Decision Lab · Rent vs Buy
Should I Continue Renting or Buy?
Compare the financial position of renting and owning over the period you expect to stay — while recognising that lifestyle, mobility, family plans and ownership preferences can change the final answer. Renting preserves capital and flexibility; ownership can build equity but carries acquisition, finance, holding and exit costs.
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Rent vs Buy Calculator
Compare the financial position of renting and owning over your expected holding period. Detailed acquisition costs are calculated for you and shown in the buying-cost breakdown.
How to use this calculator
- 01Enter rent & propertyYour rent, target price and mortgage basics.
- 02Set the assumptionsGrowth, appreciation, alternative return, horizon.
- 03Read the decisionWho is ahead, break-even and property equity.
- 04Open the detailWealth trajectory, year-by-year and costs.
Results
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The long-term housing decision
Rent pays for the right to live there. Ownership can build an asset.
Rent provides housing and flexibility — but the rent paid does not become an asset the tenant owns. Ownership also provides housing, while part of each mortgage payment can reduce principal and build equity. Ownership carries transaction costs, interest, service charges, maintenance and market risk, so buying is not automatically the better decision.
Rent
You pay for use
- Housing and flexibility during the tenancy
- No mortgage, interest or transaction cost
- Capital stays liquid — and can be invested elsewhere
- No exposure to property-market movement
Property equity at the end
AED 0
Invested capital may still exist separately — the calculator models this fairly.
Own
You pay for use + build equity
- Housing, plus principal that reduces the debt
- Potential appreciation may add asset value
- Estimated value less remaining mortgage and exit costs = equity
- Carries interest, buying costs, holding cost and market risk
Estimated property equity
Modelled above
Your figure appears in the calculator results, under your assumptions.
Own your home. Build your real-estate wealth.
If you expect to remain in the UAE long term, the question is not only what you pay each month — it is also what financial position you want to own at the end of those years.
Methodology, assumptions & sources
Show methodology, assumptions & official sources
Method & assumptions
The renter starts with the buyer’s year-0 cash (down payment + buying costs) invested at the alternative return, and invests any year’s saving when ownership outflow exceeds rent. The owner’s position is the property’s appreciated value less exit costs and outstanding mortgage, plus any surplus invested in years when ownership costs fall below rent. Break-even is the first year the owner position overtakes the renter position. Buying costs are calculated from the current planning assumptions and can be adjusted in Advanced settings.
- Mortgage on a reducing-balance basis; maximum tenor 25 years (CBUAE).
- Rent growth, appreciation, ownership-cost inflation and the alternative return are your assumptions, not forecasts.
- Buying costs are derived by the shared buying-cost engine (DLD official; bank/broker indicative & editable).
Official regulatory basis
Official government & regulatory sources
- Central Bank of the UAEMortgage lending framework — applicable LTV, debt-burden ratio and maximum-tenor regulatory limits where relevant to the model.View CBUAE source
- Dubai Land DepartmentOfficial Dubai property registration, mortgage registration, trustee / service-partner charges, title deed and unified map government fees.View DLD source
- Federal Tax Authority (UAE)Value Added Tax basis: the 5% standard rate applied to commercial property and to taxable fees (e.g. bank processing), and input-tax recovery — recoverable in full where it relates to a taxable supply. Residential leases and second-hand residential sales are treated per FTA rules.View FTA VAT source
Formulas & methodology
- Raj Khaleel Decision Lab methodologyStandard reducing-balance mortgage amortisation, renter opportunity-cost logic, equity modelling and the year-by-year comparison — implemented transparently in this tool.
- Commercial costs are your editable assumptionsBrokerage, bank arrangement, valuation, conveyancing and insurance are not government-set. Enter your actual quote or use the clearly-labelled editable planning assumption — these are not official government charges.
This calculator is for educational and scenario-planning purposes only. It does not predict future rent, property appreciation, investment returns, mortgage rates or resale liquidity and does not constitute a valuation, mortgage approval or instruction to rent or buy. Results depend on the assumptions entered and your personal housing plans.
Decision tools by Raj Khaleel — Best Real Estate Agent – Dubai, Arabian Property Awards Winner 2026–2027.