Diyarat guides
Understand the UAE market before you commit.
Written by Diyarat, grounded in how buying, renting and investing actually work here. Where a figure changes over time, we tell you to confirm it with the DLD or RERA rather than pretend it is fixed.
Buying
All buying guides
How to Buy Property in Dubai as a Foreigner
A complete, honest walkthrough of buying property in Dubai as a foreign national: freehold zones, the DLD process, costs, mortgages, due diligence and what happens after you buy.
10 minRead guide
Dubai Property Purchase Costs and Fees
Every cost beyond the price when you buy property in Dubai: the DLD transfer fee, agency commission, trustee and mortgage costs, plus the ongoing service charges and fees to budget for.
9 minRead guideHow to Choose the Right Off-Plan Payment Plan
A practical framework for comparing off-plan payment plans in Dubai: construction-linked versus date-based schedules, post-handover instalments, the real price of flexibility, default clauses, and how to match a plan to your own cash flow.
13 minRead guide
Making an Offer: Negotiation and the MOU (Form F) Process
How to negotiate a Dubai property purchase and what happens when you sign the MOU: preparing with real DLD comparables, offer tactics, RERA’s Form F, the deposit cheque, conditions to include and the path to transfer.
13 minRead guideRenting
All renting guides
Renting in Dubai: Ejari, Cheques and Tenant Rights
How renting works in Dubai: annual contracts and cheques, registering with Ejari, security deposits, the RERA rent-increase framework, notice periods and your rights as a tenant.
9 minRead guideTenant Rights in Dubai: What Your Landlord Can and Cannot Do
A clear guide to tenant rights in Dubai: how the tenancy law protects you, when rent can legally increase, the only grounds for eviction, who pays for maintenance, how to recover your deposit, and how the Rental Dispute Settlement Centre works.
13 minRead guide
How to Negotiate Your Rent in the UAE
A practical playbook for negotiating rent in the UAE: the legal levers in Dubai, using the RERA calculator and real comparables, the trade-offs beyond headline rent, renewal versus new-lease tactics, and the mistakes that weaken your hand.
13 minRead guideInvesting
All investing guides
Rental Yield and ROI in Dubai Property
How to evaluate a Dubai property investment honestly: gross vs net yield, the costs that eat into returns, capital appreciation, risk and liquidity, and how to compare areas using real data instead of asking prices.
9 minRead guideBuy-to-Let in Dubai: A Realistic Playbook
A realistic, numbers-first playbook for buy-to-let in Dubai: choosing an asset around tenant demand, the running costs that eat yield, financing, landlord duties, tax basics, voids and arrears, and how to think about total return.
14 minRead guide
How to Read DLD Transaction Data Like a Professional
How professionals read Dubai Land Department transaction data: price per square foot, off-plan versus ready sales, medians and outliers, sample size, time windows, and the traps that mislead casual readers of the open data.
12 minRead guideOff Plan
All off plan guides
Off-Plan Property in Dubai, Explained
What off-plan property really means in Dubai: how payment plans and escrow protection work, the Oqood registration, the genuine risks, and a due-diligence checklist before you buy a launch.
10 minRead guideEscrow Accounts Explained: How Your Off-Plan Money Is Protected
How Dubai’s escrow system protects off-plan buyers: what a project escrow account is, how money flows in and out against construction progress, what escrow does and does not protect, how to verify an account before paying, and the red flags.
12 minRead guideHandover Day: Snagging, Fees and What to Check Before You Accept
A practical guide to off-plan handover in Dubai: the sequence from completion notice to keys, the fees to expect, a room-by-room snagging checklist, defect liability after handover, the documents to collect, and the path to your title deed.
13 minRead guideGolden Visa
All golden visa guidesThe UAE Golden Visa Through Property
How the property route to the UAE’s 10-year Golden Visa works: the investment threshold, whether off-plan and mortgaged homes qualify, who you can include, and the honest caveats.
10 minRead guideGolden Visa Renewals and Family Sponsorship Through Property
How property-linked Golden Visa renewals actually work, what happens if you sell the qualifying home, and how sponsoring your spouse, children and other dependents fits into the picture.
12 minRead guideGolden Visa vs Standard Residency: Which Path Fits Your Situation
A clear-eyed comparison of the UAE Golden Visa and standard residence visas: duration, independence from employers, family sponsorship, time abroad, costs and who each path genuinely suits.
12 minRead guideDeveloper Guides
All developer guides guidesHow to Evaluate a UAE Property Developer
A practical framework for judging UAE developers before you buy: what the official registry tells you, how escrow and Oqood protect you, the signals that matter, and the red flags to walk away from.
9 minRead guide
Off-Plan Contracts: How to Read an SPA Before You Sign
A clause-by-clause walkthrough of the off-plan Sale and Purchase Agreement: escrow, payment milestones, completion dates, area variance, default, variations, handover and the traps buyers miss.
12 minRead guideDelayed Handover: Your Options When a Project Runs Late
What to do when your off-plan project misses its completion date: establishing the facts, reading your SPA, negotiating with the developer, escalating to RERA and DLD, and when termination or resale makes sense.
11 minRead guideMoving To UAE
All moving to uae guidesMoving to Dubai: A Practical Relocation Guide
A grounded relocation guide for Dubai: residency basics, why most newcomers rent first, how to choose an area on evidence, the rental process, cost-of-living structure and your first-month setup.
9 minRead guideSetting Up Utilities and Internet in Your New UAE Home
A practical guide to activating electricity, water, cooling, gas and internet in a UAE home: who provides what in each emirate, the documents you need, deposits, the housing fee and the bills newcomers forget.
12 minRead guideSchools and Family Logistics When Relocating to Dubai
How school choice actually works when relocating to Dubai: curricula, the KHDA’s role, inspection ratings, admissions timelines, waiting lists, fee planning and how to sequence housing around family logistics.
11 minRead guide