REITs in Dubai: Emirates REIT, Dubai Residential REIT and What They Pay

Dubai has four listed REITs, and they pay about 7-10% a year at current prices. The biggest, Dubai Residential REIT, owns nearly 36,000 rented homes and yields about 7.1% on its June 2026 price. The two older ones, Emirates REIT and ENBD REIT, trade at deep discounts to their asset values: roughly 80% and 50%. A REIT is the cheapest way to own Dubai rent, but it is a share.

Key takeaways

• Dubai Residential REIT listed on the DFM in May 2025 at AED 1.10 a unit, raising AED 2.1 billion; its H1 2026 interim dividend of 4.4 fils implies about 8% on the IPO price and 7.1% on the 30 June 2026 price.
• Emirates REIT reported a record NAV of USD 2.97 a share in H1 2026 while its shares traded near USD 0.50, a discount of roughly 83%.
• ENBD REIT's NAV was USD 1.02 a share at March 2026; the shares traded at about USD 0.50 in August, with a yield of about 7.6-8%.
• UAE REITs must pay out at least 80% of annual net income and keep borrowing to 50% of gross assets.
• The UAE deducts no withholding tax on dividends, so the full payout reaches you before your home-country tax.

Rupee figures use AED 1 = about Rs 26.1; the dirham is pegged at about AED 3.67 to the US dollar.

The listed UAE REITs at a glance

Prices move daily, so check the exchange before you buy. Yields use the last declared payouts and are not guaranteed. Dubai Residential's June price is worked back from its stated 7.1% yield on an annualised 8.8 fils.

Dubai Residential REIT: the big one

Dubai Holding floated 15% of Dubai Residential REIT in May 2025. The offer of 1.95 billion units was fully covered within minutes and priced at the top of the range, AED 1.10, and demand led the manager to raise the offer from 12.5% to 15%. It opened with a market value of about AED 14.3 billion, the largest REIT in the GCC and the region's first listed pure residential leasing REIT.

The portfolio is housing for ordinary Dubai tenants: nearly 36,000 homes across 22 communities, home to more than 146,000 residents. In the first half of 2026:

• Revenue rose 8.1% to AED 1.04 billion.
• Average revenue per leased unit rose 7.7% to AED 56,638 a year.
• Occupancy was 98.6%, and gross asset value rose 6.9% from the end of 2025 to AED 25.2 billion.
• The interim dividend was AED 573.2 million, 4.4 fils a unit, which was 80% of profit before fair-value changes.

For a buyer who wants Dubai rental income without a tenant, a service charge or a DLD transfer fee, this is the most direct route. Its rents rise and fall with the market our rental yield guide describes, just spread over tens of thousands of units.

Emirates REIT and ENBD REIT: the discount problem

Emirates REIT's 2014 listing was the GCC's first. Its operations have improved: in H1 2026 property income rose 15% to USD 45 million, occupancy reached 96%, and dividends resumed and moved to quarterly, with USD 13 million paid in June 2026. Yet the shares trade at about a sixth of the stated NAV.

Reasons the market gives include debt, which was refinanced in December 2024 with a USD 205 million secured sukuk at 7.5% due in 2028, a history of dividend suspensions and disputes with sukuk holders, and fees. The external manager charges on gross asset value and earns performance fees on revaluation gains rather than cash. One independent analysis estimated its fees at about 31% of rental income; we could not verify that figure, so treat it as one view.

ENBD REIT, managed by Emirates NBD's asset management arm, is smaller. For the year to March 2026 its NAV rose 16.5% to USD 254.7 million, and it paid USD 0.0404 a share. At USD 0.50 a share, you buy a dollar of assets for about 49 cents.

A discount can close through buybacks, asset sales or a takeover, or it can persist for years. Buying at a discount is not the same as buying cheap.

Rules, fees and what can go wrong

UAE REITs, whether regulated by the DFSA in the financial centre or by the federal capital markets regulator onshore, must pay out at least 80% of audited annual net income and cap borrowing at 50% of gross assets. That keeps them income vehicles, but it does not protect the share price.

