Key Takeaways
Dubai's traditional rent-by-cheque system can require over AED 42,000 upfront for an average apartment, creating a major cash flow barrier for tenants.
"Rent Now, Pay Later" (RNPL) services solve this by paying your landlord the annual rent upfront, allowing you to make 12 monthly payments.
When comparing RNPL providers, the biggest difference isn't just the service fee—it's how much cash you still need for other move-in costs like the security deposit.
Rently UAE can significantly reduce your upfront cash burden by also covering your security deposit and folding it into your monthly payments.
You've done the hard work — toured apartments, negotiated with agents, and finally found a place you love at AED 70,000 a year. Then comes the question that stops most tenants cold: how many cheques does the landlord want?
For many renters, especially those new to the UAE, the answer is a gut punch. Even if a landlord accepts two cheques, you're looking at AED 35,000 upfront on day one — before you've paid a security deposit, agency fee, or Ejari registration. That's the reality of Dubai's traditional rent-by-cheque system, and it's why platforms offering pay rent now pay later UAE solutions have grown rapidly in recent years.
Rently, Keyper, and Ezy all promise to solve the same core problem: they pay your landlord the full annual rent upfront, and you pay them back in monthly payments. But "monthly payments" isn't the whole picture. The service fees, what's actually included, and how much cash you still need on moving day can vary meaningfully between providers.
This article breaks it all down using a real scenario — an AED 70,000 apartment in Dubai — so you can make an informed decision before you sign anything.
What an AED 70,000 Apartment Really Costs Upfront (the Traditional Way)
Before comparing RNPL platforms, it helps to understand the baseline: what does moving into a AED 70,000 apartment actually cost under the traditional cheque system?
Assuming a standard two-cheque arrangement and an unfurnished unit, here's what most tenants face on day one:
First rent cheque (50% of annual rent): AED 35,000
Security deposit (5% of annual rent for unfurnished): AED 3,500 — the standard rate, as noted by Dubai property experts
Real estate agency fee (typically 5%): AED 3,500
Ejari registration: approximately AED 220
Total cash needed on day one: approximately AED 42,220
That's a significant sum to produce before you've bought a single piece of furniture, connected Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), or paid for your moving truck. As one renter noted in a widely shared Dubai thread, "The amount of money it takes to rent an apartment along with the deposits needed for utilities in Dubai is ridiculous."
Rent Now, Pay Later (RNPL) platforms were built specifically to address this gap.
How Rent Now, Pay Later (RNPL) Works
The model is straightforward. An RNPL platform pays your landlord the full annual rent upfront — in whatever number of cheques the landlord requires. You then make 12 monthly payments to the platform instead, plus a service fee for the convenience.
As Khaleej Times has reported, this shift from lump-sum cheques to monthly payments is gaining traction across Dubai's rental market, with more landlords open to the arrangement than ever before.
The critical question — the one most tenants are asking on forums — is: how much does this actually cost, and what's included? That's where the three main platforms start to diverge.
The Showdown: Rently vs. Keyper vs. Ezy on an AED 70,000 Rent
Here is a provider-by-provider breakdown of what renting that AED 70,000 apartment looks like through each platform. Note that agency fees and Ejari registration are not covered by any of these services — those remain your responsibility regardless of which platform you use.
Rently
We are a tenancy support platform that pays your landlord the full annual rent upfront and lets you make monthly payments by credit or debit card.
For an AED 70,000 annual rent, your base monthly payment before the service fee would be approximately AED 5,833 (AED 70,000 ÷ 12). Our service fee is personalised per applicant — it is based on your credit history, income profile, and the landlord's payment terms. You can check our how-it-works page or apply to get a personalised figure.
What sets us apart on upfront costs is deposit coverage. We can pay the AED 3,500 security deposit to your landlord directly, and fold that cost into your monthly payments. You get the full deposit back from your landlord at the end of the tenancy — it's simply managed as part of your monthly schedule rather than a separate lump sum.
