Dubai's rental market recorded an unusual summer reversal as new leases overtook renewals for the first time since the dataset began in 2023, with some tenants finding comparable apartments at significantly lower rents than earlier in the year.
September 29, 2026 | Palak Kataria | UAE | Real Estate | 3 Min Read
Image Courtesy: fäm Properties
For three years, one pattern had remained remarkably consistent in Dubai's rental market: more tenants renewed their existing homes than signed leases elsewhere.
This summer, that pattern reversed.
New leases exceeded renewals by 633 contracts in July and 2,139 in August, according to fäm Properties' analysis of Dubai Land Department tenancy registrations. It was the first time new contracts had surpassed renewals in any month since the dataset began in January 2023, following 36 consecutive months in which renewals had remained ahead.
The reason appears to be increasingly straightforward: for some tenants, moving is becoming financially worthwhile again.
According to Firas Al Msaddi, Founder and CEO of fäm Properties, rents on new leases for the same building and unit type were 15.3% lower than in January, while renewal rents had declined by only around 1%.
That gap changes the calculation for tenants. Moving home comes with costs and inconvenience, but the potential saving on a comparable property can increasingly outweigh them.
The shift is particularly visible in several of Dubai's major residential districts.
In August, new leases exceeded renewals by 1,102 contracts in Al Barsha South Fourth, which includes Jumeirah Village Circle; 609 in Business Bay; 598 in Al Merkadh; 564 in Marsa Dubai, including Dubai Marina; and 342 in Downtown Dubai.
More affordable areas have behaved differently. Renewals continued to outnumber new contracts in International City, Jebel Ali and Dubai Silicon Oasis.
Falling rents have not translated into a sharp decline in leasing activity.
New-lease contracts between January and August were only 1% below the same period in 2025, while July recorded around 14,100 contracts and August approximately 15,600 — both above last year's corresponding levels. Renewals were also down around 1%.
There is another important detail behind those numbers.
The median rent on new apartment leases stood at AED94.6 per sq ft in August, 8.3% below the October 2025 peak of AED103.1. Yet the properties continuing to secure tenants are increasingly weighted towards better-quality and better-located stock.
For landlords, that creates a more competitive leasing environment. Properties priced in line with current conditions are continuing to transact, while tenants now have greater incentive to compare alternatives rather than automatically renew.
For tenants, meanwhile, the summer shift introduces something Dubai renters have had relatively little of during the recent period of rising rents: a stronger reason to shop around before signing the next renewal.
Source: Dubai Land Department; fäm Properties; DXBinteract
