It goes without saying that all tenants wish to have a property that ticks all boxes. However, the search for a perfect home can get tricky when you start exploring the vast variety of housing options in Dubai, ranging from villas, townhouses and apartments in several developed and upcoming locations. Dubai offers generous opportunities to either live by a private beach or in a neighborhood with a quick access to the golf club, however factors such as your budget, property type, neighborhood, lifestyle, schooling, daily commute, etc. play an important role, for you to be able to choose the perfect home from several convincing options in this ever-expanding Emirate.
Searching properties could be tiring and if your agent doesn’t get your requirement straight, you could head for a real roller coaster ride. Our aim at Bridges & Allies is to not just help our clients find the perfect home, but also to educate them during the search process through our in-depth knowledge of the ever-growing Dubai freehold communities, combined with vast experience of dealing with buyers from across the globe. We believe a confident decision maker is the one with accurate information, a plan and a trusted partner, hence transparency and attention to details remains at the core of our job. For the convenience of our clients, we have designed the below step by step property search guide to produce efficient and successful property search result.
You may want to live close to the financial center next to the mighty Burj Khalifa or in a closed gated community with lush green parks and lakes. Dubai is big and it can get frustrating for you as a tenant if you fail to filter the right location to meet your requirements. Online listings and location maps are great resources for you to begin your property search, but to draw a broader picture you may need an expert’s advice. Chances are higher that you may get successful in building a rocket than finding an easy way through the vast Dubai communities to rent a perfect home in a perfect location without an expert’s assistance. Our area experts at Bridges & Allies understand Dubai and so your requirement. Why not give us a call, so we take one step closer towards finding your almost perfect home.
From apartments to villas and affordable to ultra-luxury; there is a vast range of communities and property types all over Dubai with unique features, advantages and disadvantages. Your lifestyle, family size and most importantly your budget are the key factors that will help you to assess and finalize the type and size of property, that you can call a perfect home. We, at Bridges & Allies hold a vast experience of fulfilling exceptional requirements of tenants coming from all over the globe, and our successful track record makes us confident in offering you the right advice. A phone call to one of Bridges & Allies’ leasing consultant for a valuable and free initial advice won’t be a bad idea after all. Once we achieve this together, we can reach much closer to the final goal.
The biggest question! What is your maximum budget? By far it is the most important of all the questions you should have the most accurate answer to. It is extremely important that you do your calculations accurately by taking under consideration all the fixed charges applicable to rent a property. It is eventually your budget that determines what property you can rent and where. We encourage you to freely discuss your finances and your maximum purchase limit with one of your Bridges & Allies leasing experts, so we can draw a master plan for your property search. At Bridges & Allies, we invest in determined individuals with a unique skill of winning a bargain without compromising on our client’s most important requirements. The secret behind our success of winning most negotiations is that we enjoy doing it. You can count on us!
A very common question most Tenants have, which leaves them confused most of the time is “When is the right time to look for a property?” We would like to stress on the fact that rental properties in Dubai moves extremely fast especially in fully developed communities, which on an average have more than 95% occupancy rate. With our area experts who are also great listeners, it can take from a handful to a couple of viewings for you to come across your dream home. Subjected to the availability of all your valid documents such as Passport, Emirates ID and Residency Visa and a cheque book from UAE based bank account, our experience allows us to estimate a period of minimum 1 week to a maximum 2 weeks for the handover of the keys of your property from the time you begin your search.
LOCAL EXPERTISE, QUALITY and TRUST is what every home buyer or investor eagerly looks for in their agent and fairly so because the agent takes the driving seat in the entire journey from searching that almost perfect property to delivering it with perfection. For first-time buyers in Dubai, the dependency on the Agent becomes lot more than one could imagine. You may know what property you need, but it’s your Agent who knows where to find it and how to make it yours. We, at Bridges & Allies believe in creating an experience for our clients filled with professionalism and not a bag of promises. Our repetitive clients and ever increasing referrals sets the bar higher for us with each client we serve, hence we never stop improving. All our agents are RERA certified and specializes in specific communities to provide you with an in depth local knowledge and top class service. Whether you are in UAE or abroad, you can always get in touch with one of our property experts by a click on your touch pad or a simple phone call to our board line. Your selected area expert will get in touch with you immediately and set up an appointment to discuss your requirement by meeting you in person or over a phone call or even a video call. The expert will understand and assess your requirement carefully and prepare a master plan for a successful journey to find you your perfect home.
In no time after assessing your basic requirement and suitable properties, your agent will fix an appointment with you for viewing multiple properties or share property details, pictures, brochures, floor plans and all related materials for you to be able pick and choose from. We value the time you spend with us; hence you will be introduced to only such options and solutions that leaves you totally satisfied and allows you to quickly shortlist your favorites from the list.
As soon as you have identified the right property, an offer needs to be made by you. From here on our experts will do their job of landing you the price without hurting your pockets. Our area experts are confident negotiators with rich market knowledge gained from several successful transactions on regular basis. At this stage, while your agent is negotiating the deal for you, you must have your booking amount ready as a commitment to rent the property as soon as your offer is accepted. After your offer is accepted by the landlord, you are required to secure the property immediately, by making the initial booking payment of 5% of the rental value through a current dated cheque in the name of the landlord.
