Ultimate guide to renting an apartment in Dubai

[Italia06]

Originally Posted by ziokendo

Dubai Silicon Oasis can indeed be that cheap, and is a decent place (it depends where you need to commute though) as some big companies (notably Emirates airline) have there their company accomodation, so it's generally decently mantained unlike most other cheap places.

About the neighbours though, be advised that any place that cheap will inevitably attract people in a lower income bracket , which is not the common case for westerners.

Thank you for your quick reply!

Work will be in Sharja, is that a bad commute from Dubai Silicon Oasis?

Also, what is not considered a low income bracket in Dubai, as far as rent goes?
And what locations would you suggest for a studio? I would rather pay more on rent and sacrifice the going out to make sure I'm living in a good apartment complex.

Thank you again.

[blue_moon]

Originally Posted by ziokendo

Dubai Silicon Oasis can indeed be that cheap, and is a decent place (it depends where you need to commute though) as some big companies (notably Emirates airline) have there their company accomodation, so it's generally decently mantained unlike most other cheap places.

About the neighbours though, be advised that any place that cheap will inevitably attract people in a lower income bracket , which is not the common case for westerners.

... such as 19 to 22 year old flight attendants from exotic countries

P.S. I heard International City is that cheap too, and also count in the cost of renting or buying a car as all the places are a bit out of the way.

[Bigjimbo]

Originally Posted by blue_moon

... such as 19 to 22 year old flight attendants from exotic countries

P.S. I heard International City is that cheap too, and also count in the cost of renting or buying a car as all the places are a bit out of the way.

More like 19 - 22 sub continent bachelors sharing a one bed next door!

[tuljanvali]

Hello everybody!
I got a job in Dubai and will be moving to UAE soon. I am looking JLT area, please advise which developments (towers) to look for. I am looking for 1 bedroom apartment. My budget would be around 1200$ per month... I am trying to find something along the metro line, my working place would be Emmar square, but the office will relocate to JLT later this year so I was advised to think in advance and to get my place over there.

Thanks

[blue_moon]

Originally Posted by Big Steve

Are there any Apartments or efficiancies that rent month to month or am I just stuck with a long term hotel rental? Big Steve

I am also interested in this for a different reason, as don't like to commit to one place for entire year. I prefer to move around every 3 to 6 months enjoying different locations a paying a bit extra.

I was able to do this in many cities where I lived, by paying maybe 10 to 20% extra. However, from what I've seen in dubbizle or on property the cost of short-term rental in Dubai were incredibly high - as much as double the price relative to renting for 1 year.

So my question is: is it possible to rent the flat for 3 or 6 months instead of 12 months in some developments? Or that would be considered extremely uncommon? The feeling I got from my research is that in Dubai everybody is stuck with 1 year rental.

P.S. If someone can dig out the post where this was discussed in the past, that would be extremely helpful, as I lack the skills yet to dig it out.

[ziokendo]

Originally Posted by Italia06

Thank you for your quick reply!

Work will be in Sharja, is that a bad commute from Dubai Silicon Oasis?

I am not familiar with Sharjah, but some colleagues live there. I guess is not that bad, since you would be going against traffic (most people live in Sharjah and go to work in Dubai each morning, creating traffic in the opposite direction).

Also, what is not considered a low income bracket in Dubai, as far as rent goes?

I would assume that middle class household are above the 20k aed/month bracket mark in Dubai, so anything above 70k aed / year will give you that kind of neighbours (not necessarily westerners, which are anyway a minority in Dubai, but let's say that you won't find a tribe of 12 blue collar workers sharing a 2bedroom next door).

Low end is anything below 50k, which is dangerously near the treshold were bachelors will find convenient to share rooms, which does not mean necessarily bad, but in Dubai things can change and go bad in very short times for no apparent reason, so myself I would prefer to stay clear of those "potential" situations.

Truth is that at the end of the day, the average tenancy contract in Dubai is just one year, and if you are saving 50%, places like discovery gardens or silicon oasis may be well worth the risk, since you are not committing that much time.

You will realize the place "nature" as soon as you stay one hour in that place, so it will be a no brainer once you are here to choose where you feel confortable.
And you can't rent a place in advance anyway, as you will need on average one month for the residency to be processed, so don't waste time already looking for an house on the internet, nobody will care about you, they will only the day that you are in a position to actually rent the flat.

[abg]

this is great, thanks!

[Italia06]

Originally Posted by ziokendo

in Dubai things can change and go bad in very short times for no apparent reason

What do you mean? Can you give some examples?

Originally Posted by ziokendo

You will realize the place "nature" as soon as you stay one hour in that place, so it will be a no brainer once you are here to choose where you feel confortable.
And you can't rent a place in advance anyway, as you will need on average one month for the residency to be processed, so don't waste time already looking for an house on the internet, nobody will care about you, they will only the day that you are in a position to actually rent the flat.

Ok this is great to know! Any other pieces of info, in regards to how things work in Dubai, would great greatly appreciated. Thanks

[NotSure]

Thanks all

[Dubai1970]

Couple of questions regarding accommodation generally in Dubai:

1. Is there a problem with noise? Do the apartment complexes in the more modern developments such as JBR, Dubai Marina, Downtown, generally have good levels of sound insulation? Are people in these areas reasonably considerate as neighbours?

2. Are the rental prices indicated on sites like propertyfinder and dubizzle generally negotiable?

Thanks all.