Warehouses and Industrial Space in the UAE

Rents by location

Source: Knight Frank: UAE Industrial and Logistics Market Review H1 2026¹

Rents in Dubai are usually quoted per square foot a year and in Abu Dhabi per square metre a year. One square metre is about 10.76 square feet.¹

Demand and supply

• Manufacturing and industry made up 35.1% of Dubai requirements in H1 2026, and logistics a further 15.5%.
• 27% of occupiers were looking for more than 100,000 sq ft, up from 7.8% in H2 2025.
• Knight Frank recorded more than 10 million sq ft of warehouse space on the market across the Northern Emirates.
• JLL reports industrial rents up 6.8% year on year in Dubai and 5.0% in Abu Dhabi in Q2 2026.

Source: Knight Frank: UAE Industrial and Logistics Market Review H1 2026; JLL: UAE Industrial Market Dynamics Q2 2026^1,3

Most Dubai tenants are staying where they are. Of about 5,800 warehouse leases in Q1 2026, nearly 84% were renewals, while new leases fell by half. Cavendish Maxwell recorded warehouse rents up more than 16%, led by Jebel Ali at almost 21%, Dubai Industrial City at 18% and Dubai Investments Park at nearly 17%, and found that units of 2,000 to 5,000 sq ft made up more than half of all leases.²

Leasing and buying

In Dubai, warehouse leases are registered in Ejari like other tenancy contracts: AED 177.75 online, or AED 220 at a Real Estate Services Trustee Centre, which handles contracts signed by companies.⁴

In Ras Al Khaimah, the RAK Municipality charges no sale fee on warehouses, against 2% from each side on other property.⁵

Warehouses inside free zones such as Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai South or KEZAD are leased from the zone or its developer under the zone's own rules. Ask each zone for its current lease terms, licence requirements and service charges.