What a Dubai apartment really costs: buying and owning, worked through

Dubai levies no annual property tax, and an individual's rental income is not subject to local personal income tax. Many people conclude that there is little to pay beyond the price. In reality, buying a ready apartment costs roughly another 6–7% on top of the price, and every year a sizeable share of the rent goes on service charges, management and empty weeks.

In this article we work through every cost using an example built on current market data. The point is not to put you off, but to make sure your decision rests on numbers that still hold true after you have bought.

The example: a one-bedroom in Jumeirah Village Circle

Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC) is one of Dubai's busiest apartment markets: in the first nine months of 2026 more ready apartments sold here than anywhere else in the city. Property Monitor data for January to June 2026 put the average apartment price at around AED 1,510 per square foot.

Our example:

• Property: ready one-bedroom apartment in JVC, bought on the secondary market
• Size: 750 sq ft (about 70 m²)
• Price: AED 1,100,000
• Funding: own funds, no mortgage
• Use: long-term letting on an annual lease

For reference, at an illustrative rate of AED 4.1 to the euro, that is roughly EUR 268,000.

Costs at purchase

That brings the total acquisition cost to about AED 1,172,300. On the secondary market the developer's NOC fee (AED 500–5,000) is usually paid by the seller, but it is worth stating that clearly in Form F.

If you take a mortgage

Banks typically lend non-residents 50–65% of the price. If you borrow AED 550,000 against the apartment above, budget roughly for:

• DLD mortgage registration: 0.25% of the loan + AED 290, so about AED 1,700;
• valuation: AED 2,500–3,500 + VAT;
• bank arrangement fee: typically up to 1% of the loan + VAT, here at most about AED 5,800.

Together that is around AED 10,000–11,000. We cover borrowing in detail in Dubai mortgages for non-residents.

The same apartment bought off-plan

If you buy a similar apartment in a project under construction, the cost structure changes. There is no agency fee, but the 4% DLD fee is due at Oqood registration, right at the start. On an AED 1.1 million apartment with a 20% first instalment, you pay roughly AED 220,000 in instalment plus AED 44,000 in DLD fee on signing, plus smaller admin charges. The remaining instalments follow the construction schedule.

The difference is timing. With a ready home, rent starts arriving within a few months of paying AED 72,300 in costs. With off-plan, you pay instalments for two or three years with no income, and the costs of furnishing and letting come after handover. Price in that lost income when you compare the two. We look at the choice in off-plan vs ready in Dubai.

Annual running costs

Service charge. In Dubai this is set per square foot per year and approved by RERA through the Mollak system. Anyone can look up a building's approved rate in the DLD's public service charge index. Based on 2025–2026 DLD data, JVC apartment buildings typically sit between AED 15 and 20 per sq ft. We use AED 16 in the example: 750 × 16 = AED 12,000 a year.

Cooling (chiller). In some buildings district cooling is included in the service charge; in others a separate provider bills it. Always ask which applies before buying, because the difference can be significant.

Management. A 2026 market overview puts long-term property management fees at typically 5–8% of gross annual rent.

Void periods. There can be weeks between tenants. We allow one month a year, as a prudent assumption.

Maintenance and insurance. The building structure is insured through the service charge; contents and landlord liability cover is separate and, per 2026 market data, costs roughly AED 500–1,800 a year. Including minor repairs, we budget AED 3,000 a year.

How much of the rent do you keep?

Bayut's H1 2026 report puts the average advertised annual rent for a one-bedroom in JVC at AED 79,000. Advertised and agreed rents can differ, so we add a more cautious AED 72,000 scenario alongside.

The gap between the two lines is the whole story. Listings and developer brochures almost always quote gross yield. What reaches your pocket is the net figure, and even that is before any tax in your home country.

What many people leave out

• Furnishing. Long-term lets in Dubai can often go unfurnished, but for short-term letting the full fit-out is the owner's cost.
• Currency. Rent arrives in dirhams, pegged to the dollar. If you count in forints or euros, exchange-rate moves can shift your yield by several percentage points a year, in either direction.
• Rent changes. Cushman & Wakefield reported that average Dubai rents fell 6% quarter on quarter in Q2 2026. Rents do not only go up.
• Service charge increases. Budgets are approved annually, and in new buildings they often rise after the first years.
• Home-country tax. Whether Dubai rental income is taxed where you live depends on the relevant tax treaty and your circumstances. For Hungarian residents we cover this in our tax article.

How to use this calculation

For every specific property, fill in the same table with the real service charge, rents actually achieved nearby, and your own financing. In our investment advisory work we prepare it for every shortlisted property, with a base and a cautious case.

If you are weighing several apartments, rank them by net yield, not gross. Between a building with a higher service charge but stronger rents and a cheaper unit with weaker demand, often only the full table shows the real difference.

Frequently asked questions