A nationwide strategy allowing landlords to request the credit scores of prospective tenants could boost stability in the UAE’s property market but must be used “fairly and responsibly”.
Etihad Credit Bureau’s Tenant Screening service, recently launched on the bureau’s mobile app last month, allows landlords to submit a credit score request.
The prospective tenant then receives a notification on the UAE Pass platform and must give explicit consent before any data is shared.
The service, developed in collaboration with the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority, Digital Dubai and UAE Pass, represents the first formal integration of credit data into the UAE’s residential leasing process and is part of a wider digital drive in the industry.
Consent-based platform
Crucially, participation is voluntary – a prospective tenant can decline the request – though the platform does not specify what recourse, if any, a landlord has if they do so.
“Any request to share credit information through the Tenant Screening service can take place only with the tenant’s explicit consent through UAE Pass,” Hammad Khan, director of customer experience at Etihad Credit Bureau, told The National. “Upon receiving the notification through UAE Pass, tenants can choose to either accept or decline the request to share their information.”
That consent mechanism has shaped much of the initial response from property professionals, who have broadly welcomed the initiative, while noting that how the data is used will matter as much as the data itself.
Matthew Bate, chief executive of BlackBrick Property, said the consent-based system is key to making this solution work equitably. “This creates a balanced framework around privacy and due diligence rather than a one-sided process. We don’t see this as creating barriers for tenants, but rather helping establish clearer expectations and more informed decision-making for all parties involved,” he told The National.
However, professional landlords and brokers also carry a responsibility to use these tools “fairly, responsibly and with context rather than relying purely on a score alone”, Mr Bate added.
Financial scrutiny
Ahmad Sultan Al Shammari, head of group sales at Palladium Prime Real Estate Development, said appetite for more reliable screening tools has grown as landlords in premium communities have become more selective. “Landlords today are becoming more focused on stability, reliability and long-term tenant quality, especially within premium residential communities,” he told The National.
“A consent-based system that allows landlords to better assess a tenant’s financial profile can help reduce risk and support more informed leasing decisions.”
Established practice
Zacky Sajjad, director of business development and client relations at property consultancy Cavendish Maxwell, said tenant screening and credit referencing are already well-established across many mature residential markets, including the UK, US, Australia and Canada. “In many of these jurisdictions, landlords routinely assess a tenant’s credit history, employment status, affordability and previous rental conduct before approving leases.”
The introduction of a more formalised screening mechanism in the UAE reflects the continued evolution and institutionalisation of the country’s real estate sector, he added, “bringing it further in line with international best practice and supporting greater transparency for both landlords and tenants”.
Tips for tenants
Mr Sajjad’s advice to tenants is to get ahead of the change rather than wait and see. “For tenants, the key advice is to approach this initiative proactively and responsibly. Maintaining a strong payment history, managing financial commitments carefully and ensuring rental obligations are met on time will become increasingly important.”
Tenants should also ensure the information held on their credit profile is accurate and regularly reviewed, he added. “Ultimately, this initiative could benefit responsible tenants by helping demonstrate financial reliability, potentially improving access to higher quality properties and strengthening trust between all parties within the leasing market, with the added benefit of moving to monthly rental payments as is normal practice in markets such as the UK, USA and other mature markets.”
Call for landlord checks
Among tenants, reactions range from cautious acceptance to questions about whether the system goes far enough in protecting renters’ interests.
Paul Clifford, a long-term renter in Dubai’s Business Bay, said he understands the logic from a landlord’s perspective but is not convinced the UAE market requires it. “If you’re a landlord I can see why you’d want that ability, but I would have thought in all places that it’s not that necessary in the UAE,” he said. “If you have a salary, Emirates ID and visa, you should be OK. Yes, some people have a lot of credit debt here but that’s a bigger issue that needs addressing, in my eyes.”
Mr Clifford, who said he’d be happy to share his credit score with his landlord, would also like to see a system in which tenants can check a landlord’s track record, to check “if they’ve been taken to RERA, how often they have raised rent, how much the increases have been, and so on”.
Alaa Maasarani, a renter based in Majan, near Al Barari in Dubai, sees the tool as part of a wider digital shift in the UAE’s housing ecosystem but wants assurances around how scores are applied in practice. “Credit data can be a strong indicator of financial behaviour, but rental relationships also rely on factors that go beyond numbers alone,” he said.
“Overall, this feels like a step towards a more structured rental framework, and its long-term value will depend on how balanced and responsibly it is implemented in practice.”