You've landed the dream job in Dubai, found the perfect apartment, and then the reality check hits: your new landlord is handing you a tenancy contract that demands an AED 80,000+ payment in a single cheque. You've been in the country for three weeks. Your UAE bank account is barely set up. And as one expat on Reddit put it — "It's crazy to pay for a year ahead. I know that's how it was done in the past but ppl still agree to that?" (Source)
The painful truth is: yes, they do. And you're going to need a plan.
The total upfront cost of renting in Dubai isn't just the rent cheque. It's the security deposit, the agent commission, the DEWA deposit, and the Ejari registration fee stacked on top of each other. As another expat noted, "the initial payment is... a lot of money (in terms of first cheque, security deposit, agent commission, DEWA and Empower deposit, etc)." (Source) You could easily be staring down AED 95,000–100,000 in one shot before you've even unpacked a box.
So what do most new residents do? They scramble. They Google. They ask friends. And they usually land on the same three options — each of which comes with its own set of problems.
The Dubai Rental Reality: Why Monthly Isn't the Default
Before we get into solutions, it's worth understanding why this is so painful for expats in the first place.
Dubai's rental market runs on post-dated cheques. Landlords typically accept 1, 2, 3, or 4 cheques per year — and each of those is dated and deposited on a specific date. The fewer the cheques, the bigger each payment. Monthly payments (12 cheques) do exist, but they're entirely at the landlord's discretion and often come with a premium or simply aren't offered at all. As Rently's own blog explains, "there is no legal requirement for rent to be paid in one go" — but try telling that to a landlord who's used to receiving a full year's rent up front.
For expats, this system presents a unique disadvantage: your credit history doesn't travel with you. As one Dubai resident lamented, "I wish generally our credit history could travel with us." (Source) You may have had an excellent credit score back home — but in the UAE, you're starting from zero.
The Old Playbook: 3 Conventional Ways to Cover Rent (And Why They Fall Short)
When expats face this payment cliff, they typically try one of three workarounds. Here's the honest breakdown of each.
1. Bank Personal Loan
On paper, this sounds sensible: borrow from the bank, pay your landlord, repay the loan in monthly installments. In practice, it's a minefield for newcomers.
Slow approval: Credit checks and income verification can take weeks — time you simply don't have when another tenant is eyeing your apartment.
Six-month minimum: Most UAE banks require you to have been with them (and in the country) for at least three to six months before approving a personal loan. As one frustrated expat shared: "I can't apply for a credit card loan or a personal loan since I've been in Dubai/with the bank for less than 6 months." (Source)
High interest rates: Personal loan interest in the UAE typically ranges from 5% to 20%+ APR depending on your profile — adding thousands of dirhams to your total cost.
2. Credit Card Cash Advance
Desperate times lead expats toward credit card cash advances. But this is arguably the most expensive route of all.
Daily interest accrual: Cash advances don't benefit from a grace period — interest starts accruing from the moment you withdraw.
Processing fees: On top of high interest, banks charge upfront cash advance fees.
Debt spiral risk: Using a credit card to fund a full year's rent can quickly push you into high-interest debt that takes years to resolve — not exactly how you want to start your Dubai chapter.
3. Borrowing from Family or Friends
This option works for some — but it comes with its own costs.
Emotional friction: Asking family for AED 80,000–100,000 is uncomfortable at best, damaging at worst.
Repayment pressure: Unlike a formal lender, repaying a family member comes with social strings attached.
Not always available: Many expats have moved to Dubai precisely because opportunities back home were limited. The people around them may not have that kind of liquidity to offer.
None of these options are elegant. And all of them treat the symptom rather than addressing the core issue: Dubai's rental market wasn't designed with new arrivals in mind.
The Modern Fourth Option: Rent Now, Pay Later
There's a smarter way — and it's been quietly changing how expats rent across the UAE.
Rent Now, Pay Later (RNPL) is a fintech model where a third-party service pays your landlord the full annual rent upfront (in whatever cheque format the landlord requires), and you repay that service in 12 manageable monthly installments. No lump sum. No bank loan. No awkward conversations with your family.
The leading pay later service Dubai residents are turning to is Rently UAE — a UAE-based proptech and fintech company purpose-built for exactly this scenario.
What makes Rently stand out isn't just the concept — it's the execution:
Fully digital: The entire process, from application to contract signing, happens online.
24-hour approval: For eligible applicants, Rently delivers a decision within one business day — fast enough to lock down an apartment before someone else does.
Property-agnostic: Unlike some competitors that are tied to specific property portals, Rently works with any residential property, from any landlord, agent, or platform across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, and Ras Al Khaimah.
Accessible eligibility: You simply need a valid UAE working visa and a minimum monthly income of AED 7,000.
How Rently Works: A Step-by-Step Guide
Here's exactly how you go from "I just found the perfect apartment" to "I've moved in" — without writing a single large cheque from your own account.
