Dubai's project register recorded 80,009 apartments finished between January and October 2026, nearly three times the whole of 2025. Like for like, apartment rents in September and October 2026 were 3.1% above a year earlier. The tables below show what a flat rents for by size and by area, and where the next apartments land.
How much is apartment rent in Dubai in 2026?
Dubai's median apartment lease was AED 63,000 a year from April to October 2026, according to DLD lease registrations. The median is the middle lease. It works out at about AED 5,250 a month. The typical lease for a flat in the one-bedroom size band was AED 57,800 a year. That's about AED 4,817 a month.
Since April 2026, lease records no longer state how many bedrooms a flat has. The bands below group flats by floor area instead. The smallest band is usually a studio. The next two generally represent one and two bedrooms. The largest usually represents three bedrooms or more.
Table: median annual apartment rent (AED) and rent per sq ft by size band, Dubai, leases registered April–October 2026 (n = 235,447). Single-unit residential leases; the median is the middle lease. Source: Ejari registrations via DLD, Peak Trust Research.
| Size band | Typical home | Median rent (AED/yr) | About per month (AED) | Median AED/sq ft/yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 550 sq ft | Studio | 42,000 | 3,500 | 99.3 |
| 550–850 sq ft | One bedroom | 57,800 | 4,817 | 80.1 |
| 850–1,300 sq ft | Two bedrooms | 70,000 | 5,833 | 67.9 |
| Over 1,300 sq ft | Three bedrooms or more | 104,742 | 8,729 | 63.5 |
| All apartments | 63,000 | 5,250 | 77.4 |
Smaller flats cost less overall but more for each square foot. In April to October 2026, the smallest band had a typical annual rent per sq ft of AED 99.3. For the largest band, it was AED 63.5. The smallest band's rate was 1.56 times the largest band's rate.
The citywide figure mixes flats of every size and location. The area tables below give the closer comparison.
Are Dubai apartment rents rising or falling?
Like for like, Dubai apartment rents in September and October 2026 were 3.1% above the same months of 2025. Like for like means the same size band in the same area, so the mix of flats let doesn't move the figure. Each matched area and size band is a cell.
The comparison covered 120 matched cells. Rents rose in 70 cells. They fell in 48 cells. Two cells were unchanged. In 86 cells, the move was no more than 5% in either direction. That was 72% of the matched cells.
The comparison within 2026 also showed a small change. From April to October, the median cell change was up 0.9%. That comparison covered 226 cells. Rents rose in 130 cells, were flat in 13 and fell in 83. From September to October, the median cell change was 0.0%.
New and renewed leases give another view. Only 4.4% of leases carry the tag, so treat the table as indicative.
Table: median annual apartment rent (AED) by size band for new and renewed leases, Dubai, April–October 2026. Only the 4.4% of leases that carry a new/renewed tag; cells need at least 20 leases. Source: Ejari registrations via DLD, Peak Trust Research.
| Size band | New lease | Renewed lease | New above renewed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 550 sq ft | 45,000 | 38,377 | +17% |
| 550–850 sq ft | 65,000 | 55,000 | +18% |
| 850–1,300 sq ft | 84,000 | 65,000 | +29% |
| Over 1,300 sq ft | 165,000 | 94,000 | +76% |
In the one-bedroom size band, a new lease was typically AED 65,000 a year. A renewed lease was AED 55,000. The new lease was 18% higher. In the two-bedroom band, a new lease was AED 84,000. A renewal was AED 65,000. The difference was 29%.
Dubai renewals are capped by the RERA rent index, so a new tenant pays market rent and a renewing tenant can pay less. The figures compare groups of leases, not the same flats.
How many new apartments is Dubai adding?
Dubai's register recorded 80,009 apartments in projects finished between January and October 2026, the most of any year in the table. They sat in 166 projects. A completion date on the register is the date DLD records a project as finished, which can lag the physical handover.
The January to October 2026 total was 2.9 times the full 2025 total. It was 2.2 times the previous high in 2022. The annual average from 2021 to 2025 was 27,655 apartments. September 2026 alone recorded 14,526 finished apartments.
Table: apartments in projects recorded as finished on DLD's project register, by completion year, 2021 to October 2026. Apartments = units as registered; villas shown separately. Source: DLD project register, Peak Trust Research.
| Completion year | Projects finished | Apartments | Villas |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 84 | 22,511 | 2,620 |
| 2022 | 137 | 35,921 | 3,432 |
| 2023 | 130 | 31,720 | 4,257 |
| 2024 | 119 | 20,384 | 2,893 |
| 2025 | 74 | 27,738 | 3,340 |
| 2026 (Jan–Oct) | 166 | 80,009 | 9,824 |
The register also lists apartments in open projects with a scheduled completion date. A scheduled date is a plan, not a delivery, so the construction progress beside it matters.
