A building earns what its tenants will pay, not what its brochure says. This is Part 8 of my guide to The WOW Tower: who rents in this part of Dubai, what DLRC tenants actually pay by unit type and by building, how much new supply is coming, and whether market rents can carry the offices once their 10-year guarantee ends.
The short version
- Three tenant pools surround the tower: the universities of Academic City, the companies of Dubai Silicon Oasis, and the 300 offices in the tower itself.
- DLRC's median new leases in the last 90 days: Dh37,000 a year for a studio, Dh53,000 for a one-bedroom, Dh70,000 for a two-bedroom.
- The best DLRC buildings let for up to a third more. A WOW Tower studio needs about Dh43,000 to net 5% at its starting price, which is inside that range.
- 11,476 off-plan units are registered in DLRC, most of them studios and one-bedrooms, competing for the same tenants.
- Office rents in Silicon Oasis are a median Dh90 a sq ft a year. The WOW Tower guarantee pays about Dh149 after the service charge, the same as about Dh159 before it. Matching it in 2039 needs growth of about 4.5% a year.
Who rents in DLRC: the tenant pools
DLRC sits between two employers of the kind that fill flats.
- Academic City. Dubai International Academic City describes itself as the region's largest academic hub, serving "over 27,000 students and academics". Across Dubai, private universities enrolled a record 42,026 students in 2024-25, 20% more than a year before, according to the Knowledge and Human Development Authority.
- Dubai Silicon Oasis. The free zone counts "over 28,000 companies" and "90,000 people living, working, and innovating" in the district. In January 2026 Dubai launched a Dh12.8 billion expansion there, including District IO, which is planned to bring more than 70,000 jobs over ten years.
- The tower itself. 300 offices on floors 1 to 15 will bring their own staff, some of whom will want a home a lift ride from their desk.
Industrial employers are a fourth pool, above all in Ras Al Khor Industrial Area, which the Blue Line will also serve.
My own reading of who takes which unit, from the leases I have handled in the area:
- Studios: students and the junior staff of nearby companies, including the tower's own offices.
- One-bedrooms: staff of the companies in the building and in Silicon Oasis, often couples.
- Two-bedrooms: business owners who want to live and work in one building, academics, and Silicon Oasis professionals with families. They stay longest.
DLRC rents by unit type in the last 90 days
The rents below come from 1,243 tenancy contracts registered in DLRC with start dates between 9 July and 7 October 2026, read from DLD's Ejari data through DXB Interact. I use 12-month apartment contracts only.
| Type | New leases | Median rent a year | Middle half | Median size | Per sq ft | Renewals, median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 227 | Dh37,000 | Dh35,000 to Dh40,000 | 441 sq ft | Dh84 | Dh37,000 |
| 1 bedroom | 201 | Dh53,000 | Dh49,000 to Dh58,000 | 839 sq ft | Dh64 | Dh50,000 |
| 2 bedroom | 95 | Dh70,000 | Dh65,000 to Dh75,000 | 1,254 sq ft | Dh58 | Dh64,000 |
| 3 bedroom | 8 | Dh100,000 | Dh85,000 to Dh100,000 | 1,659 sq ft | Dh60 | Dh108,000 |
New leases on one- and two-bedrooms run 6% and 9% above renewals, which is what you would expect when rents are rising and sitting tenants are protected by the rent cap. Studios show no gap.
Which DLRC buildings rent best
The median hides a wide spread between buildings. These are the buildings with at least a dozen leases in the 90 days, at both ends.
| Building | Studio | 1 bedroom | 2 bedroom |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4direction Residence 1 | Dh49,000 | Dh50,000 | Dh80,000 |
| Etlala 1 | Dh41,500 | Dh57,875 | Dh77,500 |
| Blue Wave | Dh41,000 | Dh58,500 | Dh80,000 |
| The V Tower | Dh40,000 | Dh60,000 | Dh80,000 |
| Etlala 2 | Dh36,500 | Dh56,000 | Dh84,500 |
| Skycourts Towers (A to F) | Dh35,000 to Dh37,500 | Dh46,500 to Dh49,000 | Dh67,000 to Dh71,500 |
| Indigo Tower | Dh32,500 | Dh38,808 | not enough leases |
The pattern is the one you see across Dubai: the better-kept, better-equipped buildings let for roughly 10% to 30% more than the district median, and tenants pay it. The WOW Tower will be the newest and most amenity-heavy building in the district when it opens, which puts it in the top group on paper. Paper is not a lease, though, and new buildings also face a wave of competing first-time landlords in their first year.
The rent The WOW Tower's homes need
| Type, at its starting price | Rent for 5% net | DLRC median now | Best DLRC buildings now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio, Dh741,000 | Dh43,000 | Dh37,000 | Dh41,000 to Dh49,000 |
| 1 bedroom, Dh1.1M | Dh64,400 | Dh53,000 | Dh57,875 to Dh60,000 |
| 2 bedroom, Dh1.8M | Dh104,700 | Dh70,000 | Dh77,500 to Dh84,500 |
"5% net" means after the service charge, at the estimated rates. Prices are the October 2026 starting prices.
On today's rents a studio can reach a 5% net yield if it lets like DLRC's best buildings. A one-bedroom needs a little more than the best buildings achieve today. A two-bedroom needs a rent well above anything DLRC has seen this quarter, which is why I treat it as a home to live in or a long-term hold, not a yield play. Part 3 has the same comparison per dirham invested.
