UAE proptech platform Keyper has launched Rental Shield, a new offering designed to protect property owners against missed rent and give them greater confidence throughout the rental journey.
The launch expands Keyper’s property-owner proposition beyond rent collection and management, bringing together three critical parts of the rental experience: vetted tenants, upfront access to rental income, and protection against missed rent.
As Dubai moves towards greater flexibility in rental payments, with the Dubai Land Department’s Flexi Rent initiative enabling participating real estate companies to offer tenants monthly, quarterly and semi-annual payment options, attention is also turning to how property owners can maintain greater certainty around rental income. Rental Shield addresses this side of the rental equation by protecting property owners against missed rent if a tenant stops paying, regardless of whether rent is collected monthly, quarterly or annually.
The offering comes against the backdrop of a large and active rental market
In 2025, 1.38 million tenancy contracts were registered in Dubai, up 6% year-on-year, while the total value of registered contracts increased 17% to AED 126.4 billion.
“Property ownership should come with control and visibility, not uncertainty,” said Omar Abu Innab, Co-Founder and CEO of Keyper. “With Rental Shield, we are addressing one of the most fundamental concerns property owners have, what happens if a tenant stops paying? By combining tenant vetting, upfront rent and rental protection, Keyper is building a more complete proposition for owners who want the benefits of renting out their property without having to carry every operational and payment risk themselves.”
Vetted Tenants From The Outset
Tenant quality is central to Keyper’s approach. Before a tenant enters the property, Keyper applies its tenant screening and vetting process, drawing on the same screening approach used for its Rent Now, Pay Monthly offering.
This means property owners are not simply gaining access to rental protection after a tenant is placed. They can benefit from a process designed to identify and onboard vetted tenants from the outset.
Existing tenants may also qualify for Rental Shield where they meet Keyper’s eligibility criteria, including a minimum history of good payment behaviour.
From Upfront Rent To Rental Protection
Rental Shield builds on Keyper’s existing offering for property owners.
Through Upfront Rent, owners can access their full annual rental income within 48 hours, subject to approval. Through payment management, Keyper can take care of rent collection, global distribution, expense management and performance reporting.
With Rental Shield, Keyper adds another layer, protection against missed rent.
Together, the offering is designed to give property owners greater control across the full rental lifecycle from tenant screening and onboarding, to income access and ongoing protection.
“Renting out a property has traditionally meant that owners carry the responsibility for finding the right tenant, collecting rent and dealing with what happens when something goes wrong,” added Walid Shihabi,Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of Keyper. “We believe technology can take much more of that burden away. Rental Shield is another step towards making property ownership simpler, more predictable and more transparent for owners.”
The offering will initially be rolled out to property owners already within the Keyper ecosystem, including existing property owners using Keyper’s rental payment management services, before expanding more broadly.
Beyond Rental Protection: A Complete Platform For Property Owners And Tenants
Rental Shield forms part of Keyper’s broader proposition to simplify the rental experience for both property owners and tenants. Rather than offering a single solution, Keyper brings together services designed to address different challenges across the rental lifecycle.
For property owners, Keyper combines Payment Management, which fully digtises rent collection and distribution, with Upfront Rent, which allows eligible owners to access their annual rental income within 48 hours, and now Rental Shield, which provides protection against missed rent.
On the tenant side, Keyper’s Rent Now, Pay Monthly (RNPM) enables tenants to pay their annual rent in monthly installments rather than through a single annual cheque, creating greater flexibility in how they manage their rental payments.
The scale of the market underscores the relevance of this broader approach. Dubai recorded AED 252 billion in real estate transactions in Q1 2026 alone, a 31% year-on-year increase, with 57,744 investment transactions accounting for AED 173 billion.
By bringing these services together, Keyper gives property owners greater visibility and control across the rental journey from tenant screening and rent collection to accessing rental income and protection against missed payments. The aim is to give owners greater confidence in managing their properties, while reducing the operational and payment risks that can come with renting out a property.
Property owners interested in Rental Shield can speak directly with a Keyper relationship manager to understand eligibility and access the offering.
To learn more about Keyper or download the app, visit www
realkeyper.com. The Keyper app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
