Factors to consider when renting an Apartment in Dubai

Finding a flat to rent anywhere in the world is not always an easy ordeal and can often be a daunting process. There are many questions to ask yourself ahead of starting the apartment hunt – for example, how many bedrooms do you need? How close do you want to be for public transport or major highways? Are you looking for a long-term or short-term contract? Do you prefer a fully furnished, partly furnished or unfurnished option? Our advice would be to make a list of everything you think will affect your final decision and ensure that the apartment you choose ticks off the majority of these. To help you with your list, here are a few things to consider and some general information that will hopefully make your flat hunt a little bit easier.

What are the best areas to live in?

Depending on your needs, Dubai has something for everyone. Budget, location, type of apartment, size, and building facilities should all be taken into consideration. If you’re searching for more luxury areas then The Palm Jumeirah, Downtown Dubai, and DIFC are for you – these areas are considered more ‘mature’ and have much more well-developed communities. For central areas that are slightly more affordable, Business Bay and Sheikh Zayed Road and even the Dubai Marina now offer some of the best prices.

For those who are after something a bit more modern, areas such as Citywalk and Bluewater Island offer brand new apartments for rent in Dubai. These communities have quickly become tourist hotspots and are relatively easy to access. You will often find that some of these newer flats come fully furnished and are ready to move into, which some tenants prefer.

There are some areas that are fairly newer and more inland such as Jumeirah Village Circle, Jumeirah Village Triangle, the International Media Production Zone (IMPZ) which are considered more affordable than those listed above and offer cheaper flats for rent in Dubai. Whichever option you go for, don’t forget to check out the public transportation facilities around if you don’t have a car to make your life easier in the long term.

What is the process of renting in Dubai?

Once you’ve decided on which areas you want to move to, you need to decide what size of apartment you need. There are many options from studio apartments through to penthouses, so again, it really depends on your requirements and budget. Once you have found the flat for you, you’ll need to sign an agreement with the landlord, which is usually done through an agent, but in some cases, you can deal directly with the homeowner. Typically, contracts are signed on an annual basis, but there are short-term rental options available. Some investors do put their holiday apartments up for rent in Dubai, so may not want to commit to a long-term contract. Just be sure to check this with the agent or homeowner at the time of the viewing.

On signing the contract, you must hand over an agreed number of cheques for the total amount of the full duration of the agreement as well as a security deposit. The lesser number of cheques will guarantee that you will get the best price, however, you do have a certain level of negotiating power to get the price you want with an easy payment plan that suits you – whether this is two, four or even 12 cheques.

What does chiller free mean?

When you see a flat for rent in Dubai that is advertised as ‘chiller free’, this simply means that the air-conditioning costs are included in the total rental value and you will not have to pay the AC utility bill each month. This ultimately saves you the hassle of having to set up an account with the utility company and can save you money over the summer months when the AC bills tend to shoot up given the harsh desert climate.

What’s the difference between fully furnished and partly furnished?

A fully furnished apartment is one that comes with all the furniture included. Usually, these apartments are slightly more expensive than an unfurnished option as the cost of the furniture including all the kitchen appliances is factored into the total rental amount. Saying this, it may actually work out cheaper for you if you are only planning on staying in Dubai for the short-term as you won’t need to buy your own furniture or worry about eventually selling it on when you relocate. A partly furnished unit will more than likely include all kitchen appliances, such as an oven, cooker, washing machine, and fridge, and may sometimes even include the living room furniture. You just need to make sure that when your contract is up, all of the furniture that was there when you moved in is still there, intact and in the same condition that you found it in order to get your security deposit back.

What is a rent to own option?

When you hear the term ‘rent to own’ it means exactly that – paying a fixed amount as rent that essentially goes towards owning your own home. This is becoming a popular means of joining the property ladder and makes sense for those who are thinking of staying in the UAE for the long-term. Ultimately, instead of paying rent each month to a landlord, you are paying it to a developer over a defined timeframe to eventually own the property at the end of it. There is usually a down payment required upfront for most of the schemes available, it is still relatively affordable compared to getting a mortgage. A typical mortgage requires at least 30% of the value of a ready to buy a property upfront to cover down payment, transfer and agent fees.

The Dubai Land Department is working hard to establish clearer legislation for RTO schemes which is good news for those who perhaps have good salaries to pay a slightly higher rent but not enough for a down payment. Thanks to the rent to own scheme, more and more people are considering going down this route which will allow them to stay in the UAE for a longer period of time. As well as being a great strategy for developers to sell stock to a new untapped segment of the market, rent to own has made becoming a homeowner a reality for many people in Dubai.

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