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Loan calculator UAE › Rental yield and ROI calculator: buy to let in the UAE

Estimate only — not financial advice. Only your lender's offer is binding.

Rental yield and ROI calculator: buy to let in the UAE

Updated

Example, Dubai: a AED 1,500,000 flat rented at AED 100,000 a year, one month empty, AED 25,000 a year in costs and a manager at 5%. Gross yield 6.67% (rent ÷ price), net yield 4.14% (what the rent leaves you ÷ price). With 40% down and a mortgage at 5%, the rent falls AED 1,052 a year short of the mortgage, so you add money each year. Rent and costs are yours to enter; whether the price rises is your guess.

This page: a home or flat you buy to rent out (long-term lease). What the rent returns on the price and on your own cash, in plain words, for any emirate. New to this? Read What is ROI on property? first. For a home you live in, use rent or buy?.
Where is the property?
Buying costs count only the fees each emirate publishes. Fees the tenant pays by law are not counted as your cost.
You are
Property
Status
100 = all cash. A property you rent out counts as a second home: banks lend at most 60% to expats and 65% to UAE nationals (50% off-plan).
From your offer. Assumed to stay the same.
Look up similar homes in your emirate's official rental index; no one publishes yields.
Between tenants, repairs. Your estimate.
Yearly costs (your estimates)
In Dubai, look up the building in the DLD Service Charge Index.
The landlord is responsible for maintenance during the lease.
From your quotes.
0 if you manage it yourself.

If you keep it and sell later

Agent and other costs when you sell; your estimate.

Nobody knows how rents and prices will move. Fill in up to three sets of your own guesses; the results appear side by side.

Guess 1
Guess 2
Guess 3

Fills 0%, 3% and 6% into guesses 1, 2 and 3. Round test numbers, not a forecast. Replace them with your own.

Buying costs that depend on your deal
Usually 2% + VAT. 0 if you buy directly from a developer.
Varies by bank (often 0–1%) and is negotiable. VAT added.
Usually AED 2,500–3,500 + VAT.
Charged by the developer — ask; often AED 500–5,000 + VAT.
Gross yield–rent ÷ price: the headline number, before any cost
Net yield–what the rent leaves you after costs ÷ price
Return on your own cash, year 1–

Year 1, in dirhams

Fill in at least one guess (both boxes) to see what happens if you keep it and sell, or press "Try with simple round numbers".

Cash on the day

    Not a valid document. Estimate for information only — not financial advice, not an offer of credit and not a bank document. Errors are possible. Only your bank's or finance company's official offer letter, contract and statements are binding.

    The four numbers, in plain words

    • Gross yield — the yearly rent divided by the price. The number agents quote. It ignores every cost.
    • Net yield — what the rent leaves you after empty months, service charges, maintenance, insurance and the manager, divided by the price. The honest version of the first number.
    • Return on your own cash — the cash the rent leaves you after the mortgage payments, divided by the cash you put in on the day. With a mortgage this can be negative: the rent does not cover the loan, and you pay the difference every year.
    • Profit if you sell — everything the rent left you over the years, plus what the sale leaves after selling costs and paying off the loan, minus the cash you put in. The "yearly rate your cash earned" turns that into one percentage you can compare with a savings rate — it counts when each dirham came in or went out.

    The full explanation with this example step by step: What is ROI on property? Explained simply.

    What the rules say

    • Financing: a property you rent out is a second home or investment for the bank: at most 60% (expats) or 65% (UAE nationals), 50% off-plan, 25 years. The bank must deduct at least two months' rent when checking you can afford it.
    • Tax: rent from a home you own privately, without a business licence, is not subject to Corporate Tax, whatever the amount. Residential rent carries no VAT.
    • Who pays which fee: in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah the fee on the lease (5% of the rent) is the tenant's. In Sharjah the landlord pays the certification fee. Dubai's Ejari registration costs AED 177.75 online and by law falls on the tenant unless the lease says otherwise.
    • Rent rises: each emirate limits how much a sitting tenant's rent can rise — the rent or buy calculator shows the rules per emirate.

    Questions people ask

    What is a good rental yield in Dubai?

    In Dubai, no government publishes yields, and this site does not guess. Work out your own: gross yield is the yearly rent divided by the price; net yield takes off empty months and all yearly costs. Look up realistic rents for similar homes in the DLD Rental Index.

    Do I pay tax on rental income in the UAE?

    In the UAE, rent from property you own as a private person, without a business licence, is not subject to Corporate Tax, whatever the amount (Cabinet Decision 49 of 2023). Residential rent is exempt from VAT.

    How much can I borrow for a buy-to-let property?

    A property you rent out counts as a second home or investment: banks may lend at most 60% to expats and 65% to UAE nationals, 50% for off-plan, over at most 25 years. The bank must deduct at least two months' rent when checking you can afford it.

    Does the landlord pay the 5% housing fee?

    No — in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah the fee on the lease is the tenant's, collected on the electricity bill. In Sharjah the landlord pays the lease certification fee.