Table: apartments in open projects on DLD's register by scheduled completion year, as at 31 October 2026, with the register's construction progress. Open = active, not started or pending; cancelled projects excluded. Source: DLD project register, Peak Trust Research.
| Scheduled completion | Projects | Apartments | Villas | Apartments in projects 80%+ built | Apartments in projects under 20% built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 262 | 81,587 | 2,628 | 30,777 | 3,862 |
| 2027 | 430 | 97,765 | 5,559 | 99 | 85,099 |
| 2028 | 428 | 95,543 | 13,693 | 147 | 91,284 |
| 2029 | 225 | 63,276 | 7,495 | – | 62,556 |
Open projects with a 2026 date contained 81,587 apartments. They were 56% built on average. Of those apartments, 30,777 were in projects at least 80% built.
The register listed 97,765 apartments with a 2027 date. Of those, 85,099 were in projects under 20% built. That's 87% of the apartments scheduled for that year. The later schedules listed 95,543 apartments for 2028. They listed 63,276 for 2029.
Some dates have already passed. Open projects with dates before 2026 contained 35,592 apartments across 144 projects. Separately, developers registered 274 projects from January to October 2026. Those projects contained 78,552 apartments. Registration, scheduled completion and recorded completion describe different stages, so their counts shouldn't be added together.
Where are the new apartments, and what do rents look like there?
Dubai South has the largest scheduled apartment count among the areas shown, with 25,183 due from 2026 to 2028. That's 9% of the citywide total scheduled for those years. Jumeirah Village Circle follows with 23,057. Business Bay has 20,280.
Together, the areas in the table hold 63% of apartments scheduled from 2026 to 2028. They include the three Dubailand areas Wadi Al Safa 5, Wadi Al Safa 3 and Wadi Al Safa 4. The schedule shows where projects are registered, while the rent columns show leases already recorded.
Table: the 12 areas with the most apartments scheduled for 2026–2028 on DLD's register, with apartments finished there January–October 2026, the median rent on all apartment leases and on 550–850 sq ft flats (April–October 2026, cells need 20 leases). Area names are the common name with the DLD area in brackets. Source: DLD project register and Ejari registrations, Peak Trust Research.
| Area | Apartments due 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | Finished Jan–Oct 2026 | Median rent, all (AED) | 550–850 sq ft (AED) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai South (Madinat Al Mataar) | 7,396 | 12,516 | 5,271 | – | 60,000 | 55,000 |
| Jumeirah Village Circle (Al Barsha South Fourth) | 9,424 | 7,070 | 6,563 | 10,510 | 64,000 | 65,000 |
| Business Bay | 15,229 | 3,620 | 1,431 | 8,442 | 90,000 | 85,000 |
| Wadi Al Safa 5 | 2,334 | 7,338 | 8,805 | – | 52,000 | 49,000 |
| Wadi Al Safa 3 | 1,979 | 6,008 | 5,197 | 1,628 | 59,000 | 51,869 |
| Wadi Al Safa 4 | 0 | 7,833 | 4,982 | – | – | 63,500 |
| Downtown Dubai (Burj Khalifa) | 10,496 | 1,905 | 80 | 6,578 | 160,000 | 110,000 |
| Motor City (Al Hebiah First) | 47 | 3,261 | 7,215 | – | 78,158 | 57,500 |
| Dubai Marina (Marsa Dubai) | 3,727 | 3,028 | 3,414 | – | 115,000 | 85,000 |
| Dubai Islands (Palm Deira) | 1,700 | 4,288 | 3,714 | – | – | – |
| Al Furjan (Jabal Ali First) | 1,296 | 4,114 | 3,008 | 2,090 | 60,000 | 61,764 |
| Jumeirah Village Triangle (Al Barsha South Fifth) | 998 | 3,669 | 3,293 | 3,538 | 62,000 | 64,000 |
Jumeirah Village Circle recorded 10,510 finished apartments from January to October 2026. Its typical annual rent for the one-bedroom size band was AED 65,000. Business Bay recorded 8,442 finished apartments over the same period. Its typical rent for that size was AED 85,000.
The finished counts and schedules describe separate sets of projects. The rent figures describe registered leases, not necessarily leases in those projects. A blank rent cell means the available lease count didn't meet the table's threshold.
What do apartments rent for in Dubai's busiest areas?
Across Dubai's busiest leasing areas, typical annual apartment rents ranged from AED 38,000 in International City to AED 160,000 in Downtown Dubai from April to October 2026. Those figures cover all apartment sizes. Comparing the same size band gives a clearer view of the difference between areas.
