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Hi all,

My name is JD, I always advise people what to expect and what to know when moving to UAE.
I'm born and raised here so who better to get your answers from?

So I started my new career in Real Estate last year and since I already knew all the other laws (Labour Laws, Immigration processes, visa processes, and more) I have now fully learned the Dubai Land Department laws, tenant rights, landlord rights and the whole process from A-Z for renting, buying and selling on top of everything else, I am a certified real estate broker.

I'm not here to find clients. NO. I'm here to advise people on how to properly lease a property or even buy a property and what processes you'll need to go through to lease, plus all those visa and etc that comes with buying properties.
RENT OR BUY? Here is a website where it can advise you if it's worth to buy it or not:


I am here to WARN you as well of what to look out for especially when leasing!!

The Leasing Process:

When you're new in Dubai you'll probably go through the whole visa process with your company.
You can't really lease an apartment under your name if you don't have a visa.
IF your company is going to lease you an apartment by putting it under their name then it works!
Either way this is how it goes.

Documents you will require:
Passport
Visa
Emirates ID

Find a real estate company.

A good real estate agent will find out exactly what you need by finding a good place that fits the lifestyle you want or have, your personality and what is important to you! All down to the details! A good agent will ask you what you want and what you will need to do is give them all your specifications. Examples for looking for a apartment:

Close to work?
Near a metro station/tram?
How high of a floor?
View?
Closed or Open Kitchen?
Quality of the building?
Furnished or not?
Kitchen goods included?
Quite area or bustling with life?
Pets?
Must have a well maintained Gym and Swimming pool?

Once you've found a place you like you will need to give a 5% deposit. The deposit will need to be under the Landlord's name or their representative. This will be returned to you IF you took care of the apartment and completed your year.
The Deposit serves to BLOCK the property from being rented out to anyone else who has their eyes on an apartment as well.

You will need to sign the contract first, the contract must have all the normal laws on the front.
This is what a normal tenancy looks like:


The front page is pre-made and written it follows the normal tenancy agreements, at the back of the contract you will have the amendments:
You must be aware what is included in your rent.
What are your responsibilities as a tenant.
The minor maintenance is usually paid by the tenant for simple wear and tear BUT it must be specified in the contact what those minor things are.
A non renewable 1 year tenancy is not allowed by law. Even if you have this clause in your contract the Dubai land department will over rule it so do not be afraid to take it up to the Rental Dispute Settlement Center  (RDSC) of Dubai Land Department.
for more information on that you can read this article.


DEWA (Water & Electricity), Chiller, and such can be paid by the landlord but most of the time it is paid by the tenant so finding a place where the landlord will pay for these or if the chiller is included with the building's maintenance then that will save you a lot of money.

Usually, the landlords here would be barking to have you pay the entire rental amount in 1 cheque but some are negotiable. 
The higher amount of cheques, the higher the rental amount will be and finding a place which will allow you to pay 12 cheques is near to impossible. 

Now that you have signed the tenancy contract you will need to handover the deposit amount (5% of the rental amount if unfurnished and 10% if furnished) and the entire rental amount to the real estate company and the service charge the real estate company as well which is also 5%. DO NOT give anything without a receipt. EVER.

A good real estate company will hold the cheques until the landlord signs the contact. This protects both the landlord and the soon to become tenant. Why? because if the landlord backs out you are entitled to all your cheques and can easily be retrieved by the RE Co. (Real Estate Company) and if the tenant back out the full rental amount can be retrieved from the RE Co. and the deposit is rightfully given to the landlord.

Once the landlord signs the contract the exchange of Access Cards, Keys and etc will be done between the landlord and the RE Co, then to the tenant. The landlord must provide the apartment in good condition. If you've seen apartments dusty and etc, that's probably because the landlord is waiting for someone to take it before refurbishing it.

Now to connect your DEWA and Chiller!

You will need to apply of DEWA, good real estate companies will provide you the premise number and the application paper along with it. It is up to you to handle this though and not the RE Co. unless you pay for this extra service.

A fee of AED 110 is for the Admission charges and the security deposit of AED 2000 for apartments or 4000 for villas is required.
Along with your passport, visa, and tenancy contract and a cleared DEWA bill from the previous tenant. If there is a leftover amount to be paid from the previous tenant this MUST be paid by the landlord.

It would go the same is you need to apply for your Chiller.
Buildings or areas have different companies looking after the chiller some are called Palm Utilities and ect. to know more about the chiller this is a link:


Once you're connected, by law you must register your tenancy contract. it is called Ejari.
more about Ejaru is here:


Once you have the electricity and water connected make sure everything in your apartment works! its the landlord's responsibility to have the apartment in good condition for you to happily move into.

TIPS:
So, how will you know that the name you're writing this cheque to is the landlord? Get the passport copy and the Title deed and make sure it matches! A lot of the times you will need to trust the Agent.
A good real estate company has MAJOR policies and if the names don't match then they won't work with the landlord at all.
There are other bits and bobs like Power of Attorneys (PoA) and property management companies which has contracts from the Courts that gives these companies and people the right to be the representative of the owner and only SOME can receive the payment under their company/name. The contract must be read carefully as it would specify if it IS or is NOT allowed.

You should find a good real estate company to help you out. STICK WITH ONE good agent whom you TRUST to find you a home.
A lot of the times people looking for a place will call multiple agents and ask them about their properties and show them around and ect.
What happens is that all these people from different companies will be running around and calling every landlord and other agencies to find you this place. Since landlords give their properties to multiple agencies you are most likely to see a apartment TWICE or even THREE times.

This is bad for 2 main reasons:
It's a waste of your time.
It's a waste for all the agents you've called. They will be doing all the hard work and you may get an apartment through another leaving their efforts unpaid.

Luckily, I haven't experienced this more than 2 times because I advise my clients, but sadly this happens to every single one of my colleagues in all real estate companies I know.

For a more clear understanding please send me a message.
As for the BUYING of an apartment I may need to write it in an entirely different Forum.

To know more about rules and regulations or any information to be aware of when moving to uae please feel free to read my old post: /forum/viewtopic.p … 12#1701178

If you want me to be your personal real estate agent let me know! I work in specific areas so if it's not an area I specialize in I can refer a really good real estate agent who will take care of you.

You can ask me about specific areas and current market prices in different areas, advice and ect. just feel free to let me try put your mind at ease.