The Dubai Land Department launched the enhanced Dubai Smart Rental Index 2025 on Thursday, January 2, 2025. This innovative index aims to assist both residents and property owners in their real estate endeavours, whether it’s achieving homeownership aspirations or optimizing their rental experiences.

The Dubai Smart Rental Index 2025

The Dubai Land Department (DLD) has recently introduced the Dubai Smart Rental Index, a new tool designed to assist tenants, investors, and landlords in determining fair rental prices.
This index incorporates a novel classification system that will be used to evaluate rent increases based on specific criteria. The primary objective of this tool is to enhance transparency, foster trust, and create a more equitable environment for all stakeholders in the rental market.

How Does The New Dubai Smart Rental Index Work?

Leveraging the power of artificial intelligence (AI), the index establishes a classification system to ensure fair and consistent evaluations. This comprehensive system will encompass all residential areas within the Emirate, including key districts, free zones, and special development zones. The utilization of AI guarantees that the same evaluation and pricing criteria are applied uniformly across all of Dubai.

Updated Building Classification System

The new building classification system, underpinned by artificial intelligence (AI), serves as the foundation for rent increases. This innovative system evaluates residential buildings on a scale of one to five stars, considering all technical and service-related aspects. The criteria included in this assessment are:

  • Technical and structural characteristics
  • Quality of finishes and maintenance
  • Strategic location
  • Spatial value
  • Services and facilities (such as maintenance, cleanliness, and parking management)

Rent Increases Under the New Building Classification System

Even when a unit qualifies for a rent increase based on the new building classification system, the increase will still be subject to the limitations outlined in Dubai Land Department Decree Number 43.
Rent Increase Percentages Based on Market Value:

    • If your current rent is 10% or less than the average market rate for comparable units, no rent increase is permitted.
    • If your rent is between 11% and 20% below the average market rate, a maximum rent increase of 5% is allowed.
    • If your rent is between 21% and 30% below the average market rate, a maximum rent increase of 10% is allowed.
    • If your rent is between 31% and 40% below the average market rate, a maximum rent increase of 15% is allowed.
    • If your rent is more than 40% below the average market rate, a maximum rent increase of 20% is allowed.

This initiative introduces a new and improved Dubai Smart Rental Index 2025, providing a neutral and reliable resource for all parties involved in the Dubai real estate and housing sector. The Dubai Land Department recognized the need for a more equitable and accurate rental valuation system to better serve tenants, investors, and landlords across the city.

Impact on Tenants

The Dubai Smart Rental Index brings significant advantages to tenants within the Emirate.

    • Primarily, it promotes fair rental prices by providing tenants with transparent access to accurate rental data, empowering them to negotiate effectively.
    • This ensures tenants pay a fair market value for their homes.
    • This feature empowers tenants and builds confidence when entering into Ejari rental agreements.
    • With reliable data to support their decisions, tenants can make more informed choices.

Ultimately, this refined tool enhances the overall rental experience for tenants throughout Dubai.

Impact on Landlords

There are other benefits for landlords as well with the new Dubai Smart Rental Index 2025.

    • For example, the DLD Smart Rental Index is a valuable resource for landlords when making rental decisions.
    • By utilizing accurate data, landlords can make informed pricing choices to attract tenants and maximize their return on investment.
    • This tool enables strategic planning by allowing landlords to analyze market conditions and adapt their rental strategies to align with tenant preferences.
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Ultimately, This approach will minimize disagreements and provide a sound basis for pricing decisions, allowing both sides to engage in productive negotiations and arrive at an agreeable outcome.

RERA Calculator Update

The RERA Rent Calculator has been updated for the first time since March 2024. Tenants can now enter their Ejari number to receive a more precise rental range. Visit the Dubai Land Department website to access the updated index. This latest action aligns with Dubai’s Digital Strategy and the Dubai Real Estate Sector Strategy 2033.

The Dubai real estate sector A crucial transformation

The Dubai Land Department recently unveiled the Dubai Smart Rental Index, a significant advancement in the regulation and growth of Dubai’s real estate market.

Majid Al Marri, CEO of the Real Estate Registration Sector, emphasized during a press conference that this index fosters transparency, builds trust, and creates a balanced and sustainable environment for all stakeholders.

By utilizing artificial intelligence and a comprehensive building classification system, the index provides accurate and fair rental valuations, solidifying Dubai’s position as a global investment hub.

Al-Marri also noted a substantial increase in registered rental contracts in 2024, surpassing 900,000, which represents an 8% growth compared to the previous year. This surge signifies a growing confidence in Dubai’s real estate market, empowering all parties involved in rental agreements to make informed decisions and ultimately achieve mutually beneficial outcomes and long-term market sustainability.

Other Recent Initiatives

In 2024, the Dubai Land Department introduced several initiatives to improve the real estate sector’s efficiency and simplify processes. These include:

    • Interactive rental contracts via the Dubai REST App: Landlords and tenants can now register, renew, or cancel contracts using this user-friendly app.
    • Interactive property management contracts through the Dubai REST App: This app enables property owners and management companies to register and modify contracts conveniently.
    • The Model Tenant Classification System: This innovative system classifies tenants’ creditworthiness, allowing credit reports to be accessed through the Ejari system and the Dubai REST App.

Future Plans

The Dubai Land Department is committed to the Dubai Smart Rental Index’s ongoing development. The DLD also plans to expand its coverage in the future to include additional real estate sectors, such as commercial and industrial indexes, and to bring new services focused on improving user experience and building trust in the market.

Future plans will also include training programs, specialist customer service, and ongoing technical support, in addition to setting up several channels of contact to accommodate various customer needs.

FAQs

What is the Dubai Smart Rental Index?
The Dubai Smart Rental Index is an AI-driven system that gathers precise rental data to establish fair rental prices for properties throughout Dubai.

Who Determines the criteria set by the Smart Rental Index?
The Dubai Land Department sets the guidelines, and the Index assists property owners in setting reasonable rates while helping tenants avoid overpaying.

What criteria does the Index use to determine rental prices?
The Index considers a property’s technical and structural features, the quality of finishes and upkeep, location, space utilization, and available services/amenities.

Will the newly launched Smart Rental Index result in an increased rental price?
A higher rating for a property on the Index generally indicates a potential rent increase.

Can landlords use the new smart DLD rent index to increase rent?
Landlords can request a rent increase based on the new Index. However, all changes must be communicated in writing with a 90-day notice period.

Can tenants check if a rent increase is justified?
Tenants can use RERA’s Rental Increase Calculator to determine the maximum permissible increase and verify the justification of any rent increase.

Where can tenants complain about an unfair rent increase?
Tenants retain the right to challenge unjustified rent increases at any time through the Rental Dispute Settlement Centre (RDC) if their landlord fails to adhere to RERA’s regulations regarding rent increases.