Dubai rents: Monthly, short-term payment deals in demand

Dubai - The pandemic has changed the lives of many people. Tenants and landlords alike are now less inclined to commit to yearly contracts.

Tenant enquiries for short-term or month-by-month rentals for residential units is an emerging trend in Dubai as the market recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic setback.

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A real estate brokerage reported that during the post-lockdown phase, it has been receiving many enquiries from residents looking to rent units on a short-term basis — “so much so that it prompted us to open up a short-term lettings department”.

Attributing the reason behind this new trend to job losses or financial strains, brokerage firm Allsopp & Allsopp said the pandemic has changed the lives of many people — and tenants and landlords alike are now less inclined to commit to yearly contracts.

“We have noticed that tenants are looking into their options, making sure they are safe in their jobs before committing to a tenancy contract where they are locked in for a year,” said CEO Lewis Allsopp.

“Landlords are becoming more inclined to let their property short-term for some of the same reasons. They are looking for flexibility with their property and, in some cases, steering away from a lock-in a contract where a year's notice needs to be given before they can sell the property,” Allsopp said.

“Pre-Covid-19, we were seeing more of a trend to increase cheque payments and the lockdown accelerated that. Some owners are now asking for fewer cheques again, but overall, more owners are appreciating that they need to offer increased cheque payments. Gone are the days when companies paid for rent in one cheque. In, 2021 so, far we have seen one cheque rental payments decrease by 28.3 per cent compared to the beginning of 2020,” the brokerage said.

Data shows a slight rental price increase, especially in higher-end properties. “We rented out a five-bedroom Garden Home on Palm Jumeirah in the second quarter last year for Dh 290,000. This month, a five-bedroom Garden Home was rented out for Dh550,000 --- a 9 per cent increase,” Allsopp said.

The brokerage reported that the demand for high-end luxury homes has increased. For instance, Palm Jumeirah villas are now being rented out even before listings get a chance to go live on property portals or within seven days if they do go live.