Dubai Registers 2,046 Residential Rental Contracts Worth AED 1 Million or More

21 September 2026

Dubai registered 2,046 residential rental contracts worth AED 1 million or more between 1 January and 31 August 2026, and their combined value reached AED 6.79 billion. The median annualised rent across those contracts was AED 1.35 million. New leases dominated: 1,423 contracts, or 69.6 per cent of the total, were signed by incoming tenants, against 623 renewals. The numbers come from an analysis by fäm Properties, published on 21 September 2026.

The threshold is the contract, not the year

One technical detail decides how the whole dataset reads. The AED 1 million threshold applies to the total value of the contract, not to the annual rent. A one year lease at AED 1.2 million clears it. So does a four year lease at AED 300,000 a year. Anyone quoting these figures as “Dubai tenants paying AED 1 million a year” is reading them wrong, and the lease term table below shows exactly how much difference that makes.

Villas lead by count, apartments by rent

Villas were the largest single category, with 951 contracts worth AED 2.49 billion at a median annualised rent of around AED 1.12 million. Apartments followed with 531 contracts worth AED 2.41 billion, at a higher median annualised rent of AED 1.40 million. Villas therefore win on volume while apartments command more per year, which fits a market where the largest villa leases are multi year family arrangements and the priciest apartment leases are shorter and closer to the water.

Those two categories together account for 1,482 of the 2,046 contracts and AED 4.90 billion of the AED 6.79 billion. The remaining 564 contracts, roughly AED 1.89 billion, sit outside them. Firas Al Msaddi, chief executive of fäm Properties, addressed that gap directly: the figures show how high value contracts extend beyond villas and apartments into larger residential use assets and accommodation categories.

New leases outnumber renewals more than two to one

Of the 2,046 contracts, 1,423 were new and 623 were renewals. The split is not only about volume. New leases carried a median annualised rent of AED 1.30 million, while renewals came in higher at AED 1.50 million. In other words, tenants who stayed put were sitting on larger contracts than the ones being signed by tenants moving in during the same eight months.

Lease term changes the number completely

One year agreements were the most common form, at 1,353 of the 2,046 contracts, and they carried by far the highest annualised figure.

The descending scale is the threshold effect at work. A longer contract reaches AED 1 million on a much smaller annual rent, so long term leases enter this dataset at rent levels that are ordinary rather than luxury.

Where the high value leases are signed

The area ranking does not match the usual luxury map of Dubai. Jabal Ali Industrial First, an industrial district, recorded the most contracts of any location, and Palm Jumeirah recorded the most recognisable ones.

At project level the picture is more conventional. Palm Jumeirah recorded 106 contracts at a median annualised rent of AED 1.70 million, Jumeirah Golf Estates 38 contracts at AED 1.68 million and Al Barari 29 contracts at AED 1.30 million. Jumeirah Islands posted a median annualised rent of AED 1.80 million and IL Primo AED 1.95 million, among the highest of the named developments.

What this means for companies operating in Dubai

Most of the practical consequences fall on employers and on families relocating with a business, not on investors reading a headline.

• Housing budgets for senior hires in Dubai now sit against a median of AED 1.35 million a year at the top of the market, and against AED 1.65 million for a one year villa or apartment lease in that bracket.
• A multi year lease is the visible lever on annual cost: the same contract value spread over three or four years lands at a median annualised rent of AED 600,000 or AED 390,000.
• Corporate leases for staff accommodation belong to the category that sits outside villas and apartments, and it is large: 564 contracts and about AED 1.89 billion in the first eight months of 2026.
• New leases outnumber renewals by more than two to one, so a tenant negotiating today is negotiating in a market of movers rather than a market of incumbents.
• A tenancy contract in Dubai is registered through Ejari, and the registered contract is the document banks, schools and government service centres ask to see.
• For a family weighing a AED 1.5 million annual rent against ownership, the comparison to run is against financing cost, not against the purchase price on its own. Our guide to mortgages in the UAE for residents and non residents sets out the down payment and eligibility rules that decide it.

How Atlant Capital can help

We work with founders and companies that arrive in the UAE with a business and a family at the same time, and housing is usually decided in the same weeks as the licence and the residence visa.

We handle company formation in the mainland and the free zones, so an employer entity exists before housing allowances are committed, and we run work visas and residency for owners, staff and dependants, which is what turns a tenancy into a registrable contract for the whole family. Where the arithmetic points to buying rather than renting, our mortgage assistance service takes the financing side, including non resident applications.

The short version

Dubai signed AED 6.79 billion of residential leases at AED 1 million or more in eight months, and nearly 70 per cent of that was new tenants rather than renewals. The headline median of AED 1.35 million is real, but the dataset counts contract value rather than annual rent, which is why four year leases appear in it at AED 390,000 a year. Read against lease term and category, the numbers describe two different markets in one table: a luxury leasing market on Palm Jumeirah and in Jumeirah Golf Estates, and a bulk accommodation market in Jabal Ali Industrial First.

Source: Khaleej Times.

FAQ

How many rental contracts of AED 1 million or more did Dubai register in 2026?

Dubai registered 2,046 residential use rental contracts valued at AED 1 million or more between 1 January and 31 August 2026. Their combined value was AED 6.79 billion, with a median annualised rent of AED 1.35 million. The analysis was produced by fäm Properties and published on 21 September 2026.

Does the AED 1 million threshold mean the tenant pays AED 1 million a year?

No. The threshold applies to the total value of the contract, not to the annual rent. That is why contracts of four years or more appear in the dataset with a median annualised rent of AED 390,000, while one year contracts in the same dataset show a median of AED 1.65 million.

Which Dubai areas recorded the most high value rental contracts?

Jabal Ali Industrial First led with 204 contracts at a median annualised rent of AED 2.05 million, followed by Palm Jumeirah with 191 contracts at AED 1.50 million and Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid with 117 at AED 1.30 million. Al Merkadh recorded 90 contracts and Muhaisanah Second 86.

Were most of these contracts new leases or renewals?

New leases accounted for 1,423 contracts, or 69.6 per cent, against 623 renewals. New leases had a median annualised rent of AED 1.30 million, while renewals were higher at AED 1.50 million, so continuing tenants held larger contracts than incoming ones over the same eight months.

Do villas or apartments dominate the high value rental market in Dubai?

Villas lead on volume and apartments on annual rent. Villas took 951 contracts worth AED 2.49 billion at a median annualised rent of about AED 1.12 million, while apartments took 531 contracts worth AED 2.41 billion at AED 1.40 million. The remaining 564 contracts fall into other residential use and accommodation categories.