The Land and Property Department announced that it is in the process of surveying and classifying real estate in the emirate—which totals more than 134,000 buildings—in order to reduce the significant gap between average rental values, and the inventory project is expected to be completed by 2017.

The Land Department noted that 7,348 buildings—representing 5.5% of the total real estate—have been classified, with the percentage expected to reach 60% in 2016, and 100% by the end of 2017.

Mohammed Yahya, Deputy Executive Director of the Rent Affairs Sector at the Land and Property Department, said that «There is a significant gap between the average rental values provided by the Department’s rental index due to a lack of data,» noting that work is underway to narrow this gap through a property census project that the Department has already begun implementing, which is expected to be completed by 2017, when more than 134,000 buildings in Dubai will be surveyed and classified.