Dubai Land Department (DLD) is developing a Rent Now, Pay Later scheme that would let eligible tenants repay their annual rent in monthly instalments through a participating bank, according to Gulf News, citing a report by Emarat Al Youm.

The scheme remains a proposal, and DLD has not yet named the participating bank or confirmed a launch date.

Under the proposed mechanism, a tenant selects a residential property, and the participating bank pays the landlord the full annual rent upfront.

The tenant then repays the bank in instalments spread over up to 12 months, at zero interest, rather than paying the landlord directly.

For tenants, this could mean smaller, more manageable monthly payments instead of a single large upfront sum, letting them align rent with their monthly income.

For landlords, the arrangement offers certainty: they receive the full year’s rent at the start of the tenancy regardless of the tenant’s repayment schedule.

The scheme is expected to launch in September 2026, though eligibility requirements, the application process and repayment terms have not been finalised.

It’s unclear whether tenants would face any administrative or processing charges beyond the zero-interest instalments.

If implemented as proposed, Dubai would become the first city globally to fully integrate this kind of bank-backed rent financing into its rental market.

The initiative follows DLD’s Flexi Rent programme, launched in June 2026, which expanded rental payment options to include monthly, quarterly and semi-annual instalments, alongside incentives from participating real estate companies.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News UAE based on an image by diana-grytsku via Magnific.