Property Management in Dubai: What It Costs and What You Get

A managing agent looks after a rented property on the owner's behalf: finding tenants, collecting rent, handling maintenance and renewals. It typically costs around 5 percent of the annual rent.

If you live outside the UAE it is close to essential. If you live here with one property, it is a genuine choice.

What management covers

What it costs

• Management fee: around 5 percent of annual rent, sometimes with a minimum.
• Letting commission: a separate 5 percent when a new tenant is found.
• Maintenance: at cost, usually with a threshold above which they must ask you first.

On a property let at AED 100,000, expect roughly AED 5,000 a year in management plus the letting fee when the tenant changes.

When it is worth it

You live abroad

Someone has to hold keys, meet contractors and be reachable when a tenant has no water on a Friday. Doing that from another time zone does not work.

You have more than one property

Two or three tenancies with different renewal dates and maintenance histories becomes an administrative job.

You want distance from the tenant

An agent between you and the tenant makes difficult conversations about late payment or damage considerably easier.

What to ask a managing agent

• What is the maintenance spend limit before you contact me?
• How quickly do you pass on rent once cheques clear?
• Who chases a bounced cheque, and what does that cost?
• Do you re-let at renewal automatically or negotiate the increase?
• How do you handle the deposit at move-out?

Related reading

Our guide to renting out your property covers the landlord obligations, and rental yields shows how management fees affect your net return.

List your property with us or ask what it would achieve.