Service
UAE Rent Affordability & Housing Budget Calculator
This service helps estimate a reasonable monthly rent budget in UAE cities based on your salary, household size and existing monthly debts. It applies typical rent-to-income guidelines and a 50% Debt Burden Ratio (DBR) reference to suggest an affordable rent range and compare it against indicative city rental levels.
Service details
Rent affordability summary
Recommended affordable rent (30% guideline)
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Based on 30% of your monthly salary before adjustments for household size and debt.
Maximum affordable rent (DBR & dependents)
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Suggested range: -
Share of salary: -
Breakdown
- Enter your salary, household size, debts and city to view how the 30% rent guideline, household adjustments and a 50% DBR limit combine into a recommended monthly rent range.
City housing comparison
Once you select a city and a preferred accommodation type, this section will compare your suggested rent range with indicative rent bands for that city and highlight whether your budget is likely to cover that category.
Many landlords offer lower annual rent levels for single-cheque payments and higher levels for multiple cheques. This calculator focuses on annual rent affordability only and does not adjust the range by number of cheques.
Information note
This tool provides an indicative rent budget only. Actual offers vary by building, neighbourhood, landlord flexibility, incentives and negotiation. It does not replace professional financial advice or bank affordability checks.
About this calculator
In many UAE contexts, rent budgets between 25% and 35% of monthly income are commonly used as a reference range. This calculator takes a 30% guideline and then adjusts it for household size and a 50% Debt Burden Ratio (DBR), which is a typical reference used by lenders when assessing total monthly debt obligations.
Rents vary significantly between emirates and within each city depending on location, building age, facilities and demand. The city comparison ranges in this tool are indicative only and do not represent formal market data or offers. Users should confirm specific rent levels with agents, landlords and official listings, and treat the results here as a starting point for planning rather than a guarantee of affordability.