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Apartments for rent in Dubai Design District: what tenants really pay
A 1-bed in Dubai Design District rents for AED 110,000 a year. This is the median of 196 new Ejari leases signed 16 Oct 2025–15 Oct 2026. A 2-bed is AED 166,500. A 3-bed is AED 250,000. Adverts ask AED 125,000; renewing tenants pay AED 120,000.
Updated 21 Oct 2026 · Source: Dubai Land Department Ejari leases and listing-site adverts · Method
Median 1-bed rent in Dubai Design District: AED 110,000 a year (196 new leases, Ejari, 12 months to 15 Oct 2026).
Median 2-bed rent in Dubai Design District: AED 166,500 a year (270 new leases, Ejari, 12 months to 15 Oct 2026).
Signed rents, not adverts: medians of new Ejari leases (new tenant, a lease of six months to a year, one home). How we count.
“In Dubai Design District, a new tenant pays 8% less than a renewing tenant for the same 1-bed. Renewing is not cheaper than moving. Moving in? Offer at the AED 143 a sq ft new tenants signed, not the AED 140 the adverts ask.”
Renting in Dubai Design District? Read this first
What tenants here really pay, building by building, from Ejari leases. Then negotiate.
Rent in Dubai Design District by bedrooms
AED a year, medians. Signed: Ejari leases starting 16 Oct 2025–15 Oct 2026. Asking: adverts on 16 Oct 2026.
| Home | Signed, new lease | Renewal | Asking now | Typical size, sq ft | AED / sq ft (new) | Leases, 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 bed | 110,000 | 120,000 | 125,000 | 744 | 143 | 367 |
| 2 bed | 166,500 | 170,182 | 190,000 | 1,186 | 142 | 504 |
| 3 bed | 250,000 | 274,000 | 270,000 | 1,763 | 144 | 209 |
What the leases say about Dubai Design District
1,080 Ejari leases 16 Oct 2025–15 Oct 2026, and 122 adverts. Each finding has its chart below.
- New 1-bed rents fell 15.5% this year, like for like. Median new 1-bed: AED 120,000 in 2024, AED 125,000 in 2025, AED 105,000 in 2026 (1 Jan–15 Oct each year). Dubai, like for like: −5.4%. The table above (AED 110,000) covers the 12 months to 15 Oct 2026.
- Renewing a 1-bed is more expensive than moving. We compare a 1-bed in the same building with a size within 15%. A new tenant pays a median 8% less than a tenant who renews. That is about AED 10,000 a year on a typical renewal rent of AED 120,000.
- Adverts ask 2% under signed. A 1-bed advert asks AED 140 a sq ft; the 196 new 1-bed leases of 16 Oct 2025–15 Oct 2026 were signed at AED 143. Recent tenants signed for more than adverts ask now, so an advert at the asking price is not dear here.
- Same size for less nearby: a new 1-bed in Abu Hail, 10 km away, costs AED 35,000 for 753 sq ft. That is AED 75,000 a year less than in Dubai Design District.
Finding
New 1-bed rents fell 15.5% this year, like for like in Dubai Design District.
Median rent on new leases, 1 Jan–15 Oct of 2024, 2025 and 2026, by bedrooms
- 1 bed: −15.5% like for like; median AED 125,000 → 105,000 (1 Jan–15 Oct)
- 2 bed: −10.5% like for like; median AED 180,000 → 160,000 (1 Jan–15 Oct)
- 3 bed: −16.4% like for like; median AED 282,500 → 239,337 (1 Jan–15 Oct)
- All Dubai, 1-bed: −5.4% like for like
Same weeks each year so the season does not skew it. New leases only: renewals follow the market with a lag. The change compares the same building, bedrooms and size band in both years; the medians can move differently because the mix of homes changes.
Finding
In Dubai Design District a new tenant pays 8% less than a renewing one for the same 1-bed.
New lease over renewal, same building, bedrooms and size band, 16 Oct 2025–15 Oct 2026
- 1 bed: new tenants pay 8% less (AED 10,000 a year)
- 2 bed: about the same
- 3 bed: new tenants pay 11% less (AED 28,163 a year)
Landlord asks more than new tenants pay? The new leases are your evidence. Renew or move, every community →
11 matched groups, 466 renewals. Each group is one named building with 5+ new and 5+ renewed leases. The bedroom table above mixes buildings, so it can point the other way.
Finding
Dubai Design District adverts ask 2% less per sq ft than new 1-bed tenants signed in the last 12 months.
Asking rent per sq ft (adverts 16 Oct 2026) against new leases signed 16 Oct 2025–15 Oct 2026
- 1 bed: asking AED 140, signed AED 143 a sq ft (−2.1%)
- 2 bed: asking AED 153, signed AED 142 a sq ft (+7.7%)
- 3 bed: asking AED 166, signed AED 144 a sq ft (+15.3%)
- For rent now: about 122 homes, against 226 new flat leases in 90 days
Per sq ft, so bigger adverts do not skew it. Adverts are one day's snapshot; duplicates removed by building, bedrooms, size and price, so the count is approximate.
