Dubai Rental Contracts Cross One Million for the First Time as Total Value Jumps 17.6% to Dh127.4 Billion

Dubai’s rental market crossed one million registered contracts for the first time in 2025, with their combined value jumping 17.6 per cent to Dh127.4 billion, Dubai Land Department data shows.

The number of registered contracts rose 7.3 per cent to 1.04 million during the year, up from about 970,000 a year earlier, when the total value stood at Dh108.3 billion. Annual rental value climbed 15.1 per cent to Dh98.9 billion.

New contracts outpace renewals

New rental agreements drove the growth. They rose 10.5 per cent to 515,300 contracts with a combined value of Dh69.1 billion, while renewed contracts increased 4.3 per cent to 521,600, worth Dh58.3 billion. The near-even split between new and renewed deals points to a market that is both attracting fresh tenants and retaining existing ones.

Business Bay and Burj Khalifa lead the value charts

Business Bay recorded the highest annual rental value of any area at Dh4.45 billion, a 22.3 per cent increase, followed by Dubai Marina at Dh3.53 billion and Burj Khalifa at Dh3.52 billion.

Measured by the total value of all registered contracts, the Burj Khalifa area led Dubai at Dh7.61 billion. Business Bay ranked second at Dh5.50 billion, ahead of Al Barsha First at Dh4.42 billion.

Demand spreads into emerging communities

The fastest growth came from emerging residential areas. The Racecourse area recorded the sharpest increase in the total value of rental contracts, up 119.8 per cent, followed by Al Barsha South Fourth at 86.5 per cent, as tenants move into newer communities on the city’s edges.

What this means for Dubai’s rental market

The numbers tell a clear story. Contract values are rising almost three times as fast as contract numbers (17.6 per cent versus 7.3 per cent), which means average rents are still moving higher across the city. That is good news for landlords and investors: rental yields are holding even as property prices climb.

The faster growth of new contracts over renewals points to continued population inflow, while the large share of renewals suggests existing tenants are choosing to stay put, most likely because switching to a new lease would cost more. For tenants, the message is straightforward: negotiate your renewal, because the data shows landlords are agreeing to them in large numbers.

The surge in areas like the Racecourse and Al Barsha South Fourth is also worth watching. It shows demand spilling outward as central locations become more expensive, and it is in these emerging communities that the next wave of rental growth is likely to come from.