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Loan calculator Qatar › Buy to let in Qatar: rental yield and return on your cash

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

Buy to let in Qatar: rental yield and return on your cash

Updated

Example: a QAR 1,600,000 flat bought by a Qatari citizen and rented at an example QAR 96,000 a year, 1 month empty, QAR 9,000 a year in estimated costs, a manager at an example 5% and the QAR 250 lease registration. Gross yield 6.00% (rent ÷ price), net yield 4.65% in year 1 (what the rent leaves you ÷ price). With 30% down (QAR 484,480 cash on the day) and home finance at an example 5.5%, the rent falls QAR 8,183 a year short of the instalments, 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 a home you live in, use rent or buy?.
You are
Decides how much a bank may finance and whether tax on the rent can apply. 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.
QAR 96,000 is only an example — look up what similar homes rent for; there is no official rent index or yield.
Between tenants, repairs. Your estimate.
Yearly costs (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.
0 if you manage it yourself; 5% is only an example.
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; leave empty if the tenant pays the broker or there is none.

Always counted: the lease registration, QAR 250 a year (who pays it is not stated officially; counted here as the landlord's). VAT is not on the official list of Qatar's taxes.

If you keep it and sell later

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.

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
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.
Gross yield6.00%rent ÷ price: the headline number, before any cost
Net yield4.65%what the rent leaves you after costs ÷ price
Return on your own cash, year 1-1.69%

Year 1, in riyals

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, maintenance, insurance, the manager, the lease registration and (in year 1) the letting broker, divided by the price. The honest version of the first number.
    • Return on your own cash — the cash the rent leaves you after the finance instalments, divided by the cash you put in on the day. With home finance this can be negative: the rent does not cover the instalments, 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 your share of the 0.25% registration fee, the broker and paying off the finance, 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 riyal came in or went out.

    Tax on the rent

    Under Qatar's Income Tax Law, income from real estate in Qatar is Qatar-source income, and the law's tax rate is 10%. The income of Qatari individuals resident in Qatar is exempt. The General Tax Authority publishes no guidance on rent earned by non-Qatari individuals, so the calculator counts no tax. If you are not a Qatari citizen, check with the General Tax Authority before you rely on the net figures. Individuals pay no tax on the gain from selling property that is not a business asset.

    What the rules say

    • How much a bank may finance (QCB, 2023) if it relies on your salary or own income: 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.
    • If repayment depends mainly on the rent (QCB's investment category, ready property): Qatari citizens up to 75% (70% above QAR 10,000,000), residents up to 70% (65% above), over at most 25 years. The calculator's minimum down payment uses the salary-based limits above; if your bank relies on the rent, put in the larger down payment yourself.
    • 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 landlord'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.
    • 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).

    Where to find real numbers

    There is no official rent index and no official yield. The Ministry of Justice publishes weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual bulletins of property sales (prices actually paid), and the National Planning Council's monthly consumer price index has a housing group — it shows how fast rents change, not what a home rents for.

    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

    What is a good rental yield in Qatar?

    In Qatar, no official body publishes rental yields or a rent index. Gross yield is only rent ÷ price; the net yield after empty months, maintenance, insurance, a manager and the lease registration is the number to compare.

    Do I pay tax on rental income in Qatar?

    Income from real estate in Qatar is Qatar-source income under the Income Tax Law, whose rate is 10%. Qatari individuals resident in Qatar are exempt. The General Tax Authority publishes no guidance for non-Qatari individual landlords, so this calculator counts no tax — check with the Authority.

    What does a landlord pay to register a lease?

    In Qatar, 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 landlord's side.

    How much can I finance for a property I rent out?

    In Qatar, it depends on what the bank relies on (QCB, 2023). Repaid from your salary: up to 80% for a Qatari citizen and 75% for a resident on a home up to QAR 6,000,000 (less above it). Repaid mainly from the rent: up to 75% for a Qatari and 70% for a resident up to QAR 10,000,000 (70% / 65% above), over at most 25 years. A non-resident buying a ready property to invest: up to 60%.

    What does selling cost?

    In Qatar, registering the sale costs 0.25% of the value (who pays is not stated officially), plus any broker — a broker's fee has no fixed official rate (if none was agreed, the law's fallback is at most 1% of the price). Individuals pay no tax on the gain from property that is not a business asset.