For tenants, leasing property in Dubaican be a rather arduous task. Finding a place to live in this booming city is challenging to say the least. Due to the scarcity of apartments, leasing property in Dubai is becoming more difficult as new residents continue to flock to the city. The high demand of for leasing property in Dubai , and the short supply of available units for lease means the inevitable: high rents.

The current property boom in Dubai has sent rental charges rising upwards since the year 2002, at an average 37% increase according to The Dubai Municipality. The higher cost of living has put a lot of pressure on Dubai ’s tenants. To alleviate some of that pressure, the Government of Dubai moved to impose a rental cap of 15% in October 2005. The rental cap on leasing property in Dubai is helpful to existing tenants. Those currently leasing property in Dubai can take landlords to court should their rent be increase more than the 15%. While this has been helpful in curbing unwarranted hikes – it has also given landlords the green light to increase rents by the full 15% instead of slow and gradual increases.

Considering the rapid increase in Dubai ’s population that has swelled from approximately 800,000 in the year 2000 to 1.3 million in 2006, where it stands today, there is a shortage of residential apartments and villas for rent. This excess demand over supply for leasing property in Dubai has led to higher rental charges because property continues to be in short supply.