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Loan calculator Qatar › Rent or buy a home in Qatar?

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

Rent or buy a home in Qatar?

Updated

Example: a QAR 1,500,000 home bought by a Qatari citizen with 20% down at an example 5.5% over 25 years (QAR 304,250 cash on the day, with the 0.25% registration fee, the title deed and the mortgage registration), against QAR 72,000 a year in rent plus the QAR 250 lease registration, over 7 years. With round test numbers of 0%, 3% and 6% for all three guesses, the result is buying ahead by QAR 10,478, buying ahead by QAR 318,775 and buying ahead by QAR 688,177. 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. For the cash you need on the day alone, use costs of buying a home.
You are
Decides how much a bank may finance and for how long. Non-Qataris may buy only in certain areas — see who may buy where below.
An example — use your offer's. No official cap on home finance; assumed to stay the same.
What you pay now, or what similar homes rent for. QAR 72,000 is only an example.

Your three guesses

Nobody knows how rents, prices and other investments will move, and no official cap on rent rises for homes is in force. 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; QAR 7,500 is only an example.
No official number — your estimate; QAR 1,500 is only an example. Banks usually require it.
No fixed official rate. The law requires a written brokerage contract that states the fee; if none was agreed, the Ministry of Justice's committee sets it, at most 1% of the price (Law 22 of 2017). Enter what you are quoted; leave empty if you sell without a broker.
Costs that depend on your deal
Who pays the 0.25% registration fee?
Not stated officially — as agreed in your contract. The same split is used when you sell.
No fixed official rate. The law requires a written brokerage contract that states the fee; if none was agreed, the Ministry of Justice's committee sets it, at most 1% of the price (Law 22 of 2017). Enter what you are quoted; empty = no broker.
Estimate — no official number for home finance fees; from your offer.
No fixed official rate. If no fee was agreed, the law's fallback is at most half a month's rent (Law 22 of 2017). Enter what you are quoted; empty = no broker.

Fill in at least one guess (all three 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 rules say about renting

    How the comparison works

    If you buy, you pay the down payment and the buying costs on the day, then the home finance and the owner costs every year. If you rent, you keep that cash on the day and pay rent and the lease registration instead. 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 0.25% registration fee, the broker and what is still owed; the renter has their savings. The calculator compares the two.

    What decides the answer

    • How long you stay. Buying and selling costs are low in Qatar, but the down payment is large; it takes time before the home earns back what the cash would have earned elsewhere.
    • Rent against finance 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 three are guesses. That is why the page shows up to three sets side by side instead of one answer.

    Renting in Qatar: the official rules

    • Lease registration: every lease is registered with the Ministry of Municipality. Since 3 September 2026 (Law 8 of 2026) it costs a fixed QAR 250; before, it was 0.5% of a year's rent, with a minimum and a maximum. Who pays it is not stated officially; the calculator counts it each year on the tenant's side. The settlement fee for certain registration violations fell to QAR 1,000.
    • Disputes between landlord and tenant go first to the Rent Disputes Settlement Committee.
    • Rent increases: under the rent law (Law 4 of 2008, Art. 10) a landlord may raise the rent only within limits set by Cabinet decision — and the only decision in force covers non-residential leases signed before 2005. So there is no official cap on rent rises for homes today: your rent guess is your own estimate.
    • Your lease, by law: the landlord must register it within 2 months (fine up to QAR 10,000; an unregistered lease gives the landlord no claim before the committee); the deposit on a home is at most 2 months' rent; rent is due within 7 days of the date in the lease; you pay water, electricity and phone unless the lease says otherwise; if you stay on after the term without objection the lease renews for the same period on the same terms; a landlord who wants the home for himself or his family must give 6 months' notice; no subletting without written consent.

    Buying in Qatar: the official rules

    • Registering the sale: 0.25% of the value at the Ministry of Justice, plus QAR 100 for the title deed. Who pays the 0.25% is not stated officially — choose it in the calculator. With home finance, registering the mortgage costs 0.025% of the debt plus QAR 100; releasing it later costs QAR 200 (not counted).
    • Taxes: VAT is not on the General Tax Authority's list of Qatar's taxes, and individuals pay no tax on the gain from selling property that is not a business asset.
    • Broker: no fixed official rate. Law 22 of 2017 requires a written brokerage contract that states the fee; if none was agreed, the Ministry of Justice's committee sets it — at most 1% of the price for a sale, half a month's rent for a lease. The broker fields are your own figures (empty = no broker).
    • How much a bank may finance (QCB, 2023): Qatari citizens up to 80% of a home up to QAR 6,000,000 (75% above), over at most 30 years; residents up to 75% (70% above), over at most 25 years; non-residents buying a ready property to invest up to 60%. We found no official cap on the home finance rate.

    For the cash you need on the day, see costs of buying a home; for the monthly payment and the salary limit, the home finance calculator.

    Who may buy where

    • Qatari citizens may buy anywhere.
    • Non-Qataris — freehold: in the areas named by Cabinet Resolution 28 of 2020: West Bay, The Pearl, Al Khor resort, Al Dafna (areas 60, 61), Onaiza, Lusail, Al Kharaej, Jabal Thuaileb. A further set of areas is open for 99-year usufruct.
    • Non-Qataris — anywhere else: units in residential complexes, and offices or shops in commercial complexes and malls.
    • No limit on how many properties a non-Qatari may own in the freehold areas.
    • Residency through property: a home worth at least QAR 730,000 lets a non-Qatari get a residence permit without a sponsor; at least QAR 3,650,000 adds the healthcare, education and investment benefits of permanent residents. Both need at least 90 days a year in Qatar.

    The Ministry of Justice publishes the area list as an image and newspapers have reported later additions we could not find on an official page — check the plot with the Ministry before you pay a deposit. Details: can foreigners buy property in Qatar?

    Questions people ask

    Can my landlord raise the rent in Qatar?

    In Qatar, only within limits set by Cabinet decision (Law 4 of 2008, Art. 10) — and the only decision in force covers non-residential leases signed before 2005, so no official cap for homes is in force today. The calculator uses your own guess. If you stay on after the term without objection, the lease renews on the same terms.

    What does a tenant pay on top of the rent?

    In Qatar, registering the lease costs a fixed QAR 250 since 3 September 2026 (Law 8 of 2026). Who pays it is not stated officially; this page counts it on the tenant's side. Water, electricity and phone are the tenant's unless the lease says otherwise; the deposit on a home is at most two months' rent. A broker's fee has no fixed official rate (fallback if none was agreed: half a month's rent).

    Where do rent disputes go in Qatar?

    In Qatar they go first to the Rent Disputes Settlement Committee.

    What does it cost to buy a home in Qatar?

    In Qatar, registering the sale costs 0.25% of the value plus QAR 100 for the deed; with home finance, the mortgage registration adds 0.025% of the debt plus QAR 100. The big number is the down payment.

    How much can a bank finance?

    Up to 80% for a Qatari citizen and 75% for a resident on a home up to QAR 6,000,000, less above it (QCB, 2023).