• Market risk: the price follows the stock market as well as rents. Dubai's residential values were 3.1% lower in August 2026 than a year earlier, and REIT prices can fall faster.
• Thin trading: except for Dubai Residential, volumes are small, and a large order can move the price.
• Concentration: Dubai Residential is almost entirely residential rent in one city. When new supply lowers rents, as in 2026, income growth slows.
• Fees and governance: read the manager's fee terms before you buy. Performance fees tied to valuations reward paper gains.
• Refinancing: debt that matures in a high-rate year can squeeze payouts.

Worked example: AED 100,000 in a REIT or a flat

AED 100,000 (about Rs 26.1 lakh) cannot buy a Dubai flat outright. In Dubai Residential REIT, at about AED 1.24 a unit, it buys about 80,645 units.

• Annual payout: 80,645 x 8.8 fils = about AED 7,097, or 7.1%.
• Costs: brokerage and exchange fees, typically a small fraction of a percent per trade. No transfer fee, no service charge, no agent, no vacancy.

Compare a direct studio at AED 500,000 let at 7% gross. After the 4% DLD fee, agency and a service charge, the net yield on cost comes out near 5.5-6%. Our Al Maktoum airport guide works that example through. The REIT pays more in cash, but you give up the leverage of a UAE mortgage, the chance of a Golden Visa, and control. For fractional ownership of a single unit instead, see our fractional investment guide.

For Indian buyers

A resident Indian can buy UAE-listed REITs as an overseas portfolio investment under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, within USD 250,000 a year. You need a Dubai investor number (NIN), which non-residents can get online, and an account with a DFM-licensed broker; some international brokers also offer the DFM. Tax collected at source of 20% applies to remittances above Rs 10 lakh a year and is adjustable against your tax.

Tax in India: dividends are taxed at your slab rate. The UAE deducts nothing, so no foreign tax credit arises. Gains on units held over 24 months are taxed at 12.5% with no exemption limit, and shorter holdings at slab rates. The holding goes in Schedule FA.

On the example above, the AED 7,097 payout is about Rs 1.85 lakh. At a 30% slab plus 4% cess (31.2%), tax is about Rs 57,800, leaving about Rs 1.27 lakh, or about 4.9% after tax. Indian REITs quote distribution yields of roughly 5.5-7.5% in 2026, part of which can be tax-free, with no currency risk; our Indian REIT guide and REIT vs InvIT comparison cover them. A Dubai REIT adds dirham exposure, which has tracked the dollar.

Frequently asked questions

How many REITs are listed in Dubai?

Four trade on Dubai's exchanges: Dubai Residential REIT and Al Mal Capital REIT on the DFM, and Emirates REIT and ENBD REIT on Nasdaq Dubai. Dubai Residential, listed in May 2025, is the largest in the GCC, with about 36,000 homes and AED 25.2 billion of gross assets.

What dividend yield do Dubai REITs pay?

At 2026 prices, about 7-10%. Dubai Residential REIT's 4.4 fils interim dividend implies about 7.1% on its 30 June price and 8% on its AED 1.10 IPO price. ENBD REIT yields about 7.6-8%, and Al Mal Capital REIT was quoted near 10% in late 2025. Yields change with prices and payouts.

Why do Emirates REIT and ENBD REIT trade below NAV?

Investors discount them for debt, past dividend suspensions, fee structures and thin trading. Emirates REIT's shares traded near USD 0.50 against a NAV of USD 2.97 in 2026, about 83% below, and ENBD REIT's near USD 0.50 against USD 1.02. A discount can close through buybacks or asset sales, or it can last for years.

Is a Dubai REIT better than buying a Dubai flat?

For income on a small budget, often yes: no transfer fee, service charge or vacancy, and a payout of about 7% from Dubai Residential. A flat gives you mortgage leverage, control and, above AED 2 million, a route to the Golden Visa. A REIT's price also moves with the stock market, which a flat's does not.

Do UAE REIT dividends have withholding tax?

No. The UAE's withholding tax rate is 0% for dividends paid to non-residents, so you receive the full payout. You are then taxed where you live, at whatever rate your home country applies to foreign dividends, and you may have to report the holding there as a foreign asset.

If you are deciding between a REIT, a fractional share and a whole unit in Dubai, the Realty Hunting team can set out the numbers for your budget.