Dubai Land Department Launches Rent Now, Pay Later Instalments With Emirates NBD

The department has published the terms on its website, and Al Bayan, which first disclosed the plan in August, set them out on Thursday. The service is built into lease registration and renewal on the Dubai REST app. It is open only to holders of eligible Emirates NBD credit cards. Tenants who prefer can still pay the full amount in one go.

Dubai tenants have typically paid a year's rent upfront or in a small number of large cheques. The new service puts card-based instalment financing inside the government's own lease registration process. The bank takes on the tenant's repayments and the landlord is paid immediately, so the landlord carries no credit risk.

When the plan was first reported in August, it was described as a zero-interest instalment scheme. The terms now published list two charges, both paid by the tenant: an Emirates NBD processing fee of 1% of the transaction value and a fee of 1.5% for Noqodi, the payment platform. The Ejari registration fee of 177.50 dirhams is charged separately through Dubai REST. All fees are shown before the payment is confirmed.

The department's online calculator gives an example. On rent of 100,000 dirhams, the bank fee comes to 1,000 dirhams and the Noqodi fee to 1,500 dirhams. With the Ejari fee, the estimated total is 102,677 dirhams. The calculator puts the estimated monthly instalment on a 12-month plan at 8,510.63 dirhams. The department says these figures are for guidance only, and that the final instalment, fees and total are shown during payment and are subject to terms and final approval.

The process starts with the landlord. The owner creates a new residential lease or renews an existing one in Dubai REST, selects Rent Now, Pay Later and enters the amount agreed with the tenant. The owner then adds the IBAN and account holder's name, signs the contract and sends it to the tenant. The tenant reviews and approves it, pays with an eligible Emirates NBD card and chooses a six- or 12-month plan. Once payment goes through, the tenant gets a receipt and an Ejari registration certificate, and the landlord is paid the covered amount upfront.

The service can cover all of the annual rent or part of it. Security deposits are excluded. The bank manages the tenant's later payments separately from the landlord-tenant relationship.

Eligibility is limited. The tenant must be an individual, the property must be residential and in Dubai, and the payment must be tied to registering a new Ejari contract or renewing one. Companies and commercial properties are excluded. The department has put a four-question eligibility check on its website, but says passing it does not guarantee approval or a particular plan. Every application is subject to Emirates NBD's eligibility rules, credit assessment and final approval.

For now the service is offered only through Emirates NBD cards. The published terms do not say whether other banks will be added.