Dubai Holiday Homes: The Short-Term Rental Licence

A holiday home is a furnished residential property let to visitors for short stays rather than on a yearly tenancy — the Dubai equivalent of a short-term or vacation rental. It is regulated by the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET, formerly DTCM), which licenses the properties and the companies that manage them.

It is a different thing from a long-term let: a yearly tenancy is registered on Ejari and governed by Dubai's rental law, while a holiday home is a tourism activity that needs a DET permit before you can advertise or take a booking.

You can operate a holiday home as the owner, or as a tenant with the owner's permission. Either way the unit and the paperwork have to qualify:

• Owners. The property must have a residential title deed. Hotel apartments and units in some developments cannot be licensed as holiday homes.
• Tenants. You need the owner's written no-objection certificate (NOC) that specifically allows short-term letting — a standard tenancy contract does not give you that right.
• Through an operator. You can list directly as a homeowner, or hand the unit to a DET-licensed holiday home operator, which holds its own licence and manages permits, guests and compliance for a fee.

Every unit needs its own DET holiday home permit before it is advertised or let. You register the property on DET's Holiday Homes system, and the permit is issued once the documents check out and is renewed periodically.

On the fees, we are giving the figures that are widely reported rather than asserting them, because we could not confirm the current schedule on an official DET page. As reported, there is a one-time DET registration fee (around AED 1,500) and a per-unit permit fee (around AED 370 for a studio or one-bedroom, rising with the number of bedrooms), with small charges for amendments or cancellation. Check the current amounts on DET's Holiday Homes portal before you budget.

Holiday homes charge guests a Tourism Dirham fee per room, per night, which you collect and pass to DET — reported at AED 10 a night for a Standard home and AED 15 for a Deluxe one. How often it is remitted (monthly or quarterly) is one of the details we could not confirm, so check it on the DET portal.

VAT at 5% can also apply to short-term accommodation. If your taxable turnover crosses the VAT registration threshold you may need to register with the Federal Tax Authority; take advice if you are unsure.

A permit comes with conditions, which DET can inspect against:

• Meet DET's classification and quality standards for the home, and keep it furnished and equipped to them.
• Register your guests' details as required, and keep the permit and trade-licence details current.
• Carry the insurance and meet the building's own rules — some owners' associations restrict short-term letting.

You apply through DET's Holiday Homes system (online, and via DET's channels). The documents usually asked for are your Emirates ID, the title deed, a recent DEWA bill, the owner's NOC if you are a tenant, and photographs of the unit. Once the permit is issued you can list on the booking platforms.

DET publishes the current requirements, fees and steps on its portal; treat its pages as the authority over any third-party summary, including this one.