Congratulations! you have finally found and secured your perfect home with Bridges & Allies Real Estate Brokers.
Your agent will now assist you through the transaction procedure to make you the official tenant of your newly found perfect home.
SECURITY DEPOSIT
As soon as the tenant’s offer to lease the property is accepted by the landlord, the tenant must book the property immediately by issuing the 5% security deposit for unfurnished property or 10% for furnished property with a current dated cheque in the name of the landlord. The security deposit is held by the landlord’s agent and handed over to the landlord once the property ownership documents have been verified by Bridges & Allies agent.
SNAG LIST
Once the security deposit is issued and the property has been booked, the tenant must identify the potential repair and maintenance works to be completed before receiving the handover of the property from the landlord. A snag list is prepared to record such repair and maintenance works to be completed and signed by the landlord and the tenant.
TENANCY CONTRACT AND RENT PAYMENT
Once the security deposit amount is handed over to the landlord, the landlord’s agent will prepare the tenancy contract in Ejaari format along with the addendum containing additional terms and conditions for both the parties to review and finalize. As soon as the Tenancy Contract is finalized between the landlord and the tenant, the tenant needs to first sign the tenancy contract and issue rent cheques in the name of the landlord, or arrange for the alternative method of payment for the annual rent. Upon the landlord receiving the signed tenancy contract and the rental cheques or the alternate payment method used by the tenant, the landlord then counter signs the tenancy contract and hands over all the keys and access cards to his agent.
KEYS HANDOVER TO THE TENANT
Once the landlord receives the first rental installment in his bank account, the agent will handover all the property keys and access cards along with the signed tenancy contract to the tenant and will provide instructions on procedures and necessary documents required for a swift move in to the property. The keys and the access cards to the property and the lease documents will be handed over to the tenant in exchange of the agency fee in full with a current dated cheque addressed to the agency(ies).
EJAARI REGISTERATION
Upon receiving the signed tenancy contract from the agent, the tenant or their appointed UAE certified Power of Attorney (POA) holder must visit one of the Government authorized centers for registering the lease with Ejaari and obtaining the Ejaari Certificate. The cost for the Ejaari registration is paid by the tenant as per the norm. The tenant must have all their documents as mentioned in the documents section in order to register with Ejaari and DEWA.
DEWA & OTHER UTILITIES
Once Ejaari certificate is issued, the tenant or their POA as mentioned above must visit any of the DEWA centers to register for electricity and water connection by paying a refundable security deposit amount and connection charges to the authorities. The security Deposit amount varies for different property types. Please note that DEWA can only be applied after obtaining the Ejaari Certificate. Simultaneously you must also apply for chiller (if applicable), cooking gas (if applicable), T.V, telephone and broadband connection from various service providers.
MOVE IN
Congratulations! You are now ready to bring in your furniture and wake up to the first morning coffee in your new home.
Bridges & Allies wish you to have a great experience and gather amazing memories in your new home.
Our journey with you doesn’t end here! We continue to stay committed to offer you our services and expert advice as and when required by you.
Security Deposit
Security deposit is a holding deposit amount, either in cash or cheque to be issued by the tenant to the landlord as a commitment to rent the property upon making the offer. Once the transaction is successfully completed, the security deposit of the tenant becomes refundable at the end of the lease term and until then is held by the landlord as a security against any damages caused by the tenant towards the property.
As per the norm, security deposit amount is 5% of the annual rental value for an unfurnished property and 10% for a furnished property.
Agency Fee
Agency fee is payable by the Tenant to the Agency in the form of cheque upon receiving the signed tenancy contract from the landlord.
Ejaari
Fee of AED 230 for lease registration with Ejaari is payable by the tenant at the Ejaari centers via cash on the day of registration.
DEWA
Security Deposit
DEWA security deposit is a refundable deposit amount paid in cash or credit card (for online payment option only) to DEWA to obtain the electricity and water connection. The same is deducted from the tenant’s final bill upon closing the account on termination of the account.
Connection fee
Chiller (Central Air Conditioning) Security Deposit
In projects where the chiller or chilled water charges are not included in landlord’s annual service charges of the property, the tenant is required to secure their own chiller connection from the appointed chiller service supplier for that project. Security deposit may vary for different chiller suppliers from AED 1,000 to AED 2,000 or more depending on the size of the property and air conditioning units. To name a few, Empower, Emicool and Techem are amongst the most common chiller suppliers for overall communities or single buildings in Dubai.
Cooking Gas Security Deposit
Some communities or projects may require you to have a separate gas connection for cooking gas instead of the electric cooking option.
Security deposit amount and connection charges may vary for different cooking gas suppliers from AED 500 to AED 1,000 or more. To name a few Lootah BCGas, Shield Gas and Al Fahidi Gas are amongst the most common cooking gas suppliers for overall communities or single buildings in Dubai.