Here's what your day-one costs look like with Rently:
First monthly payment: approximately AED 5,833 (plus personalised service fee)
Security deposit: AED 0 upfront (covered and spread into monthly payments)
Agency fee: AED 3,500 (your responsibility — not covered by any RNPL platform)
Ejari registration: approximately AED 220
Estimated total upfront cash: approximately AED 9,500–10,000, depending on your service fee rate
Other key details:
Works with any property. Any residential unit in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, regardless of the listing platform, real estate agency, or landlord.
Approval time: Within 24 hours for eligible applicants.
Process: Fully digital — online application, document upload, and DocuSign contract signing. No branch visits.
Credit card rewards. Earn points, miles, or cashback on every monthly payment. We accept:
Visa
MasterCard
American Express
Self-employed applicants: Accepted with bank statements as proof of income.
Minimum income: AED 7,000/month
Keyper
Keyper is a property management and rent payment platform that also facilitates monthly rent payments for tenants. It operates primarily within the Property Finder ecosystem, meaning its RNPL functionality is most accessible when the property you're renting is listed by a participating agent on that platform.
For an AED 70,000 rent, a fee in the range commonly cited in user discussions — 5–15% depending on the number of cheques the landlord requires — would place monthly payments roughly between AED 6,100 and AED 6,600.
Keyper's standard offering does not include security deposit coverage. The AED 3,500 deposit needs to be paid directly to the landlord by you, as a separate upfront cost.
Here's what day-one looks like with Keyper:
First monthly payment: approximately AED 6,100–6,600 (estimated)
Security deposit: AED 3,500 (paid separately upfront by the tenant)
Agency fee: AED 3,500
Ejari registration: approximately AED 220
Estimated total upfront cash: approximately AED 13,300–13,800
What to know: Keyper's platform integration with Property Finder can be a convenient feature if your chosen property is already listed there through a participating agent. However, if your ideal apartment is listed elsewhere — through a private landlord, a different portal, or a smaller agency — you may find Keyper's service difficult to access.
Ezy
Ezy (ezy.rent) is another RNPL platform operating in the UAE, offering a similar core proposition: landlord receives full upfront payment, tenant pays monthly.
Fee structures aren't published as fixed rates — they vary by applicant and arrangement — but based on market context and publicly available community discussions, monthly payments for an AED 70,000 rent would likely fall in a range comparable to Keyper's, roughly AED 6,100–6,600 per month.
Similar to Keyper, Ezy's standard offering does not include security deposit coverage. The deposit remains an out-of-pocket cost on top of the first monthly payment.
Here's what day-one looks like with Ezy:
First monthly payment: approximately AED 6,100–6,600 (estimated)
Security deposit: AED 3,500 (paid separately upfront)
Agency fee: AED 3,500
Ejari registration: approximately AED 220
Estimated total upfront cash: approximately AED 13,300–13,800
What to know: Ezy offers a clean, digital experience for tenants looking to move away from the cheque system. Its property and landlord eligibility may have some constraints depending on the arrangement — it's worth confirming compatibility with your specific unit before committing.
Beyond the Monthly Payment: Three Differences That Matter
The fee is the headline, but it's not the whole story. Here's where the platforms meaningfully differ in ways that affect your moving experience.
1. Security Deposit Coverage
This is the single biggest financial differentiator between Rently and its competitors.
Both Keyper and Ezy require you to pay the security deposit separately and upfront. On a AED 70,000 unfurnished apartment, that's AED 3,500 you need to produce in addition to your first monthly payment — on the same day. On a furnished unit, where the deposit can reach 10% of annual rent, that figure climbs to AED 7,000.
Our deposit coverage folds that cost into your monthly payments with a single toggle during the application. You don't need to find the lump sum. At the end of your lease, your landlord returns the full deposit to you directly — exactly as it works in any standard tenancy. For new expats juggling DEWA deposits, furniture costs, and school fees, this difference can be the deciding factor.
If you want to explore this further, our guide on no-deposit rental options covers the full picture.
2. Freedom To Choose Any Property
We work with any residential property in Dubai or Abu Dhabi — regardless of which portal it's listed on, which agent is handling it, or whether the landlord has ever heard of us. Once you're approved, you bring the tenancy agreement and we handle the rest.
