Making large upfront payments could become a thing of past
If you’ve ever had to hand over a stack of post-dated rent cheques when moving into a new home in Abu Dhabi, you’ll know it’s one of the biggest upfront expenses of renting in the UAE.
But that long-standing system could soon be on its way out.
A new digital initiative being trialled in Abu Dhabi could allow tenants to pay their rent in monthly instalments instead, making it easier to manage household budgets without changing how landlords receive their income.
The new Rent Now, Pay Monthly (RNPM) service is being piloted by Advanced Real Estate Services (ADRES) in partnership with UAE PropTech company Keyper, with several of Abu Dhabi’s largest landlords and property management companies already taking part.
If the pilot proves successful, the first group of tenants and landlords is expected to join the platform in the final quarter of 2026.
So how would it work?
The idea is easy. Instead of writing one, two or four post-dated cheques for the year, tenants would pay their rent every month through the platform using a debit or credit card.
Landlords, however, would continue receiving their rent according to the terms of the tenancy agreement, meaning they wouldn’t have to wait for monthly instalments to be paid.
ADRES says the platform is designed as a payment facilitation service rather than a lending product, so it does not fall under the UAE Central Bank’s Debt Burden Ratio framework.
There is a cost for the added flexibility, though. A facilitation fee is expected to range from 4.75 per cent to 12 per cent of the annual rent, depending on factors such as the tenant’s eligibility and the original payment terms.
For many renters, particularly those relocating to Abu Dhabi for work, the biggest challenge isn’t necessarily the monthly rent itself, it’s finding enough cash upfront to cover several months at once.
New arrivals are often still settling into their jobs, waiting for their first salaries or completing probation periods, making large one-off payments a significant financial hurdle.
You might also like: There’s a new luxury shopping mall coming to Saadiyat Cultural District in Abu Dhabi
A monthly payment option could spread that cost across the year, helping tenants better manage their finances while reducing the pressure of moving into a new home.
It’s also another step towards Abu Dhabi’s wider push to digitise government and real estate services, replacing traditional paper-based processes with more convenient online solutions.
While the concept has been welcomed by many in the property sector, the pilot phase is expected to iron out some important details before a wider rollout.
One of the biggest questions is what happens if a tenant stops making monthly payments after the landlord has already received the agreed rent. Exactly how disputes and missed payments would be handled has yet to be fully explained.
For now, the Rent Now, Pay Monthly platform remains in its testing phase, with pilots continuing over the summer before a broader rollout is expected later this year.
If successful, it could mark one of the biggest changes to renting in Abu Dhabi in years, potentially making the familiar ritual of signing a tenancy contract alongside a pile of post-dated cheques a thing of the past.
For further information, visit adres.ae