Every building in Dubai Design District with 10+ leases
Median rent, AED a year, all signed leases 16 Oct 2025–15 Oct 2026 (a bed figure needs 10+ leases). For rent now: adverts on 16 Oct 2026 matched to the building by name, duplicates removed, so it is approximate. 0% of leases here carry no building name and are not in this table.
| Building | Leases | Studio | 1 bed | 2 bed | 3 bed | AED / sq ft, all homes | For rent now | 1-bed asking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downtown Views II | 821 | 148 | 9 | – | ||||
| Downtown Views | 259 | 144 | 110 | 125,000 |
Cheaper areas near Dubai Design District, same size of home
Communities within 10 km (centre to centre) where the median new lease is lower and the median size within 15% of Dubai Design District's. New leases 16 Oct 2025–15 Oct 2026, 30+ of the home type. Every community on the heat map →
| Community | Home | Median new lease | Median sq ft | Km away | AED a year less than Dubai Design District | New leases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abu Hail | 1 bed | 35,000 | 753 | 10 | 75,000 | 1,486 |
| Hor Al Anz | 1 bed | 35,000 | 753 | 9 | 75,000 | 1,182 |
| Al Murar | 1 bed | 40,000 | 753 | 8 | 70,000 | 1,176 |
| Al Muraqqabat | 1 bed | 43,000 | 646 | 7 | 67,000 | 1,924 |
| Al Qouz Industrial Second | 2 bed | 66,000 | 1,201 | 9 | 100,500 | 600 |
| Al Muteena | 2 bed | 70,000 | 1,109 | 8 | 96,500 | 306 |
| Al Souq Al Kabeer | 2 bed | 70,000 | 1,125 | 7 | 96,500 | 276 |
| Al Hamriya | 2 bed | 75,000 | 1,076 | 6 | 91,500 | 354 |
Rent in this area by home and by building
Thinking of buying? Sale prices for every Dubai tower: BUY DUBAI →
Commercial rent in Dubai Design District
Questions
What is the average rent in Dubai Design District?
Median rent a year for a new lease in Dubai Design District: 1-bed AED 110,000, 2-bed AED 166,500, 3-bed AED 250,000. This is from 581 new Ejari leases, 16 Oct 2025–15 Oct 2026.
How much is a 1-bed in Dubai Design District?
A new 1-bed lease costs AED 110,000 a year (AED 9,167 a month). This is the median of 196 new leases, 16 Oct 2025–15 Oct 2026. Renewing tenants pay AED 120,000.
How much is a 2-bed in Dubai Design District?
A new 2-bed lease costs AED 166,500 a year (AED 13,875 a month). This is the median of 270 new leases, 16 Oct 2025–15 Oct 2026. Renewing tenants pay AED 170,182.
How much is a 3-bed in Dubai Design District?
A new 3-bed lease costs AED 250,000 a year (AED 20,833 a month). This is the median of 115 new leases, 16 Oct 2025–15 Oct 2026. Renewing tenants pay AED 274,000.
Is rent going up in Dubai Design District?
New 1-bed leases, like for like (same building, bedrooms and size band), 1 Jan–15 Oct: −15.5% on 2025. Dubai: −5.4%. The median new 1-bed was AED 125,000 in 2025 and AED 105,000 in 2026.
Do landlords in Dubai Design District accept less than the advert?
Not at the moment. A 1-bed advert asks AED 140 a sq ft. New leases signed 16 Oct 2025–15 Oct 2026 paid AED 143 a sq ft. That is the same as or more than the advert price.
How we worked it out, and the limits
Updated 21 Oct 2026. Leases to 15 Oct 2026; adverts of 16 Oct 2026.
Leases. Source: Dubai Land Department Ejari rent contracts. We use homes only, one unit for each contract, starting 16 Oct 2025–15 Oct 2026. There are 1,080 in Dubai Design District, and 581 of them are new. Bedrooms come from the Ejari unit type. "3 bed" means 3 or more. Every rent is a median: half the leases are above it.
New and renewal. "New" is a new tenant or a new contract. "Renewal" is the same contract, renewed. Renewals are often registered weeks late. Thus the latest month shows too few renewals. Like for like means the same building, the same bedrooms and a size band 15% wide. Leases with no building name are left out of this test. A group needs 5 or more of each: new leases and renewals.
Adverts. We use active yearly rent adverts from listing sites on 16 Oct 2026. We put each advert in Dubai Design District by the building or community name in the advert. There are 122 adverts after we remove repeats. A repeat has the same building, bedrooms, size and price. One home can still show more than once. Thus "for rent now" is approximate. Adverts are matched to a building by name.
Not used. The Ejari nearest-metro field names a station but no distance, so we do not compare metro and non-metro homes here. Floor, view, parking and furnishing are not in the lease record.
The full method, and twenty Dubai-wide comparisons: What the leases say →. Checking a rent rise? Rent increase calculator →
Sale prices, resale and off-plan, tower facts and developer photos: BUY DUBAI, our sister site for buyers. Rents: Dubai Land Department Ejari leases.