Keyper's functionality is tied more closely to the Property Finder platform and participating agents. If you find your next home on Bayut, through a private landlord referral, or via a smaller boutique agency, you may need to confirm whether Keyper can service that specific arrangement before you're too far into the process.
For tenants who want to search freely across all platforms and then decide on payment method, our property-agnostic approach keeps your options open throughout.
3. Speed and Self-Employment Flexibility
All three platforms offer a digital application process, but our 24-hour approval for eligible applicants is designed to keep pace with Dubai's fast-moving rental market, where good apartments are often gone within days.
There's also a meaningful feature for the growing number of self-employed renters and freelancers in the UAE: we accept bank statements as proof of income rather than requiring an employer-issued salary certificate. Banks typically require a salary certificate for personal loans, which automatically excludes a broad category of well-earning professionals. Our freelancer rental guide covers this in more detail.
Make the Numbers Work for Your Situation
Here's a quick summary of what each platform looks like on an AED 70,000 apartment when you account for everything you need on moving day:
Traditional cheques (2 cheques, no RNPL):
Upfront cash required: approximately AED 42,220
Monthly cost: no platform fee, but all capital tied up in cheques
Rently:
Upfront cash required: approximately AED 9,500–10,000 (first monthly payment + agency fee + Ejari; deposit covered)
Service fee: personalised based on your profile
Keyper:
Upfront cash required: approximately AED 13,300–13,800 (first monthly payment + deposit + agency fee + Ejari)
Service fee: estimated 5–15% based on community discussions
Ezy:
Upfront cash required: approximately AED 13,300–13,800 (first monthly payment + deposit + agency fee + Ejari)
Service fee: comparable range, varies by applicant
All three platforms are a meaningful improvement over the traditional cheque system for tenants whose cash flow doesn't match Dubai's annual rent demands. The right choice depends on your specific situation — the property you've chosen, your income profile, and how much cash you want to preserve for settling in.
If minimising day-one outlay and having full flexibility over which property you rent matter most, it's worth running the numbers through our application to see what your personalised monthly payment would look like.
Get Your Keys Without Emptying Your Savings
All Rent Now, Pay Later services solve the main problem with Dubai's cheque system, but they don't all have the same impact on your bank account. The real difference isn't just the monthly fee — it's how much cash you still need to come up with on day one. As the numbers show, covering the security deposit is the single biggest factor and can reduce your upfront cost by thousands of dirhams.
You're likely in the middle of this process right now — scrolling through listings, scheduling viewings, and mentally calculating move-in costs. It's easy to get focused on the annual rent and forget about the AED 10,000–15,000 in other fees that come due all at once. The smartest move is to know your payment options before you find the perfect apartment and feel pressured to sign.
We designed our service to solve exactly this problem, which is why we cover the security deposit and fold it into your monthly payments. Our application takes about two minutes and there's no commitment. Before your next viewing, you can check your monthly estimate and know exactly what your day-one costs will look like.
FAQs
What is a Rent Now, Pay Later (RNPL) service in the UAE?
A Rent Now, Pay Later (RNPL) service pays your landlord the full annual rent upfront on your behalf. This allows you to avoid large cheque payments and instead make 12 smaller, more manageable monthly payments by card.
How much does Rent Now, Pay Later cost?
The cost of Rent Now, Pay Later is a service fee added to your monthly payments. This fee varies by provider and your profile, but community discussions suggest a range of 5-16% of the annual rent.
Why is covering the security deposit so important?
Covering the security deposit is important because it's a large upfront cost, often thousands of dirhams. Services like Rently that cover this for you significantly reduce the total cash you need to move in, making your move much more affordable.
Can I use a Rent Now, Pay Later service for any property in Dubai?
Whether you can use an RNPL service for any property depends on the provider. Rently works with any residential unit in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, while others may be limited to properties on specific platforms or with certain agents.
How long does it take to get approved for an RNPL service?
The time to get approved for an RNPL service varies, but some platforms are very fast. Rently offers approval within 24 hours for eligible applicants, helping you secure a property quickly in Dubai's competitive market.
