Expat Community > The UAE

Valchr2020
Joined 2020
Posts: 2

Practical advice on renting a flat

4 years ago

Hiya,

I am looking for advice on renting / leasing a 2 bedroom apartment as I haven’t been able to find anything of certain by browsing online.

I am moving to Abu Dhabi with a female friend so we are planning to share a flat.

Do landlords or agencies accept two friends sharing an apartment and going on a lease as friends? Similar way like we can in Uk for example?

Are there any hidden costs associated with leasing a flat?

What about the utilities? What are the mandatory utilities that everyone needs to pay and if someone can advise on average costs of these for a 2 bed flat?

Lastly, as I can see that still most of the landlords only accept a whole year upfront. What if for any reason we need to leave the country before our our lease expires? I’ve read somewhere that one would have to pay 2 months rent as penalty for that. Is that correct? And what about the rest of the rent? Say we only have lived there 6 months. Would we be refunded the 4 months if we paid a whole year upfront?

All advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Val

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