Ras Al Khor warehouses and workshops: how the industrial rental market works

In the industrial part of the district, warehouses, workshops and production units are let. It is a separate market that private buyers know little about — and for several reasons it is more stable than residential.

How it differs from residential

• Leases are longer. A business relocates with difficulty: equipment, licences, the address on its documents — all of it ties a tenant to the premises more tightly than a resident.
• The tenant invests. Racking, fit-out, ventilation are the tenant’s own outlay, and they keep the tenant in place too.
• Rents are quoted per unit of area, not per apartment, and the market is more transparent: prices for similar units diverge less.
• Voids are longer. Finding a tenant for a particular type of unit takes longer than letting an apartment, and that is the main risk of the segment.

What sets the rent

• Ceiling height and doors. Vehicle access and the ability to lift loads are basic requirements; a unit without them lets worse.
• Electrical capacity. For production it is the key parameter, and it cannot simply be added at will.
• Access roads and turning space for trucks.
• Permitted use: warehouse, light industry, workshop — this determines the pool of tenants.

What to check

• Permitted use and electrical capacity, in writing.
• The form of ownership — industrial areas are not fully open to foreign owners.
• Rents and time on market for comparable units in the same area.
• Who maintains the shared areas, and how costs are split.
• Whether finance is available — banks treat non-residential property differently.

Based on the planning designation of the area and standard practice in the non-residential market.