Rental Yield Calculator
What return would a property give you from rent, after its running costs? Enter what the property cost you, the rent you expect and your own cost figures, and the calculator works out the gross yield, the net yield and the effect of empty weeks, using only the numbers you provide.
Your estimate
- Net yield
- 4.36%
- Gross yield
- 6%
- Net yearly income
- AED 87,231
Net yield if rent or empty weeks change
| Rent | 0 weeks empty | 4 weeks empty | 8 weeks empty |
|---|---|---|---|
| -10% | 4.23% | 3.84% | 3.44% |
| As entered | 4.8% | 4.36% | 3.92% |
| +10% | 5.37% | 4.89% | 4.41% |
An estimate, not a quote
Results are estimates based on the figures you enter and the official rules listed on this page. Actual amounts are set by the Dubai Land Department, lenders and developers. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
What you need
- The total purchase cost: the price plus fees. You can work this out with the purchase cost calculator.
- The yearly rent you expect.
- The yearly service charge for the unit. You can work it out as the unit size multiplied by the building’s service charge rate.
- Optional: other yearly costs, such as maintenance and insurance.
- Optional: a management fee, as a share of the rent you collect.
- Optional: the number of weeks per year you expect the property to be empty.
- Optional: the mortgage amount and the yearly interest on it, to see the return on the cash you put in.
None of these fields has a default value. The calculator does not compare your result with any market average.
Step 1: Find your inputs in official sources
For the rent, use the DLD Rental Index (website, Ejari system, Dubai REST) or registered contracts on DLD’s Real Estate Data page. For the service charge rate, use the DLD / RERA Service Charge Index, which shows the rates approved for each project. If you plan to let short term, holiday home rules apply. A DET (formerly DTCM) licence and a holiday home permit are required.
Step 2: Gross yield
Gross yield = yearly rent ÷ total purchase cost × 100.
Step 3: Running costs
- Service charges are the yearly amount you enter. To work it out, multiply the unit size by the service charge rate.
- Rent lost to empty weeks = yearly rent × empty weeks ÷ 52.
- Other costs are taken off as you enter them.
- A management fee entered as a share of rent is applied to the rent you collect, after empty weeks.
Step 4: Net yield
Net yearly income = yearly rent − rent lost to empty weeks − management fee − service charges − other costs.
Net yield = net yearly income ÷ total purchase cost × 100.
Step 5: Return on your cash with a mortgage
If you enter a mortgage amount, the calculator takes the yearly mortgage interest you enter off the net yearly income and divides the result by the cash you put in: the total purchase cost minus the mortgage, which is the down payment plus fees. This shows the return on your own money, before loan repayments of principal.
Step 6: Test your assumptions
A sensitivity table recalculates the net yield with your rent as entered, a tenth lower and a tenth higher, each with 0, 4 and 8 empty weeks, so you can see how much the result depends on each assumption. Every row uses your own figures.
What the result does not tell you
Yield is not a forecast. Rents and costs change, and the calculator does not include changes in the property’s value, tax in your home country or one-off repairs. For the method in more depth, read how to calculate rental yield and service charges in Dubai explained.
How to Calculate Rental Yield
Rental yield is a year's rent divided by what the property cost you. Gross yield uses rent alone; net yield first subtracts running costs such as service charges, maintenance, management, vacancy and insurance. For a Dubai property, take rent evidence from the DLD Rental Index and registered rents, and cost evidence from the Service Charge Index, not from adverts.
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Frequently asked questions
Where do I find a realistic rent to enter?
Use official data rather than advertised rents. The DLD Rental Index (website, Ejari system, Dubai REST) shows average rents by area, and DLD's Real Estate Data page shows registered rental contracts. The calculator never fills in a rent for you.
What is the difference between gross and net yield?
Gross yield compares the yearly rent with what the property cost you. Net yield first takes off service charges, other running costs and rent lost to empty periods, so it is closer to what you keep.
Can I let the property as a holiday home instead?
Possibly, but short-term letting in Dubai has its own rules. A DET (formerly DTCM) licence and a holiday home permit are required. Costs and occupancy also work differently, so treat any short-term result with extra care.
Sources
Official sources used on this page. Each was checked on the date shown.
Show 5 SourcesHide Sources
- Rental Index, Dubai Land Department, checked 16 October 2026
- Service Charge Index, Dubai Land Department, checked 16 October 2026
- Real Estate Data (transactions, rents, projects), Dubai Land Department, checked 16 October 2026
- Decree No. (41) of 2013 Regulating the Activity of Leasing out Holiday Homes in the Emirate of Dubai, Dubai Legal Portal, checked 16 October 2026
- Issue a new Holiday Homes permit, Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, checked 16 October 2026
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