Tenants in some of Dubai’s largest residential communities will have a new way to manage rent payments, after Dubai Residential, part of Dubai Holding Asset Management, announced a partnership with UAE-based fintech platform Rentify that will let eligible residents split rental instalments into smaller amounts instead of paying a large sum upfront, according to Gulf News.
The arrangement, announced Tuesday, will be available to eligible new tenants and existing residents renewing their leases across Dubai Residential’s portfolio of 22 communities, which are home to more than 146,000 residents. The portfolio includes Bluewaters, City Walk, Nad Al Sheba Villas, The Gardens, Garden View Villas, Remraam, Layan, Ghoroob and Shorooq, spanning premium developments, family-oriented neighborhoods and more affordable housing options.
Under the scheme, tenants who currently pay annual rent in four equal instalments can divide their first instalment into smaller payments, and new tenants can access the option when signing their rental contracts. For example, a tenant paying Dh80,000 annually in four equal instalments would ordinarily need to pay Dh20,000 at each scheduled payment date; under the new arrangement, that first Dh20,000 instalment could be divided into smaller payments, subject to Rentify’s terms.
Dubai Residential has not specified how many smaller payments tenants can make, the repayment period or the exact charges involved. The service will be accessible using credit cards issued by select banks, with rates and eligibility conditions applying, though the company has not disclosed the participating banks or a detailed fee structure. The option will complement existing payment methods rather than replace them.
Ahmed Al Suwaidi, Managing Director of Dubai Residential, said the partnership is intended to make renting simpler and give residents more control over their payment arrangements, reflecting a commitment to making the rental journey simpler, more flexible and increasingly digital while responding to residents’ evolving needs. The initiative also forms part of Dubai Residential’s push to move more rental services online; through its mobile application, residents can already renew contracts, make payments, request maintenance and manage move-in and move-out services.
Rashed Hareb Al Mheiri, Co-Founder and CEO of Rentify, said expectations around renting are changing, with residents increasingly looking for greater choice and flexibility in how they manage payments.
The move comes as Dubai’s rental market continues to strain household budgets. Rents have risen sharply across the emirate in recent years as population growth and the influx of international businesses and wealthy residents have outpaced new supply, and rent payment schedules — often one, two or four cheques a year — have been a persistent source of pressure on expatriate households. Fintech instalment products have been gaining ground in the UAE as a workaround, though consumer advocates caution that installment plans linked to credit cards can carry meaningful interest and fee costs.
Tenants considering the scheme will need to weigh the applicable charges and repayment conditions before deciding whether it suits their finances. The announcement refers to competitive rates but does not provide specific costs or explain whether charges will vary depending on the credit card used, and it does not specify when the service will become available to individual tenants or detail the application process.
For Dubai Holding, the partnership extends the digitization of one of the emirate’s largest landlord portfolios and signals that rent-payment flexibility is becoming a competitive feature in the institutional rental market, where landlords increasingly compete on services as well as location.
