2026

It's not always easy keeping on top of the fast-paced, shifting sands of Dubai's rental scene: from buildings being bought and sold, to your lease being renewed with a landlord demanding a hike from you by email with only 90 days to give a response, tenants, (and even many landlords), often have no idea of the officially government-sanctioned figures, down to the very last decimal point, determining...

I'm going to be very honest. Most people who move to or invest in Dubai at the beginning: assume that buying a property, renting an apartment is simple. Get an agent, find a place, sign some documents. That's it. It isn't. The Dubai property market is fluid, multi-layered and self-governing. There are DLD registration costs, there's a need for an NOC and RERA rules, and mortgage criteria which are unique...

Yes, absolutely legal, no residency visa required. Every foreigner, from whatever country, has the right to buy property in designated freehold areas of Dubai, using their valid passport alone. No visa is required in Dubai. No sponsor required. No previous governmental approval required. This right has been enforced by the law in Dubai since 2002 and is still effective today in 2026.If someone else has...

You've purchased the property, you've registered it, you've furnished it, it's ready. Then there's the big question that has flummoxed more landlords in Dubai than almost any other in our entire sector: should I manage it myself or should I outsource it? And if I do outsource it: what, precisely am I outsourcing, and what does that cost? Property management costs in Dubai, like many things, is a metric...

Some investments you make with your gut. A one-bedroom apartment in Business Bay? That one deserves a spreadsheet.Not because it's a bad idea  far from it. Business Bay is one of the most talked-about addresses for property investment in Dubai right now, and for genuine reasons. But "everyone's buying there" is not an investment thesis. Yield numbers are. So let's look at the actual data for 2026,...

Imagine this. The developer finally calls, the unit is ready. You've been waiting over a year, possibly two years, for it; watched it go up floor by floor on your phone screen, tracking each payment and readjusting travel plans for two flights at least. And then, it's finally time. You get there. The apartment is gorgeous – fresh paint, gleaming tilework, the very kitchen you imagined from the glossy...

Let me be blunt with you. In most property purchases in Dubai, particularly for first-time buyers, all people care about is purchase price, payment plan and, perhaps, the handover date. What they almost never consider carefully until the bill is in their bank account is service charge and ignorance there costs people a lot of money. We have met numerous buyers over the years who have been utterly...

Frankly speaking, most of us either shell out the money or panic and stress-out whenever the landlord sends the rent renewal with a proposed rent increase from anywhere from 10%-15%. There are very few of us who actually know that there's an existing legal system that protects us and fewer still who know how to use this protection as leverage in a rent negotiation. Dubai is one of the best regulated...

Truth be told, Dubai is on fire. January 2026 alone generated AED 72.4 billion in sales-the highest amount in a single month in Dubai's real estate history. Seventy-three percent of residential sales in Q1 2026 were off-plan transactions. These aren't just numbers; they represent a city where people are putting down solid, tangible money, before a single floor tile is put in place. And frankly? They are...

To be brutally honest with you, The first time I had a meeting with a client who had just arrived from London, he went through the paperwork and stated, 'wait a minute, the commission is on me? Shouldn't that be the seller's job?'. It is a totally logical assumption to make and as honest as you can get, that he's not the only one that's ever been surprised by this. The process of a real estate agent...