New supply coming to DLRC
DLD's project register, as shown on DXB Interact on 7 October 2026, lists 46 off-plan projects in DLRC with 11,476 units, 68% of them already sold.
| Registered completion | Projects | Units |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 12 | 2,290 |
| 2027 | 15 | 3,539 |
| 2028 | 14 | 3,842 |
| 2029 | 3 | 1,425 |
| Not yet dated | 2 | 380 |
The mix is the tower's own mix: 4,430 studios and 5,092 one-bedrooms in the pipeline. The WOW Tower's 1,078 homes come on top in 2029, the year with the fewest other completions registered so far. Many of these units will be offered for rent in their first year by new owners at the same time, and landlords who are competing on price in that year should expect to give a little.
Life after year 10 for the offices
The guarantee fixes an office's income for ten years at about Dh149 a sq ft after the service charge, the same as a market rent of roughly Dh159 a sq ft before it. Office leases in Dubai Silicon Oasis in the last 90 days had a median of Dh90 a sq ft a year, with the middle half between Dh71 and Dh114, across 335 contracts. Most of those offices are in towers completed between 2010 and 2018.
What would the market rent be when the guarantee ends, in about 2039?
| Growth in office rents a year | Rent per sq ft in 2039 | Against the guaranteed level |
|---|---|---|
| None | Dh90 | 57% |
| 2% | Dh116 | 73% |
| 4% | Dh150 | 94% |
| 5% | Dh170 | 107% |
The starting point is old stock, and a new tower with its own lobby, lifts and terrace should let above it. Even so, the honest reading is that the guaranteed rent is ahead of today's market, and an owner should plan for a lower rent in year 11 unless office rents grow by about 4.5% a year in the meantime. At renewal, the tenant has the option to stay, with the rent agreed between you. Dubai's rent cap, Decree No. 43 of 2013, limits increases for a sitting tenant by how far the rent is below the RERA index, from no increase up to 20%, so the year-11 rent will be a negotiation based on the market, not a formula.
The 10 years of fixed rent are worth Dh1,890,000 on a Dh2.7M office, as Part 7 shows. The value of the office after them depends on the office market described in Part 9.
Can market rent hold the yield on the homes?
There is no guarantee on the apartments, so the question is simpler: can a WOW Tower home let at the top of DLRC's range and keep its tenant? Three things work for it: newness, the amenities, and the tenant pools on its doorstep, which the Blue Line will connect from 9 September 2029. Two work against it: the supply wave, and a price per square foot about a quarter above the district median, which needs a top-of-range rent just to reach an ordinary yield. How the rent cap works once a tenant is in place is explained in my guide to the RERA rental index. The full series is in the WOW Tower investor guide.
Sources and dates
- DLRC rents by type and by building, new and renewed: 1,243 Ejari contracts starting 9 Jul to 7 Oct 2026, DLD data via DXB Interact, retrieved and analysed 7 Oct 2026.
- Silicon Oasis office rents (335 contracts, median Dh90 a sq ft): same source and period. Completion dates of Silicon Oasis office towers: DLD building records on DXB Interact, 7 Oct 2026.
- Academic City: diacedu.ae, read 7 Oct 2026. Dubai private university enrolment: Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), 2024-25 data, read 7 Oct 2026.
- Dubai Silicon Oasis companies and population: dso.ae key facts, read 7 Oct 2026. District IO and Block 14: Dubai Media Office, 22 Jan 2026.
- DLRC pipeline: DXB Interact Offplan Hub (DLD project data), 7 Oct 2026.
- Rent increase rules: Decree No. 43 of 2013, Dubai Legislation Portal, read 7 Oct 2026.
- Blue Line opening on 9 September 2029: Dubai Media Office, 3 May 2026 and 17 Dec 2025, read 8 Oct 2026. Ras Al Khor on the Blue Line route: RTA project page, read 7 Oct 2026.
- Rents needed for 5% net and growth scenarios: my calculations from the figures above.
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Frequently asked questions
New 12-month leases on DLRC studios had a median of Dh37,000 a year in the 90 days to 7 October 2026, with the middle half between Dh35,000 and Dh40,000. The best buildings let studios for Dh41,000 to Dh49,000.
The median new one-bedroom lease was Dh53,000 a year, the middle half Dh49,000 to Dh58,000, and the best buildings achieved Dh58,000 to Dh60,000 in the same 90 days.
Mostly students and staff from Dubai International Academic City, employees of the 28,000 companies in Dubai Silicon Oasis, and families who want space at a lower rent than the city centre. The WOW Tower adds its own office workers.
Yes. Academic City describes itself as serving more than 27,000 students and academics, and Dubai's private universities enrolled a record 42,026 students in 2024-25, 20% more than the year before.
The tenant has the option to renew, with the rent agreed at that time. Office rents in Silicon Oasis are a median Dh90 a sq ft today against about Dh149 under the guarantee, so unless rents grow about 4.5% a year, the year-11 rent is likely to be lower.
46 off-plan projects with 11,476 units are registered, due between 2026 and 2029, most of them studios and one-bedrooms. The WOW Tower's 1,078 homes come on top, in 2029.
On ready apartments, about 7.7% to 8.7% gross at today's median prices and rents. On a new WOW Tower apartment at its starting price, about 4% to 5% gross at the same rents.
At renewal, by no more than Decree No. 43 of 2013 allows: nothing if the rent is within 10% of the RERA index average for similar units, and up to 20% if it is more than 40% below it.