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Loan calculator Bahrain › Rent or buy in Bahrain?

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

Rent or buy in Bahrain?

Updated

Example: a BHD 100,000 home bought with 20% down and a home loan of BHD 80,000 at an example 5.5% over 25 years (instalment BHD 491.270 a month; BHD 22,826.000 cash on the day, with the 1.7% registration fee, your half of the broker with VAT and the fixed fees), against BHD 6,000 a year in rent rising 2% a year plus the municipal fee of 10% of the rent (BHD 600 in year 1), over 10 years. The tenant pays no lease registration fee — the landlord does. With round test numbers of 0%, 3% and 6% for the home price and what money earns elsewhere, the result is buying ahead by BHD 21,760, buying ahead by BHD 48,376 and buying ahead by BHD 82,873. Those are test numbers, not a forecast: the answer turns on your own guesses, so put in yours.

This page: rent or buy the home you live in? Your rent against buying, with every cost on the day and your own guesses for the future, three side by side. Non-Bahrainis may buy only in certain areas — see who may buy. For the cash you need on the day alone, use costs of buying a home.
100 = all cash. CBB sets no minimum down payment — your bank decides. 20% is only an example.
5.5% is an example rate — CBB sets no maximum rate, so use the one in your offer. Assumed to stay the same.
CBB's own disclosure example, not a maximum — CBB sets no maximum term.
12 × the monthly rent you pay now, or what similar homes rent for. BHD 6,000 is only an example.
Law 27/2014: for a sitting tenant the rent of a home may rise only after 2 years, by 5% at a time, unless agreed otherwise in writing — about 2.47% a year. A new lease starts at any agreed rent. 2 is only an example.
Ministerial Decision 22/2005: 10% of the rental value, billed with electricity and water. Bahraini families who qualify pay BHD 2–14 a month instead — enter 0 here and put that amount × 12 into the other yearly costs below.
Anything else only a tenant pays. Empty = none.

Your three guesses

Nobody knows how home prices and other investments will move; this page uses no official price figure. Fill in one, two or 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. These are round test numbers, not a forecast. Replace them with your own.

Owner costs every year (your estimates)
No official number — your estimate; BHD 600 is only an example. An owner living in the home pays the owner-occupier municipal fee, BHD 2–14 a month by size (Decision 22/2005) — add it here to count it.
No official number — your estimate; BHD 150 is only an example.
Set by each owners' association's own budget — no official figure. Enter yours; empty = none.
Your half of RERA's 2% (1%) plus 10% VAT. Empty = no broker.
Costs that depend on your deal
Registration filed within 60 days of notarization?
1.7% within 60 days, 2% later. The same rate is used when you sell.
Who pays the registration fee?
The law does not say — as agreed in your contract. The same split is used when you sell.
RERA: 2%, half each unless agreed otherwise in writing; 10% VAT is added. 0 = no broker.
Your offer. CBB's cap goes by loan size: BHD 200 for a loan up to BHD 150,000, BHD 300 up to BHD 250,000 and BHD 500 above; 10% VAT is added.
Your estimate; no official figure.
We found no official rate for a letting broker. Enter what you are quoted; empty = no broker.

Fill in at least one guess (both boxes) to see the result, or press "Try with simple round numbers".

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.

What the rent law says

    How the comparison works

    If you buy, you pay the down payment and the buying costs on the day, then the loan instalments and the owner costs every year. If you rent, you keep that cash and pay rent instead, plus the municipal fee (10% of the rent unless you change it) and any other cost only a tenant pays (the lease registration fee is the landlord's). Each year, whoever pays less puts the difference aside, and it grows at your "money earns elsewhere" guess. At the end, the buyer sells the home, pays their share of the registration fee, the broker, BHD 5 to lift the mortgage and what is still owed; the renter has their savings. The calculator compares the two.

    What decides the answer

    • How long you stay. The registration fee and the other buying costs are paid once; the longer you stay, the more years they are spread over.
    • Rent against instalments and owner costs. The gap each year is money one side can put aside.
    • Home prices. They decide what the buyer has at the end.
    • What your money earns elsewhere. That is what the renter's cash on the day and yearly savings grow at.

    The last two are guesses. That is why the page shows up to three sets side by side instead of one answer.

    Renting in Bahrain: the Real Estate Lease Law (Law 27/2014)

