Dubai: Smart Rental Index Requires Improvements Before Rent Rises
Khaleej Times, 2 January 2025: Landlords of older buildings in Dubai will have to renovate their properties in order to raise their ratings if they wish to increase rents, according to authorities announcing the details of the new Dubai smart rental index.
The index has been launched by the Dubai Land Department (DLD) and links the classification and ratings of the buildings when it comes to increasing rentals in Dubai. The index covers all residential areas in Dubai, including key districts, special development zones, and free zones, ensuring standardised valuation and pricing criteria. The DLD has linked the index to the building classification system and is encouraging owners to keep their buildings updated as this will improve the quality of life for tenants and rental value for owners, The authority expects that some landlords who want to increase rents will come to them for evaluations. The classification has more than 60 criteria, and one of the criteria used in the index is the classification of buildings. If someone wants to increase rents they will have to increase classification and rating, The scheme will initially cover residential properties with commercial properties added in later.
The index is based on the average rent in the area, the building itself, old and new contracts and the classification.
While the previous Dubai rental index was only updated once a year, the new index is updated in minutes across all areas of Dubai.
The DLD has also introduced a ‘Model Tenant Classification’ system, which is a new tool for classifying tenants’ credit ratings and obtaining credit reports through the Ejari system and the smart app for interested parties.
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