Step 1: Get Your Instant Estimate (2 Minutes)
Head to rently-uae.com and use the online calculator. Enter your annual rent amount, the number of cheques your landlord requires, your move-in date, and your emirate. You'll also be asked whether you'd like Rently to cover your security deposit (more on this below). The calculator will show you your estimated monthly cost in real time — including the service fee.
Step 2: Submit Your Documents Online
Fill out the application form and upload the following:
Proof of income: Salary certificate (if employed) or recent bank statements (if self-employed)
Emirates ID or UAE Pass for identity verification
AECB credit report for risk assessment
The whole upload process is done through the platform — no physical paperwork, no branch visits.
Step 3: Get Approved in 24 Hours
Rently's team reviews your application and generates a personalized quote based on your credit profile, monthly obligations, and your landlord's preferred payment method. Eligible applicants receive approval within one business day.
Step 4: Sign Your Contract Digitally
Your contract arrives via email and is signed through DocuSign. No printing. No scanning. No courier.
Step 5: Make Your First Monthly Payment
Pay your first installment to Rently using a Visa, Mastercard, or American Express credit or debit card.
Pro Tip: Because you're paying with a card, you can earn credit card rewards — points, miles, or cashback — on your rent every single month. Your single largest expense in Dubai can quietly become a source of travel points.
Step 6: Rently Pays Your Landlord in Full
Once your first payment clears, Rently collects your landlord's bank details and transfers the full annual rent — exactly as your tenancy contract specifies, whether that's 1, 2, 3, or 4 cheques.
Step 7: Move In. Pay Monthly. Done.
With the landlord paid, you can register your Ejari and move in. For the remaining 11 months, you make your installment payments directly to Rently — predictable, automatic, and stress-free.
Not yet found an apartment? Rently also offers pre-approval, so you can house-hunt with financing already in place and close the deal the moment you find the right unit.
Don't Forget the Security Deposit — Rently Covers That Too
One cost that catches many new renters off guard is the security deposit: typically 5% of the annual rent for unfurnished properties, and up to 10% for furnished ones. On a AED 90,000 apartment, that's AED 4,500–9,000 due upfront alongside the rent cheque.
Rently handles this with a single toggle in the application form. Select "I want Rently to pay it for me" and Rently transfers the full security deposit to your landlord alongside the rent. The deposit cost is then spread across your 12 monthly installments — so your out-of-pocket cost on move-in day drops dramatically.
At the end of your lease, the full security deposit is returned directly to you by the landlord, just as it would be under any standard tenancy agreement. Rently's role ends when your lease does.
This is a genuine differentiator — most competitors either don't offer deposit coverage or charge for it separately. Rently bundles it seamlessly into the same monthly plan.
Real-World Cost Breakdown: AED 90,000 Annual Rent
Let's put some numbers to this so you can see the difference clearly.
Scenario: You've found a great apartment in Dubai at AED 90,000 per year. The landlord requires payment in 1 cheque.
The Traditional Way — What You'd Pay Upfront
Cost ItemAmountFull Annual Rent (1 cheque)AED 90,000Security Deposit (5%)AED 4,500Agent Commission (typically 5%)AED 4,500DEWA Deposit + Ejari~AED 2,000Total Immediate Outlay~AED 101,000
That's over six figures before you've bought a single piece of furniture.
The Rently Way — What You'd Pay Monthly
Cost ItemDetailAnnual RentAED 90,000 (paid to landlord by Rently)Security DepositCovered by Rently, bundled into monthly planEstimated Monthly Payment to Rently~AED 8,438–9,375/monthTotal Upfront to Landlord from Your PocketAED 0
Based on Rently's website calculator, a AED 100,000 annual rent works out to approximately AED 9,375/month (Source). Your AED 90,000 rent would fall proportionally below that figure depending on your personalized service fee. Note that the service fee is not a flat rate — it's tailored to your credit profile, income, and the landlord's payment preferences.
Your remaining upfront costs? The agent commission, DEWA deposit, and Ejari — manageable items that together represent a fraction of what the traditional model demands.
Rent Smarter, Not Harder
The post-dated cheque system isn't going away anytime soon — but the way expats fund those cheques is changing fast. Slow bank loans, high-interest cash advances, and strained family relationships shouldn't be the price of renting a home in Dubai.
With Rently's Rent Now, Pay Later model, you can move into any apartment you want, on any platform, with any landlord — and pay for it in predictable monthly installments. No lump sum. No weeks of waiting for bank approval. No embarrassment. Just a fully digital, 24-hour process that puts you in control of your cash flow from day one.
And if you haven't found your apartment yet? That's no reason to wait.
Get pre-approved with Rently UAE today → It takes minutes, costs nothing, and means you're ready to close the deal the moment you find your perfect home — before someone else does.
