Old Dubai rent: where the two figures come from
Renting in old Dubai costs an area average of AED 5,840 a month in Bur Dubai and AED 6,703 in Al Rigga, and a two bedroom flat in Deira is quoted at AED 7,083. Those three numbers are not our own count. They come from the Betterhomes area guides at bhomes.com/area-guides, as of 1 September 2026, where they are published as annual rents of AED 70,079, AED 80,441 and AED 85,000. The monthly figure is the annual figure divided by twelve, and nothing else has been done to it. The guide does not say how many flats stand behind each average, so this page names no case count for them and does not invent one.
The three area figures, and what kind of number they are
Area averages from an estate agency guide, annual rent in AED. The monthly column is the annual figure divided by twelve. No case count is published for these three lines.
| District | What is being averaged | Per year | Per month | Contracts behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bur Dubai | area average, all sizes | AED 70,079 | AED 5,840 | not published |
| Al Rigga | area average, all sizes | AED 80,441 | AED 6,703 | not published |
| Deira | two bedroom flats | AED 85,000 | AED 7,083 | not published |
Al Rigga sits AED 10,362 a year above Bur Dubai, which is AED 863 a month. Those two lines are the same kind of number and can be read against each other. The Deira line cannot. It is a size, not a district average, and it sits AED 14,921 a year above the Bur Dubai figure, AED 1,243 a month. Setting it beside the other two compares a two bedroom flat with a mix of everything from a studio upwards, which is why it looks dearer than the neighbourhood it stands in.
The same part of the city in the tenancy register
There is a second way to measure the creek districts, and it produces different numbers. The tenancy register records what was actually signed. Deira is not one entry in it: Ejari books flats under official district names, and the four that carry the buildings people mean when they say Deira are Port Saeed, Al Garhoud, Al Nahda Second and Muhaisanah Fourth. The table below is the two bedroom median in each of the four, and every line says how many registered new contracts it rests on, 501 together.
Registered new tenancy contracts, monthly rent in AED. The annual column is the monthly median times twelve. Source: Dubai Land Department, Ejari tenancy register, September 2026.
| Register district | Registered new contracts | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile | Median per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Saeed | 32 | AED 6,958 | AED 8,208 | AED 10,416 | AED 98,496 |
| Al Garhoud | 132 | AED 6,125 | AED 6,562 | AED 7,500 | AED 78,744 |
| Al Nahda Second | 199 | AED 4,750 | AED 5,416 | AED 5,833 | AED 64,992 |
| Muhaisanah Fourth | 138 | AED 4,875 | AED 5,416 | AED 6,083 | AED 64,992 |
The second column is the one to read first. Port Saeed is the dearest median and the thinnest line at the same time, 32 contracts, and its middle half alone runs from AED 6,958 to AED 10,416. Al Nahda Second and Muhaisanah Fourth land on the same median, AED 5,416, on 199 and 138 contracts, and that is the floor for a family sized flat here. The whole spread from the cheapest to the dearest register district is AED 2,792 a month.
Two different measurements, standing side by side
This is the part worth slowing down for. The first table is what an estate agency reports as an area average. The second is what tenants signed and had registered. They are not two attempts at the same number and neither corrects the other. One is a market description with no sample size attached; the other is a median of contracts you can count. Where the two overlap, the gap runs in both directions.
Left column: agency area guide. Right column: tenancy register, with the number of registered new contracts in brackets. Two sources, two methods, never one column.
| Agency figure, Deira two bedroom | Register median, same area | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| AED 7,083 | Port Saeed AED 8,208 (32 contracts) | register AED 1,125 higher |
| AED 7,083 | Al Garhoud AED 6,562 (132 contracts) | register AED 521 lower |
| AED 7,083 | Al Nahda Second AED 5,416 (199 contracts) | register AED 1,667 lower |
| AED 7,083 | Muhaisanah Fourth AED 5,416 (138 contracts) | register AED 1,667 lower |
Against the two largest samples on the page, 199 and 138 contracts, the agency figure of AED 7,083 sits AED 1,667 a month high. Against Port Saeed, on 32 contracts, it sits AED 1,125 low. A tenant who quotes AED 7,083 in Muhaisanah Fourth is asking to pay above the middle of what was signed there; the same figure in Port Saeed is a bargain. That is the whole argument for reading the register district rather than the neighbourhood name.
What neither table can tell you
Bur Dubai and Al Rigga have no counterpart in our register extract. The tenancy register districts we hold cover the Deira side of the creek, not the Bur Dubai side, so for those two the only figure on this page is the agency average, with no contract count to hold it against. We would rather say so than fill the gap. One more thing the names hide: Old Town is not old Dubai. It is a Downtown address beside the Burj, and the same area guide puts it at AED 173,464 a year, AED 14,455 a month, which is AED 93,023 a year above Al Rigga, or AED 7,752 a month.
Where to read the register figures in full
If the second and third tables are what you came for, the Deira two bedroom page built entirely from the tenancy register goes through all 501 contracts by size, by quartile and with the agency commission, deposit and Ejari fee that land on top of the first month. This page is about the old city as a place to live and where its published averages come from; that one is about what a family sized flat actually cost. For the eastern side of the same price band, see rents in Al Qusais, Ras Al Khor and Nad Al Hamar.
Questions and answers
How much is rent in Bur Dubai per month?
AED 5,840 as an area average, which is AED 70,079 a year. That figure is from the Betterhomes area guides as of 1 September 2026 and no case count is published with it.
Why does the register give a different number for Deira?
Because it measures something else. The agency guide reports an area average of AED 7,083 for a two bedroom flat; the register reports medians of signed contracts, AED 5,416 in Al Nahda Second on 199 contracts up to AED 8,208 in Port Saeed on 32. Neither is wrong.
Which figure should I take into a negotiation?
The register median for the district the building is actually in. It rests on a countable number of contracts, and it is the only one of the two that shows quartiles, so you can see how wide the middle half runs.
Is Al Rigga more expensive than Bur Dubai?
Yes, by AED 863 a month on the area averages, AED 10,362 over a year.
Is old Dubai the same as Old Town?
No. Old Town is in Downtown and the same guide puts it at AED 173,464 a year, AED 93,023 above Al Rigga.
Area averages: Betterhomes area guides, bhomes.com/area-guides, as of 1 September 2026. Annual rents; the monthly figure on this page is that annual figure divided by twelve. The guide publishes no case count, so none is claimed here. Register figures: Dubai Land Department, Ejari tenancy contract register, as of September 2026. New tenancies only; renewals and bulk contracts over several flats are excluded. Every new batch of register figures goes into the channel first: t.me/dxbradar.