It’s good in the long run really…

According to The National, and other news outlets the Dubai Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) rent calculator was reset the the beginning of this month on March 1.

While this may sound scary because many of us have used the rent calculator to protect ourselves from rental increases, the reset will be in the favour of tenants in the long run.

What is the RERA rent calculator?

Rera rent calculator dubai

The rent increase calculator is an online index that offers tenants and landlords transparency regarding potential rental increases.

It is a free online tool that gives tenants insight into the potential rental adjustments that could be implemented when leases are up for renewal.

The index is a valuable tool that determines whether tenants pay a reasonable and fair amount for their property.

How does the rent calculator work?

The calculator uses a database that is updated annually with a database of average rental prices. So if your rent is currently lower than the market average, your landlord could have the right to increase rent upon lease renewal.

On the official website, you will be required to fill out the necessary fields and then the calculator will provide you with a comparison of rent prices in your area, specific to your property. Based on this the calculator then determines what the maximum increase allowed for your property is.

How much can my rent be increased?

Depending on the market value of your property, certain criteria will allow or prevent your rent from being increased.

Calculated on the annual rent and according to Driven Properties:

If your annual rent is below 10 per cent of the market value, there is no increase.
If your annual rent is between 11 and 20 per cent below the market value a maximum increase of five per cent is applicable.
If your annual rent is between 21 and 30 per cent below the market value, a maximum increase of 15 per cent is applicable.
If your annual rent is more than 40 per cent below the market value, a maximum increase of 20 per cent is applicable.

Landlords are only allowed to increase rent once a year and must notify tenants 90 days in advance. The RERA calculator is then used by tenants to confirm if the increase is within the allotted range.

What does the reset mean for my rent?

As noted above, if your annual rent is far below the current average market value, the RERA rent calculator reset will mean that those whose annual rent is below the market may see an increase in the rent in the area.

This could lead to an increased demand for tenants to move into new and developing communities that have a better value for money than older communities where there is a big disparity in rental prices.

Images: Getty