Abu Dhabi reintroduces 5% rent cap after three years

The emirate of Abu Dhabi reintroduced a 5 percent cap on annual rent increases on Tuesday in an effort to protect tenants from unjustified hikes, after abolishing the cap three years ago.

After 18 months of relatively stable conditions, real estate prices showed signs of declining in the three months to June 30 as low oil prices slowed Abu Dhabi’s economy, consultancy JLL said in July.

“Rents are going down, so to be fair to everyone, there is a cap of 5 percent now. This way tenants will be protected from some landlords” who try to raise rents arbitrarily against the trend, an Abu Dhabi Municipality official told Reuters, declining to be named.