    • Lease registration: A lease must be in writing and registered within one month of signing; courts do not hear claims on unregistered leases. The fee for a home is a fixed BHD 5 (BHD 10 for other uses — Ministerial Order 9/2015), paid by the landlord — so this page puts nothing on the tenant's side.
    • Rent rises: A landlord may raise a home's rent only after 2 years from the start or the last rise, by 5% at a time and at most five times during the lease — unless you agreed otherwise in writing. For a sitting tenant that is about 2.47% a year; a new tenancy starts at whatever rent is agreed.
    • Money up front: a security deposit of at most 1 month's rent, returned at the end less what you owe, and advance rent of at most 3 months for a home. Opening the electricity and water account as a tenant also takes a refundable deposit — from BHD 100 for a single-phase electricity meter or BHD 100 for a 15 mm water connection, more for larger ones; only the higher of the two is charged, and the landlord's personal guarantee is accepted instead.
    • Disputes: Rent disputes go to the High Civil Court; its judgement is final for claims up to BHD 1,000.
    • VAT: Renting a home is VAT-exempt; hotels and serviced accommodation carry 10% (a lease of a year or more never counts as serviced accommodation).
    • Municipal fee: Municipal fee on a rented home: 10% of the rental value, and never less than the fee an owner-occupier pays for the same home (Ministerial Decision 22/2005, Table B); it is billed with the electricity and water account. Bahraini tenant families who qualify pay the owner-occupier rate instead, BHD 2–14 a month; an owner living in the home pays that owner rate too.

    Buying in Bahrain: the official rules

    • Registering the sale with the Survey and Land Registration Bureau: 2% of the property value, or 1.7% if filed within 60 days of notarization (an extension of the reduced-fee period can be requested online within 120 days; the Bureau decides). The law does not say who pays — choose it in the calculator. Fixed fees: BHD 1 form, BHD 20 notary, BHD 5 to register a mortgage and BHD 5 to lift it when you sell. Buyers who borrow from the state housing bank to buy a housing unit or plot are exempt from the registration fee, within the loan amount. (Not counted here.)
    • Broker: Real estate broker's commission: 2% of the sale price, paid half by the buyer and half by the seller unless agreed otherwise in writing (RERA marks its English translation as a draft). Agents' services carry 10% VAT.
    • VAT: Buying, selling or renting property in Bahrain is exempt from VAT — homes, commercial property and land alike.
    • Home loan (CBB): CBB sets no minimum down payment, no maximum term and no maximum rate for home loans — your bank decides. Banks must not charge interest using a monthly flat rate: they must use an effective rate on the reducing balance (since October 2019). The processing fee is at most BHD 200 for a loan up to BHD 150,000, BHD 300 up to BHD 250,000 and BHD 500 above, plus 10% VAT. A loan secured by a first charge on the home you live in (or will live in) is not "consumer finance": its instalment is outside the 50% consumer-finance limit.

    For the cash you need on the day, see costs of buying a home; for the monthly payment, the home loan calculator; for the rent law in full, rent law: increases and deposits.

    Who may buy property in Bahrain

    • Bahraini citizens may buy anywhere; citizens of the other GCC states are treated like Bahrainis (Decree-Law 40/1999).
    • Other nationalities may own buildings and land only in the residential-building zones (A), (B) and (C) and in the listed investment and tourism areas and projects, as shown on the official maps (Prime Minister's Decisions 43/2003, 38/2023 and 27/2025). Holders of a platinum residency may also own elsewhere, outside excluded areas. The Survey and Land Registration Bureau's page "Other Nationalities Ownership" shows the areas — check the plot before you pay a deposit.
    • Residency: owning property worth at least BHD 130,000 can qualify you for a Golden Residency (BHD 5 application fee, BHD 300 every 10 years, plus BHD 300 for each dependant's permit; threshold set by Ministry of Interior Decision 150/2025) — see who can buy property in Bahrain.

    What carries VAT in Bahrain and what is exempt: VAT in Bahrain — with a calculator to add or remove 10% VAT.

    Questions people ask

    Can my landlord raise the rent in Bahrain?

    In Bahrain, under the Real Estate Lease Law (Law 27/2014) the rent of a home may rise only after 2 years from the start or the last rise, by 5% at a time and at most five times during the lease — unless you agreed otherwise in writing. For a sitting tenant that is about 2.47% a year.

    Who pays the lease registration fee in Bahrain?

    In Bahrain the landlord pays it. A lease must be registered within one month of signing; the fee for a home is a fixed BHD 5 (BHD 10 for other uses), set by Ministerial Order 9/2015. So the calculator counts no lease fee on the tenant's side.

    Is there a municipal fee on rent in Bahrain?

    Yes: 10% of the rental value, and never less than the owner-occupier fee (Ministerial Decision 22/2005). The decision does not say who pays; it is usually billed to the occupier with the electricity and water account. Bahraini tenant families who qualify pay the owner rate of BHD 2–14 a month instead. The calculator adds 10% of the rent unless you change it.

    How much deposit can a landlord ask for?

    In Bahrain, at most 1 month's rent as a security deposit, returned at the end less what you owe, and at most 3 months' rent in advance for a home.

    What does it cost to buy a home in Bahrain?

    In Bahrain, the registration fee is 2% of the value, or 1.7% if filed within 60 days of notarization (the law does not say who pays), plus BHD 1 form, BHD 20 notary and BHD 5 mortgage registration. The broker takes 2%, half each, plus 10% VAT.

    Is there VAT on rent or on buying a home?

    No — in Bahrain, renting a home is VAT-exempt (hotels and serviced accommodation carry 10%; a lease of a year or more never counts as serviced), and buying or selling property is exempt too.