๐ฆ๐ช United Arab Emirates
Moving to Dubai
The single thing that surprises people moving to Dubai is not the price โ it is the payment structure. Rent is annual, and landlords ask for it in a small number of post-dated cheques, sometimes just one. Fewer cheques buys a lower rent; more cheques costs more. You also need a residence visa and an Emirates ID before most landlords will sign, which sets the order of everything else.
- Visit
- โฌ49
- Starter
- โฌ899
- Premium
- โฌ1,900
Rent is quoted per year and often paid in one or two cheques. Plan the cash flow first.
Where to live
Neighbourhoods in Dubai
Dubai Marina & JBR
Young professionals, couplesWalkable by Dubai standards, with the beach promenade at JBR, on the tram and metro, and the default first landing for new arrivals.
Jumeirah Lake Towers
Value seekersAcross the road from the Marina, with two metro stations inside the community, noticeably cheaper for a similar tower. Building quality varies cluster by cluster.
Downtown & Business Bay
ProfessionalsCentral, next to DIFC and the Burj Khalifa, with the canal promenade through Business Bay, and priced accordingly.
Jumeirah Village Circle
Families, space seekersLow-rise blocks and townhouses with pools and parks, much more space for the money, and no metro: you will need a car.
Bur Dubai & Al Karama
Value seekers, car-freeOld Dubai by the Creek, on the Green and Red lines: older buildings, souks and the city's best cheap food, at the lowest rents near the metro.
What it costs to rent
Indicative rents
Annual, unfurnished, excluding DEWA and chiller charges. Divide by twelve at your own risk โ the cheques are what matter.
- One-bed, Marina / DowntownAED 100,000 โ 150,000
- One-bed, JLT / JVCAED 70,000 โ 100,000
- StudioAED 45,000 โ 70,000
Indicative only ยท last checked ยท your Insider confirms before you commit.
What catches people out
Agents who are not registered
Every legitimate agent has a RERA number and every legitimate listing has a Trakheesi permit number. Both are verifiable. An agent who cannot produce either should not be holding your money.
Reservation fees before Form F
Money should follow a signed Form F, not precede it. A 'reservation fee' handed over on a verbal agreement is difficult to get back.
Bait listings
A tower priced 30% below its neighbours usually does not have a flat available. It has a phone number that wants to sell you something else.
Renewal increases without the index
A landlord may raise the rent at renewal only where the current rent sits more than 10% below the Dubai Land Department's rental index for that kind of unit, on a sliding scale up to 20%, and must give 90 days' notice before the contract ends. Check the index yourself on the Dubai REST app.
After the keys
The admin that follows a move
On Premium, your Insider does this with you rather than sending you a checklist.
How long a move to Dubai takes. Four to six weeks, and budget the cheques before you budget the rent.
- Step 1
Residence visa and Emirates ID first
Most landlords will not sign without them, and DEWA will not connect without an Ejari. This sequence is the whole timeline.
- Step 2
Ejari registration
Your tenancy must be registered with Ejari, through the Dubai REST app or a typing centre, for a fee of roughly AED 220. It is what makes the lease enforceable and what utilities, schools and visas ask for.
- Step 3
DEWA
Water and electricity, with a refundable deposit of AED 2,000 for an apartment and AED 4,000 for a villa. The 5% housing fee arrives on this bill, and chiller charges for air conditioning are often billed separately โ ask whether they are included before you sign.
- Step 4
Internet
du or Etisalat, and which one you can have is decided by the building, not by you.
LanguageEnglish is the working language. Arabic for official documents. Your Insider works with you in English and negotiates on your behalf in whatever the lease is written in.
Relocation tools
Plan the move to Dubai
Small tools built on this guide: what a month costs, the steps in order, what to pack and what to do when you land. Indicative figures, in the local currency.
- Cost calculatorA month in the city, three ways, in the local currency.Open
- Visa timelineYour route, step by step, with how long each part takes.Open
- Neighbourhood matchmakerFour questions, one neighbourhood, and what a one-bed costs there.Open
- Packing listA checklist for this city and the season you land in.Open
- First 48 hoursWhat to do first after landing, in the order that works.Open
- Local appsThe phone setup that runs daily life, and what each replaces.Open
- Speak localUseful phrases for taxis, cafรฉs and the flat, read aloud.Open
- Dish finderWhat to order, by time of day, and what it is called.Open
- Weekend getawaysEasy escapes, by travel time and how you get there.Open
Pricing for Dubai
What a move to Dubai costs
These are the fees in Dubai, published before you start, in euros. No commission on your rent, no percentage of the lease, no success fee.
Visit
Your Insider visits for youโฌ49single ยท โฌ99 pack of 3- In-person visit by a local Insider
- Video walkthrough
- Area report
- Scam check
- Most popular
Starter
Full home searchโฌ899flat fee ยท Dubai- Personal shortlist
- Viewings with video
- Lease negotiation & review
- Handover & keys
- 50% to start, 50% at the keys
Premium
Home search + full setupโฌ1,900flat fee ยท Dubai- Everything in Starter
- Bank, SIM & registration
- Utilities & internet
- Healthcare & school search
- First-week orientation
The full guide
Five deep dives for someone arriving, not visiting
- Housing Rent is quoted per year and paid in a handful of post-dated cheques, so the question is not what you can afford monthly but what you can put on the table at signing.
- Paperwork Your employer drives almost all of it, and the residence visa plus Emirates ID gate the bank account, the tenancy, the utilities and the school place.
- Healthcare Cover is compulsory in Dubai and normally arrives through your employer, which makes the quality of your care a function of which network tier the company bought.
- Schools Effectively all expatriate schooling is private and fee-paying, every school is inspected and rated by KHDA, and the highly rated ones fill a year ahead.
- Getting around A fast metro that runs along one road, and a city built for cars everywhere else โ so where you live decides whether you need one.
On the ground
Alfred, Antoine, Capu, Eva, Nico โ the people behind Insidoor.
Every Insider lives in their city and holds a verified ID. We match you on language and on who is coming with you.
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