Samir Salya looks at whether Dubai tenants are getting rent cuts

With property experts agreeing that Dubai’s housing costs have fallen across the board, reports show that not many tenants are enjoying correspondingly lower rental costs. In fact, only around 10 per cent of the tenants polled are reporting that they are getting any kind of help with their high accommodation costs.

Recent survey contradicts market data

A recent survey shows that 90 per cent of tenants say that their property rental costs have either stayed the same or been raised since 2016. There were 300 residents polled for the survey, and almost 43 per cent said that their yearly rental amount had gone up, while just over 47 per cent said that they’d stayed the same, with landlords not asking for more.

The residents finding it the hardest to get lower rents are generally found in Deira, Jumeirah and Bur Dubai, although not exclusively so. Around four out of ten tenants who live in Jumeirah said that their yearly rent has gone up by between five and 10 per cent. The remaining tenants in that area said their rent as stayed the same.

Over in Bur Dubai, around 57 per cent of residents said that their rents had gone up by between five and 10 per cent since 2016. In Deira, half of the residents who contributed to the survey said that their annual rent had gone up by the same amount.

Lower number of residents enjoying rent cuts

A small amount of the population (around 10 per cent) have had the benefit of reduced rents. These reductions have been reported in The Palm Jumeirah, Jumeirah Lakes Towers and Al Barsha. Out of the number of residents who reported rent cuts, just over 71 per cent said that their rents had been reduced by between five and 10 per cent.

These results seem to contradict the general reports that have talked about Dubai’s rents falling and an environment that has moved towards the tenants. Various reports have said that overall the residential market is declining in 2017. As we’ve seen, some landlords are reducing rents, and others are negotiating extensions to tenancies or a change in the payments.

Increased landlord flexibility

Landlords are, across the board, becoming more flexible in 2017 according to market reports. The disconnect with the tenants’ survey and the market reports doesn’t necessarily mean that incorrect data has been spread, however. It could be that the difference lies in the demographics that responded to the survey.

While individual renters may find the fact that rents are reducing in Dubai, the consensus from market experts disagrees. It could be that residents are simply unaware that they could negotiate with their landlord, and haven’t tried to benefit from rent reductions. This is borne out by the fact that many respondents said that they hadn’t broached the subject with their landlords. It’s always worth asking the question!

About Samir Salya

Samir Salya is the Chairman of Reign Holdings, and is involved in UK and UAE real estate and construction. Samir holds over 20 years’ experience in executive management, business expansion, performance improvement, sales and marketing.