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Market report · H1 2026

Dubai Rent Report

What tenants in 38 Dubai areas actually pay, measured from registered Ejari tenancy contracts, not listing prices. Asking rents on property portals run ahead of what people sign; these are the signed figures.

Data period: H1 2026 · Page updated 24 September 2026

Median studio
AED 45,000
Median 1-bedroom
AED 63,000
Median 2-bedroom
AED 82,500
Unit figures tracked
192 in 38 areas

Medians are the middle value across areas for apartments, per year.

Year-on-year movers start with the H1 2027 report. This is the first year measured from registered Ejari contracts, and comparing it with earlier figures built a different way would show method changes, not market moves.

Most affordable 1-bedroom areas

  1. 1 Al Twar AED 41,000
  2. 2 International City AED 42,000
  3. 3 Al Qusais AED 45,000
  4. 4 Deira AED 45,500
  5. 5 Al Nahda AED 46,000

Priciest 1-bedroom areas

  1. 1 Umm Suqeim AED 120,000
  2. 2 Downtown Dubai AED 115,000
  3. 3 Al Wasl AED 100,000
  4. 4 Jumeirah AED 95,000
  5. 5 Dubai Hills Estate AED 93,000

Apartment rents by area

Median annual rent, H1 2026. Villas and townhouses are on each area page.

See rents for all 38 areas

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Methodology

Source. Residential tenancy contracts registered in Ejari, published by the Dubai Land Department on its open-data service. Registered contracts include renewals, so figures reflect what sitting tenants pay as well as new lets.

Measure. Median annual rent per area, property type and bedroom count, rounded to the nearest AED 500. Medians resist distortion from a handful of very high or low contracts.

Quality rules. A figure is published only with at least 12 contracts (20 for villas). Where adjacent bedroom counts conflict, for example a larger unit priced below a smaller one, the figure backed by fewer contracts is withheld. Areas are official DLD districts that map one-to-one to the community named.

Year on year. Changes are shown only between years measured the same way. H1 2026 is the first Ejari-contract year, so comparisons begin with the next edition.

Cite this report

RentShield UAE, "Dubai Rent Report: H1 2026", based on registered Ejari tenancy contracts published by the Dubai Land Department. https://rentshielduae.com/dubai-rent-report

Journalists and researchers are welcome to use these figures with attribution. For custom cuts of the data, get in touch.

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