Dubai and Abu Dhabi Real Estate & Property

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Home: Living Here: Real Estate and Property in the UAE

The real estate industry in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a major issue, as most expats living in the UAE normally rent the apartment, flat, or villa they are living in. This article attempts to help those who are looking for online resources that have listings of properties in the UAE, as well as provide them with general information on renting property.

Newspaper Classifieds
Gulf News, the leading English daily, has a classifieds property section on its website, which are divided into two sections - Abu Dhabi & Al Ain and Dubai & The Northern Emirates (Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah, and Fujairah). Khaleej Times, the second popular English daily, has classifieds properties sections for Abu Dhabi & Al Ain, Dubai, and Sharjah.

Real Estate Agencies
For the contact details of all the real estate agents in the UAE, click here (Etisalat Yellow Pages) or here (Hawk Business Pages). For a list of real estate agencies that have websites, click here, and most of them are Dubai real estate companies.

Alpha Properties - Has villas in Jumeirah, Umm Suqeim, Barsha, and Mirdif as well as furnished and non-furnished apartments in Shaikh Zayed Road, Bur Dubai, and Karama.

Arenco - List of apartment and villa vacancies in Dubai.

Better Homes - Has a large collection of vacancies of apartments and villas in Dubai, as well as houses and flats in Sharjah.

Union Properties - List vacancies in various locations in Dubai, including furnished and unfurnished studios, apartments and villas.

Colliers International - List of apartments in Deira, Karama, Bur Dubai, and Sheikh Zayed Road (Dubai).

Online Property Resources
All of the online property resources which were dedicated to the UAE have been closed or are no longer updated, so TEN has launched its own real estate resource, TEN Real Estate.

Renting Guide
The information previously found here has been re-written, expanded and moved to Renting Property in the United Arab Emirates.

When leasing a flat or house/villa, landlords will differ about payment methods. All land-lords love to receive the annual payment upfront but most will accept 2 to 4 check payments. If the accomodation is taken through a property agency, then a 5% commission will be paid to them. Utilities bills have to be paid by the tenant and most will need to pay a refunable deposit of 1,000 to 2,000 dirhams to start using water, electricity, and gas. Some premises will also have a security deposit of 500 to 3,000 dirhams and in some cities in the Emirates, a 10% municipality tax is charged to tenants.Important Rent Law
Rents throughout the United Arab Emirates have jumped and it is important that tenants know one crucial law regarding rent increases. A landlord can only increase rents every three years and the increase in rent cant be more than 20%. If a landlord doesnt abide by this law, a tenant can approach the Municipality and they will handle the issue.

Owning Property in UAE
Not until recently it wasn't possible to own property in the United Arab Emirates, but that all changed in 2002. Click here to learn more about the History of Freehold Property in the United Arab Emirates.

Useful Links
Dubai Freehold Property - TEN Guide
Burj Dubai (Dubai Tower) - TEN Guide
International Real Estate Digest - Property Directory