), Dubai Production City (AED 52,000 across 3,261) and Discovery Gardens (AED 53,000 across 4,161). Dubai Sports City, Dubai Studio City, Dubai South and Dubai Silicon Oasis followed at AED 54,000, AED 55,000, AED 57,000 and AED 58,000.
Three limits apply before reading this as a list of the cheapest places to live in Dubai:
- Coverage. Only communities with a guide on this site are ranked.
- Home size. Studios and larger flats are pooled, so part of each gap is size, not location.
- Sample. DAMAC Hills 2 is rated medium, and most of its new leases are houses: 2,684 villa and townhouse leases against 250 apartments.
Rent is not the whole cost: the tenant also pays the 5% municipality tax, while DLD's FAQ makes the landlord responsible for service fees (see our service charges article).
Where apartment rents are highest
Bluewaters Island was highest at AED 420,000 on 134 new leases. Palm Jumeirah (1,933 leases) and City Walk (542) came next at AED 200,000 each, then Emaar Beachfront at AED 175,000 on 1,007 and Downtown Dubai at AED 145,000 on 5,246. All new Dubai Harbour leases in the window were in Emaar Beachfront towers, so one row serves both guides.
Two of the higher rows rest on small samples: Dubai Maritime City on 78 leases and Rashid Yachts & Marina on 70. By volume, three communities each passed 7,000 new apartment leases: JVC (17,712), Business Bay (10,125) and Dubai Marina (7,192).
Villa and townhouse rents by community
The table ranks the 21 guide communities with enough new villa and townhouse leases for a median.
| Rank | Community | Median annual rent (AED) | New leases counted | DLD match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DAMAC Hills 2 | 100,000 | 2,684 | Medium |
| 2 | Dubai South | 135,000 | 1,169 | High |
| 3 | DAMAC Lagoons | 150,000 | 490 | Medium |
| 4 | Arabian Ranches 3 | 180,000 | 963 | High |
| 5 | JVT | 182,000 | 243 | High |
| 6 | JVC | 190,000 | 580 | High |
| 7 | The Springs | 208,000 | 833 | High |
| 8 | DAMAC Hills | 210,000 | 665 | High |
| 9 | Dubai Silicon Oasis | 230,000 | 169 | High |
| 10 | Al Furjan | 241,000 | 712 | High |
| 11 | Tilal Al Ghaf | 255,000 | 804 | High |
| 12 | Motor City | 265,000 | 40 | High |
| 13 | Arabian Ranches 2 | 270,000 | 343 | High |
| 14 | Arabian Ranches | 275,000 | 504 | High |
| 15 | Dubai Sports City | 298,000 | 160 | High |
| 16 | Dubai Hills Estate | 310,000 | 872 | High |
| 17 | The Lakes | 318,000 | 98 | Medium |
| 18 | Jumeirah Golf Estates | 450,000 | 222 | Medium |
| 19 | Sobha Hartland | 735,000 | 32 | High |
| 20 | District One | 850,000 | 139 | Medium |
| 21 | Palm Jumeirah | 1,000,000 | 126 | High |
| All Dubai (every district) | 180,000 | 24,827 |
DAMAC Hills 2 had the lowest median, AED 100,000, and the largest villa sample of any guide community at 2,684 leases. Dubai South (AED 135,000) and DAMAC Lagoons (AED 150,000) followed.
The top of the table is thin: Palm Jumeirah's AED 1,000,000 rests on 126 leases, District One's AED 850,000 on 139 and Sobha Hartland's AED 735,000 on 32. Emirates Hills had only 13 new villa leases, and DLD data cannot separate The Meadows from the rest of Emirates Living, so neither has a figure. Anyone turning these medians into a yield should first read why we stopped recommending projected yields.
Why new leases differ from renewal rents
The rental index of the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) caps the increase a landlord can ask at renewal, so renewed rents trail what new tenants agree. That is why renewals are left out here. DLD's FAQ says the increase depends on the gap between the current rent and the average market rent, within 0% to 20%; our RERA rent calculator sets out each band and the notice period.
A new lease works differently. DLD describes the index as indicative for a new contract, binding only when the two sides disagree over a renewal increase. A new-lease median shows what the open market agreed; a renewal reflects the existing rent plus any capped rise. DLD's Rents tab keeps the two apart with a Version filter set to New or Renew.
Why portal asking rents differ from these figures
A listing portal shows what landlords are asking for homes on the market today. Ejari records the rent a landlord and tenant signed. The asking figure is a starting point for negotiation and covers only homes vacant this week; our medians cover a year of signed leases, with renewals and multi-property contracts removed.
A 12-month median also blends leases signed early and late in the window. Our Dubai property market page shows how registered sales moved month by month over the same period.
Check registered rents yourself
DLD publishes the contracts on its Real Estate Data page, last updated on 23 September 2026 when we read it:
- Open the Rents tab, choose Registration Date, Start Date or End Date, and enter a From Date and To Date (both required).
- Set Version to New for new leases only, or Renew for renewals.
- Narrow by Area, Usage (Residential, Commercial or Other), Property Type and Is Free Hold?.
- Read the Annual Amount column for the yearly rent; Download as CSV saves the list.
How we checked
Every rent and lease count here is a value from our DLD figures file (open data exported on 4 September 2026), unchanged except for thousands separators; the ranks and the 11 and 20 split are counted from those values. On 1 October 2026 we read DLD's Real Estate Data page and FAQ. The full method is on our about page, and each area guide shows its own community's figures. These are past registered rents, not a view on where rents will go.
Common questions
What is the average rent in Dubai?
The median annual rent on a new Dubai apartment lease was AED 67,000 across 203,193 contracts starting 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2026. For villas and townhouses it was AED 180,000 across 24,827 contracts.
What is the cheapest place to live in Dubai?
Among the communities in our guides, DAMAC Hills 2 had the lowest median on new apartment leases, AED 43,000 across 250 contracts. Dubai Production City (AED 52,000) came next. The ranking does not cover every Dubai district, and it pools studios with larger flats.
Which areas of Dubai have the highest rents?
For apartments, Bluewaters Island had the highest median on new leases, AED 420,000, followed by Palm Jumeirah and City Walk at AED 200,000 each. For villas and townhouses, Palm Jumeirah was highest at AED 1,000,000 across 126 leases.
Why do renewing tenants often pay less than new tenants?
RERA's rental index limits how much a landlord can raise the rent at renewal, so an existing tenant's rent can trail new-lease rents. DLD's FAQ puts renewal increases at 0% to 20%, depending on how far the current rent sits below the average market rent.
Why are rents on property portals different from these figures?
A portal shows asking rents for homes available now. These figures are rents agreed and registered on Ejari over 12 months, so the timing, the mix of homes and the negotiation all differ.
What does a tenant pay on top of the rent?
DLD's FAQ says a tenant pays a municipality tax of 5% of the annual rent, shown separately on the electricity bill and separate from VAT. Service fees on the property are the landlord's responsibility.
Landlords setting a rent and tenants comparing communities can ask for a community-level view of registered rents through our market intelligence service, and owners letting a home can see what our property management covers. Comparing renting with buying? Start with mortgage coordination, or send us an enquiry about a specific community.
Cite as: Firswood Properties, Dubai rent prices: median new-lease rents by community, .
Sources & further reading
Sources checked .