Dubai's Rent Now, Pay Later Is Live: How Monthly Rent Works and What It Costs
The Dubai Land Department has launched Rent Now, Pay Later with Emirates NBD credit cards: annual rent in 6 or 12 instalments, landlord paid upfront, tenant pays about 2% in fees. How it works and who qualifies.
Dubai tenants can now pay a year's rent in monthly instalments through an official Dubai Land Department (DLD) service. DLD has formally launched "Rent Now, Pay Later", run exclusively with Emirates NBD credit cards: the tenant spreads the annual rent over 6 or 12 months, and the landlord receives the agreed amount upfront. It was first reported in August as a zero-interest idea. The official terms are now public, and they come with fees that the tenant pays.
Primary source: Emarat Al Youm, 5 November 2026, reporting the terms published on the Dubai Land Department website. Earlier background: Gulf News, 13 August 2026. Our earlier explainer on Flexi Rent and the first Rent Now, Pay Later reports covers what was known before the launch.
First, the words
- Ejari: Dubai's official register of tenancy contracts. A lease is only formally recognised once it is registered there.
- Dubai REST: the Dubai Land Department's app for property services, where landlords create, renew and sign Ejari contracts.
- Noqodi: the government e-payment gateway used to process the payment.
- IBAN: the international bank account number the landlord gives so the money lands in the right account.
- Security deposit: the refundable amount a tenant pays to cover damage or unpaid bills. It sits outside this service.
How it works
The service covers the amount the landlord and tenant agree on, whether that is the full annual rent or part of it. Emirates NBD pays that amount to the landlord at the start, then collects the tenant's monthly instalments on its own, separately from the landlord-tenant relationship. Tenants who prefer to pay everything at once can still do so.
Step 1: the landlord starts it
The process begins with the landlord, not the tenant. In the Dubai REST app, the landlord creates a new residential Ejari contract or renews an existing one, selects "Rent Now, Pay Later", sets the amount agreed with the tenant, enters the correct IBAN and account holder name, then signs the contract and sends it to the tenant for review.
Step 2: the tenant approves and pays
The tenant receives a notification, checks the contract details and approves them, then pays with an eligible Emirates NBD credit card and chooses a 6-month or 12-month plan. Once payment is confirmed, the tenant gets the transaction details and a downloadable receipt, the Ejari registration certificate is issued, and the landlord receives the covered amount upfront without waiting for the monthly payments.
What it costs
According to DLD's published terms, Emirates NBD charges a processing fee of 1% of the transaction value and Noqodi charges a fee of 1.5% of the transaction value. The tenant pays both. The Ejari registration fee of AED 177.50 is charged separately in the Dubai REST app. All fees are shown before the tenant confirms the payment.
DLD's online calculator gives this example for AED 100,000 of rent on a 12-month plan:
| Item | Amount (AED) |
|---|---|
| Rent covered | 100,000 |
| Bank processing fee | 1,000 |
| Noqodi fee | 950 |
| Ejari registration | 177.50 |
| Estimated total | 102,127.50 |
| Estimated monthly instalment (12 months) | 8,510.63 |
Two cautions. First, DLD says the calculator is indicative only, and the final instalment, fees and total are shown during the payment journey and remain subject to terms and final approval. Second, the Noqodi line in the calculator example (AED 950) is lower than 1.5% of AED 100,000 would suggest, so treat the amount shown at checkout as the figure that counts. In plain terms, on this example the tenant pays a little over 2% on top of the rent in exchange for spreading it across the year.
Who can use it
- The tenant must be an individual. Companies cannot use it.
- The property must be residential and located in Dubai. Commercial leases are excluded.
- The payment must be tied to registering a new Ejari contract or renewing an existing one.
- The tenant needs an eligible Emirates NBD credit card.
DLD offers a quick eligibility check with four questions covering these points. Passing it does not guarantee approval: every application goes through Emirates NBD's eligibility rules, credit assessment and final approval. The instalment plan does not include the security deposit, which still has to be paid separately.
What it means for you
If you are a tenant
The service removes the need for one large cheque or a stack of post-dated cheques, but it is a credit card plan with a cost. Compare the total shown at checkout with what the landlord would accept for one, two or four cheques; some landlords offer a lower rent for fewer payments. Keep cash aside for the security deposit, which is not covered. Our guide to how deposits are refunded and deducted explains what happens to that money at the end of the lease.
If you are a landlord or investor
You receive the agreed amount upfront and the bank, not you, collects the monthly payments. That can make a unit easier to let to tenants who cannot write one large cheque, without taking on the risk of chasing monthly rent. You must start the process yourself in Dubai REST and enter your IBAN correctly, so an owner living abroad should make sure whoever manages the lease has access and the right details.
If you are an agent
This becomes a question to settle at offer stage: does the tenant want to use it, does the tenant hold an eligible Emirates NBD card, and is the landlord willing to start the contract in Dubai REST with the service selected. Because the steps run through the Ejari contract itself, the timing of registration and signature now affects when the landlord is paid. Our piece on Ejari on the Dubai Now app covers the wider registration changes this month.
What we did not claim
We used only the terms DLD has published as reported by Emarat Al Youm. DLD's published terms do not mention an interest rate, so we have not stated one; the fees above are the ones listed. Credit card terms, such as what happens after a missed instalment, are set by Emirates NBD and were not part of the published summary, so check them with the bank before signing up. This is general orientation, not financial or legal advice.
