Going paperless: Dubai real estate firm lets tenants rent a home, sign contract online

Dubai: Tenants deal with many types of documents before moving into a new home. There are forms, as well as the tenancy contract, to sign and identification papers to submit.

Soon, the cumbersome paperwork will be a thing of the past, as more companies heed the government's call to make a switch to electronic transactions, to reduce paper consumption and speed up processing time.

Dubai Asset Management, the owner and manager of a number of residential properties in the emirate, and a member of Dubai Holding, announced that it is rolling out phase one of its “fully digital and paperless property programme.”

Done in partnership with Smart Dubai, the smart solution allows tenants to do at least five essential steps online: find a new home to rent, register and sign the tenancy contract, arrange for Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) utility services, sign up for a telecom service (landline, cable TV and home internet) with du and make maintenance requests.

The service can be accessed via DubaiNow, a platform that allows residents to access more than 50 government services, enabling them to manage bills, track visa applications, renew trade licences, register a car and a lot more.

According to Dubai Asset Management, the rental services are linked to a digital tenancy contract, enabled by UAE Pass, making it possible for tenants to receive their Ejari tenancy paper within a few minutes after completing the application online.

“In line with the objectives of the Dubai Paperless Strategy, Dubai Asset Management supports the leadership’s vision for Dubai’s integrated digital transformation,” said Arif Mubarak, CEO of Dubai Asset Management.

“We seek to leverage technology to enhance customer happiness while improving operational efficiencies and reducing our environmental impact. In this context, we are proud to partner with Smart Dubai and roll out the first digitally integrated paperless customer experience in the real estate sector that allows tenants to complete rental transactions online.”

The government has an ongoing initiative to make Dubai a completely paperless society by December 12, 2021. As of January this year, six government entities were already 57 per cent paperless.

These agencies, the Dubai Police, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Department of Economic Development (DED), Dubai Land Department (DLD) and the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) have reduced the consumption of paper from 64 million sheets to 37 million.

"After 2021, no employee or customer of the Government of Dubai will need to print any paper document,” said Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, crown prince of Dubai and chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai at the launch of the Dubai Paperless Strategy.

Dubai Asset Management owns and manages at least 10 residential communities, currently home to more than 100,000 people.