Jumeirah Village Circle had the most registered leases in the table. Its typical annual apartment rent was AED 64,000. Its typical annual rent per sq ft was AED 90.1.
Table: median annual apartment rent (AED) by size band in the 15 areas with the most apartment leases, April–October 2026. Cells need at least 20 leases; "–" means too few. Area names are the common name with the DLD area in brackets. Source: Ejari registrations via DLD, Peak Trust Research.
| Area | Under 550 sq ft | 550–850 | 850–1,300 | Over 1,300 | All apartments | AED/sq ft/yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jumeirah Village Circle (Al Barsha South Fourth) | 46,000 | 65,000 | 75,000 | 105,000 | 64,000 | 90.1 |
| International City (Al Warsan First) | 30,000 | 40,500 | 53,000 | 76,000 | 38,000 | 58.2 |
| Al Furjan (Jabal Ali First) | 43,000 | 61,764 | 68,000 | 87,000 | 60,000 | 77.3 |
| Business Bay | 60,562 | 85,000 | 100,000 | 140,000 | 90,000 | 110.8 |
| Dubai Marina (Marsa Dubai) | 60,000 | 85,000 | 110,000 | 165,000 | 115,000 | 105.6 |
| Dubai Creek Harbour (Al Khairan First) | – | 90,000 | 130,000 | 190,000 | 115,000 | 123 |
| Downtown Dubai (Burj Khalifa) | 66,092 | 110,000 | 160,000 | 245,000 | 160,000 | 146.6 |
| Dubai Silicon Oasis (Nadd Hessa) | 40,000 | 51,500 | 63,000 | 90,000 | 54,000 | 68.6 |
| Arjan (Al Barshaa South Third) | 45,000 | 59,500 | 71,400 | 100,000 | 60,000 | 83.8 |
| Al Nahda 2 (Al Nahda Second) | 42,000 | 45,000 | 55,000 | 55,000 | 52,000 | 53.3 |
| Al Barsha (Al Barsha First) | 53,666 | 60,031 | 75,000 | 93,750 | 74,000 | 77.1 |
| Meydan (Al Merkadh) | 50,000 | 85,000 | 115,000 | 170,000 | 72,255 | 125.6 |
| Al Murqabat | 40,000 | 43,000 | 75,000 | 98,000 | 65,000 | 67.4 |
| Al Nahda 1 (Al Nahda First) | 36,000 | 47,000 | 57,000 | 68,000 | 57,000 | 52.8 |
| Dubai Production City (Me'Aisem First) | 38,000 | 62,000 | 78,500 | 120,750 | 60,000 | 88.2 |
Al Furjan's typical annual rent across all apartment sizes was AED 60,000. Business Bay's was AED 90,000. Dubai Marina and Dubai Creek Harbour each had a typical rent of AED 115,000.
For the one-bedroom size band, International City was at the lower end at AED 40,500. Downtown Dubai was at the higher end at AED 110,000. These are typical registered rents, not prices for every flat. The all-apartment figure in each area also reflects its mix of sizes.
How to read supply against rent before you buy or let
Start with the area table. Set the apartments due there in the next two years against today's median rent for the size you own or want. The leasing table then gives price evidence for the matching size band in the busiest areas.
For an off-plan unit, compare that evidence with the rent for a similar ready flat nearby. Off-plan means a property bought before completion. Ready means a completed property. The comparison gives a reference point without treating today's rent as a future rent.
Net yield is rent after costs, expressed as a share of the property's price. Service charges are among the costs to check. The rental yields guide and service charges data set out the relevant figures.
A register date is a schedule, not a confirmed handover. The handover pipeline guide explains how to read dates and construction progress. The finished count shows what DLD has recorded as complete. It doesn't establish when every owner received a unit.
What it means for investors
- Rents held through a record year of completions. The same flat in the same area let for 3.1% more than a year earlier, so a landlord's rent is set by the area's ready stock, not by the citywide count.
- Dubai South has the most apartments on the way, 25,183 for 2026 to 2028. A one-bedroom there lets for a median AED 55,000 today, which is the number new stock will be let against.
- Jumeirah Village Circle took 10,510 finished apartments in ten months and still let a one-bedroom for AED 65,000. Business Bay took 8,442 and let the same size for AED 85,000.
- The spread between areas is wider than any year-on-year move. A one-bedroom runs from AED 40,500 in International City to AED 110,000 in Downtown Dubai.
For more, see how Peak Trust works with investors, the October Rent & Yield Monitor and the handover pipeline guide.