Dubai renters shifted toward signing new lease contracts rather than renewing over July and August 2026, as falling asking rents opened up cheaper options across several major apartment districts. Dubai Land Department (DLD) tenancy registrations, analysed by brokerage fäm Properties, show new leases outnumbered renewals by 633 contracts in July and by 2,139 contracts in August.
July was the first month since the DLD dataset began in January 2023 that new leases outnumbered renewals — renewals had led for 36 straight months before that. fäm Properties found tenants who switched secured comparable apartments, in the same building and unit type, for rents as much as 15.3% below January 2026 levels, while renewal rents fell only about 1% over the same period.
The switching concentrated in mid-market and prime districts. Al Barsha South Fourth, which covers Jumeirah Village Circle, recorded 1,102 more new leases than renewals in August, according to DXBinteract data. Business Bay followed with a gap of 609, Al Merkadh with 598, Marsa Dubai (Dubai Marina) with 564, and Downtown Dubai with 342. Lower-priced areas such as Al Warsan First (International City), Jabal Ali First and Nadd Hessa (Dubai Silicon Oasis) still saw more renewals than new leases.
Overall leasing volume held broadly steady even as the mix shifted: new lease registrations from January through August ran about 1% below the same period in 2025, and August alone produced roughly 15,600 new contracts, above the 2025 level. Median rent on new apartment leases reached $25.76 (AED 94.6) per square foot in August — 8.3% below the October 2025 peak of $28.07 (AED 103.1) per square foot.
Firas Al Msaddi, founder and CEO of fäm Properties, linked the shift directly to the widening rent gap available to tenants considering relocation: “Previously, it was in the interests of tenants to stay where they were, especially as moving home can be challenging in various ways. But that has all changed because tenants can now move to a comparable apartment for less than a renewal would cost.”
References
fäm Properties via Arabian Business – Dubai Tenants Switch Homes as New Lease Rents Fall Up to 15%