**Either for residential or commercial real estate, 5% Value Added Tax (VAT) is payable by the tenant for all the above fees to each vendor as may be applicable
IF INDIVIDUALS
IF UAE BASED MAINLAND COMPANY
Authorized signatory or signatories of the company must be one of the following:
All shareholders of the company as mentioned in the trade license
Manager of the company as mentioned in the trade license
One of the shareholders of the company appointed by the board.
Legal Power of Attorney (POA) holder of the Company
IF UAE BASED FREE ZONE COMPANY
Authorized signatory or signatories of the company must be one of the following:
All shareholders of the company as mentioned in the certificate of incumbency
One of the shareholders of the company appointed by the board.
Legal Power of Attorney (POA) holder of the Company
IF OVERSEES OFF SHORE COMPANY
**All oversees off-shore company docs should be attested from the consulate of the country of origin and UAE consulate in the country of origin, legally translated in Arabic and then attested with Ministry of Foreign Affairs in UAE.
Authorized signatory or signatories of the company must be one of the following:
All shareholders of the company as mentioned in the certificate of incumbency
One of the shareholders of the company appointed by the board.
Legal Power of Attorney (POA) holder of the Company
WHO CAN RENT A PROPERTY IN DUBAI?
Any GCC resident, a NON GCC but UAE Resident or a UAE Registered company can rent a property in Dubai.
WHAT DOCUMENTS AND RECEIPTS SHALL I CHECK OF THE PROPERTY AND THE LANDLORD TO ENSURE I AM RENTING THE RIGHT PROPERTY?
You can verify the validity of the title deed by visiting https://www.dubailand.gov.ae/English/services/Eservices/Pages/PropertyValidation.aspx and search for the property.
WHAT DOCUMENTS SHALL I CHECK OF THE AGENT AND THE AGENT’s COMPANY, TO ENSURE I AM DEALING WITH AUTHORISED BROKER?
You can verify the validity of the broker and his company by entering the Broker ID number in Dubai Brokers Mobile Application or alternatively visit https://www.dubailand.gov.ae/English/Pages/Brokers.aspx and search for the company using Office Registration Number (ORN) or the Company Name.
WHAT IS A TENANCY CONTRACT?
Tenancy Contract is a standard format for a rental agreement, issued by Dubai Land Department. All terms and conditions specified in the Tenancy Contract are as per the Law no 26 of 2007 regulating relationships between landlords and tenant, Law No 33 of 2008 amending law 26 of year 2007 and Law No 43 of 2013 determining rent increases for properties.
Further to the standard format of the Tenancy Contract, an addendum is prepared separately by your real estate agent, that forms an integral part of the tenancy contract. Addendum is essentially used to cover the additional terms and conditions to be mutually agreed between the Tenant and the Landlord.
WHO CAN SIGN THE LEASE ON BEHALF OF THE TENANT?
Tenant
Landlord
WHAT IS EJAARI?
Ejaari is an online lease registration system that offers full protection of the rights of the Landlord and the Tenant within the Tenancy Agreement. It ensures these rights are recognized, upheld, and enforced by all Government agencies. It establishes full transparency between landlord and tenant, fully integrates rental contracts into the legal framework and opens the possibility of being able to revise these contracts seamlessly in the event of disputes. Ref: www.ejaari.ae
AM I LIABLE TO PAY HIGHER RENT ON RENEWAL OF MY LEASE?
Law No 43 of 2013 determines rent increases for properties in Dubai. The tenant is obliged to pay only such difference in the rental amount upon renewal as governed by the Rental Increase Calculator monitored by RERA. Rental amount upon renewal must increase as following
CAN I TERMINATE THE LEASE BEFORE COMPLETING THE CONTRACT?
The clause to break the lease will be provided in the additional terms and conditions of the tenancy contract or will be formed as a part of the Addendum for both the parties to mutually agree upon. As per the market norm, tenant is required to serve 2 months’ notice to the Landlord for an early termination and pay 2 months’ rental amount as penalty.
CAN MY LANDLORD TERMINATE MY CONTRACT BEFORE EXPIRY OF MY LEASE?
By Law no 26 of 2007, landlord is required to serve 12 months’ written notice in advance specifying one of the conditions as mentioned in the Law, to retain the possession of the apartment.
As per the Law no 26 of 2007, landlord also owns the right to terminate the lease before expiry for any misconduct or breach of agreement by the Tenant.
WHAT HAPPENS TO MY EXISTING CONTRACT IF MY LANDLORD HAS SOLD THE PROPERTY?
The sale of the property does not affect the existing tenancy contract in any form. The same tenancy contract will prevail until the expiry of the lease and the lease and the new Landlord must abide by all terms and conditions as agreed between the tenant and the previous landlord.
CAN I SUBLET MY APARTMENT THAT I AM RENTING FROM THE LANDLORD?
Subletting an apartment on short term or long term basis is illegal in Dubai, if you do not own a suitable license for such activity approved from Dubai Economic Department and Dubai Land Department.
