Rental Yields in Dubai: Gross, Net and What Is Left

For rental yield, the best areas to buy an apartment in Dubai are usually the mid-market communities such as Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC), Dubai Silicon Oasis, Arjan and Al Furjan, where prices are lower against rents. The yield that matters is the net figure after service charges, and that can reverse the ranking.

Rental yield is annual rent divided by the purchase price. Published 2026 yield figures for Dubai areas vary widely from one source to the next, so this guide gives you the method and the areas rather than one number to trust. We have left out area yield percentages that we could not tie to a named, dated source.

What is rental yield, and how do you calculate it?

There are two versions, and mixing them up is the most common mistake.

• Gross yield is annual rent divided by the price you paid, as a percentage. It is the figure in adverts.
• Net yield is annual rent minus running costs, divided by the price. It is the figure that reaches your bank account.

Running costs are the service charge, any management fee, void periods between tenants and maintenance. Net is always lower than gross, and the gap changes from building to building.

Gross against net: a worked example

The two apartments below are illustrative, not listings. They show how a lower gross yield can win.

	Apartment A	Apartment B
Purchase price	AED 1,200,000	AED 1,200,000
Annual rent	AED 90,000	AED 84,000
Gross yield	7.5%	7.0%
Service charge	AED 22,000	AED 10,000
Management and voids	AED 6,000	AED 5,000
Net income	AED 62,000	AED 69,000
Net yield	5.2%	5.75%

Apartment A looks better and earns less. The advert ignores running costs, and running costs vary more between buildings than rents do.

Which areas of Dubai tend to have the highest rental yields?

Yield follows price. Where the price per square foot is low and tenant demand is steady, the rent is a larger share of the price. Where the address carries a premium, the price rises faster than the rent.

Group	Communities	What to expect
Higher gross yield, mid-market	Jumeirah Village Circle, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Arjan, Al Furjan	Lower entry prices and solid demand. More of your return depends on keeping the unit let, and new supply nearby can pull rents down.
Moderate yield, steadier values	Downtown, Dubai Marina, Business Bay, Dubai Hills Estate	Established demand and liquidity. Service charges are often higher, which trims the net figure.
Lower yield, address driven	Palm Jumeirah and similar prime locations	Bought for location and long term value more than for income.

As a rule, the higher the yield, the more of your return depends on the property staying let.

What do entry prices look like in the high-yield areas?

On our own live search pages, these are the lowest launch prices for off-plan apartment projects in each community, as of 20 October 2026. They show how low the entry ticket is, not what you will earn.

Community	Off-plan projects listed on trpe.ae	Lowest launch price
Jumeirah Village Circle	117	from AED 585,800
Dubai Silicon Oasis	17	from AED 523,000
Arjan	22	from AED 620,000
Al Furjan	29	from AED 573,000
Business Bay	45	from AED 955,500

A large number of projects in one community is itself a signal. Many of them will complete in the same years, and your unit will compete with them for tenants. See our guide to whether off-plan is a good investment.

For ready flats at entry-level prices, see JVC apartments for sale.

What eats into the return?

Service charges

The biggest single deduction, and wildly variable. Read our guide to service charges, then check the building in the service charge index. The charge is set per square foot, so a larger apartment costs more in absolute terms.

Voids

Every empty month costs more than a modest rent reduction. Budget for at least a few weeks between tenancies.

Management

If you let through an agent, expect a fee as a percentage of annual rent. Ask for it in writing. If you live abroad it is effectively unavoidable. Our property management page sets out what the service covers.

Maintenance

Air conditioning servicing, appliances and repainting between tenants. Small individually, and constant.

Rent increases

Rent rises on renewal are governed by the rental index, not left to the landlord's discretion. The official Dubai REST site publishes the rules, and our rent increase calculator shows what a renewal allows.

Do studios and one bedrooms yield more than larger flats?

Several market commentators report that smaller units earn a higher percentage yield than two and three bedroom units, because a smaller unit costs less per square foot to rent. We could not tie that to one named official figure, so test it yourself. Get the achievable rent for a studio, a one bedroom and a two bedroom in the same building and compare their net yields. The cheapest unit is also the one with the most competing listings.

Does the yield change if you buy off-plan?

You pay in instalments, so the capital you have tied up is smaller in the early years, and no rent arrives until handover. Work out the yield on the total price you will have paid at handover, not on the first payment. Then compare it with completed flats in the same building. Our off-plan payment plan guide explains the schedules.

Why do yield figures differ so much between websites?

Because they are built differently. A table of area yields can use asking rents or achieved rents, one bedroom flats or every unit type, a single quarter or a year, and gross or net. Two honest tables can disagree by a full percentage point or more for the same community. Before you trust a number, find out which of those choices it made. If the page does not say, treat the figure as a rough pointer.

How do you find the real rent for a flat?

1. Search the same building, the same bedroom count and a similar floor on rental listings, and note the range, not the top figure.
2. Ask the agent for the last two tenancy contracts on the unit or on a twin unit.
3. Check the rent against the official rental index through our RERA rental index guide.
4. Discount any listing that has sat unlet for months. That is the market telling you the rent is too high.

Should you buy for yield or for capital growth?

They pull in different directions. Communities with the highest yield tend to be lower priced and carry more nearby supply, so the rent is good but growth in value is less certain. Prime communities offer the opposite. Decide which you need. If you want income to cover a mortgage, favour net yield and a building with low charges. If you plan to hold for ten years, location and the quality of the developer count for more than the first year's percentage.

What about short-term lets and a mortgage?

Holiday lets can produce a higher gross figure, but they add furnishing, licensing, platform fees and more voids, so the comparison must again be made on net income. Our guide to short-term rentals and holiday homes sets out the extra costs. A mortgage does not change the yield on the property. It changes what you earn on the cash you put in, and the interest is a further cost. See mortgage rates for expats before you model leverage.

How do you compare two properties properly?

1. Get the actual achievable rent, not the asking rent of the unit next door. The tenancy registration records and recent lets matter more than adverts.
2. Get the current service charge in writing.
3. Deduct management and a realistic void allowance.
4. Compare the net figures, not the gross.
5. Add the purchase costs to the price before you divide.

What is a sensible way to shortlist areas?

Pick three communities, not ten. For each one, note the entry price, the rent for the unit size you want, the service charge per square foot and the number of projects completing nearby. Then calculate net yield for two buildings in each. You will usually find that the gap between buildings in one community is bigger than the gap between communities. That is why the building matters more than the postcode.

How long does it take to recover the purchase costs?

Registration, agency and mortgage fees add several percent to the price. That delays your true break-even by roughly a year of net rent. Our fees guide sets out each item, and the hidden costs guide covers the rest.

What to do next

Ask us to run the numbers on a specific property, or browse what is available. If you are weighing a whole block rather than a single flat, see our note on buying a whole building.

Add a line on financing: If you will borrow, see how buy to let mortgages work and what the repayment is.

Add under 'Before you buy for income': For the choice between income and growth, see our guide to the best property investment in Dubai.