Dubai holiday home rules in 2026: the permits, fees and obligations every owner should know

The legal frame in one page

Four texts do most of the work. You do not need to read them all, but it helps to know which one answers which question.

• Executive Council Decree No. 41 of 2013 is the base law. Article 3 says nobody may carry on holiday home rental activity without a DET licence, and article 8 sets out what licensees must do, including leasing on a daily, weekly, monthly or annual basis.
• Administrative Resolution No. 1 of 2020 holds the operating rules: how homes are classified, what must appear in adverts, what guest data must be kept.
• Executive Council Resolution No. 49 of 2014 is the fee and fine schedule.
• Administrative Resolution No. 2 of 2020 covers the Tourism Dirham, the per-night guest charge. We have a separate article on how the Tourism Dirham works for owners.

DET was formerly the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM). Older texts and some guides still use that name; it is the same regulator.

Who can rent out a holiday home: two routes

The licence requirement can be met in two ways, and the choice shapes everything after it.

Route 1: register your own home

DET says that individuals or professional operators who want to operate holiday homes must register the apartment or villa on its Holiday Homes system. For owners, two conditions stand out. The name on the account must match the name on the unit's title deed, and a homeowner can register up to eight units. Airbnb's own help page for Dubai says the same: individual owners may register and manage up to eight units, and professional operators, meaning corporate entities, also need a DET licence.

The documents DET lists for a new permit include the title deed or an approved Dubai Land Department sales agreement, a no-objection certificate from the developer where applicable, a passport copy or Emirates ID, a trade licence if the landlord is a company, and a current DEWA bill. Where the title deed covers a whole building, DET asks for a building completion certificate and a landlord NOC instead. DET says permit applications are reviewed within one business day. Check the DET portal for the current list, because its pages describe the DEWA detail slightly differently.

Route 2: appoint a licensed operator

The alternative is to appoint a DET-licensed operator. The operator needs an approved office and a trade licence whose activity is vacation home rental, and holds the permit for your unit under a property management letter from you. DET states that for operators the permit issue and expiry dates must match the dates of that letter, so the letter and the permit run together.

Which route is better depends on how much of the work you want to do yourself: guest communication, cleaning, pricing, monthly filings. We compare the costs in is a holiday home in Dubai worth it, and the full journey is in our guide for holiday home owners.

The unit permit, step by step

Whichever route you use, each unit needs its own permit. DET says all apartments and villas must be registered and approved before listing, so the permit comes before the advert, not after. The steps on DET's permit page run in this order: log in to the portal, add the unit, submit the documents, review and submit, self-classify once approved, and pay.

DET also publishes a separate fixed registration charge on its operator registration page. It does not say who it applies to, so do not treat it as a cost every owner pays. Ask DET or your operator which charges apply to you.

The 2026 fee waiver

On 21 May 2026 the Dubai Media Office announced a second economic incentives package. It includes an exemption from permit and licence fees for holiday homes registered with DET, and an exemption from collecting the Tourism Dirham. The package covers 33 initiatives over three to 12 months, with each government entity announcing its own timeframes. We could not confirm how long the holiday home exemption lasts, or whether it is applied automatically. In short: fees were waived under a 2026 support package; check the current position with DET before budgeting either way.

What goes in the advert

Administrative Resolution No. 1 of 2020, article 14, requires the licensee to include its approved trade name and the permit number in all print and digital advertisements. The article is addressed to licensees, so how it applies to a private owner who is the licensee, and how it applies to an operator listing on the owner's behalf, is a point to confirm with DET. In practice the safe approach is the same: get the unit permit first, then put the number in the listing.

Airbnb's help page asks hosts to add the unit's holiday home permit number to the listing once the home is registered. Our step-by-step guide is how to list your property on Airbnb in Dubai. DET also requires a QR code displayed at the main entrance of holiday home properties, announced by the Dubai Media Office on 29 May 2023.

Insurance, guest records and classification

• Insurance. A valid liability insurance policy is required for the licence period. Operating without insurance carries a fine of AED 2,000.
• Guest data. Licensees must regularly provide guest information to DET as it prescribes, and must keep guest records for at least three years. The resolution still names DTCM; the regulator is now DET. We have not verified the technical mechanics of the submission, so ask DET or your operator how it is done.
• Classification. Every holiday home is standard or deluxe. The criteria are in DET's Holiday Homes Guide, and the unit is self-classified after the permit is approved. Fines for failing the primary or secondary criteria are AED 500 and AED 200 under the 2014 schedule.
• Tourism Dirham. Guests pay AED 10 per room per night in a standard unit and AED 15 in a deluxe one, for up to 30 consecutive nights, collected by the licensee. See the Tourism Dirham article.

Fines at a glance

These come from the 2014 schedule. They are the amounts we could verify; DET may apply other penalties and update the schedule, so treat the table as a floor for your questions, not a full list.

Building rules come before DET

A DET permit is not the only permission that matters. Many buildings and owners' associations restrict holiday lets or require a no-objection certificate, and DET itself asks for a developer NOC where one applies. If the flat is mortgaged, the lender may also have terms about short lets. Ask the building management and, if relevant, the bank before you furnish. Our page on holiday home buildings in Dubai collects what we look at when assessing a tower.

Monthly stays: holiday home or tenancy?

Owners often ask whether a stay of a month or more must be a normal tenancy. Here is what we found in primary sources. Decree No. 41 of 2013, article 8(10), requires licensees to lease holiday homes to guests on a daily, weekly, monthly or annual basis, and Administrative Resolution No. 1 of 2020 sets no minimum or maximum lease period. The Dubai Land Department says in its FAQ that a customer renting from holiday home companies cannot apply for an Ejari account, because those companies are registered in the hotels and holiday homes system. A normal long-term tenancy, by contrast, is registered on Ejari.

We found no rule saying that a furnished stay of a month or more must move to an Ejari tenancy. So we do not state one either way. If you plan to rent monthly, ask DET which route fits that kind of stay.

What changed in 2025 and 2026

The change that matters most for owners is the fee relief in the May 2026 package. In September 2025 Executive Council Resolution No. 68 of 2025 approved a financial support initiative for hotel establishments; we could not confirm whether holiday homes are covered, so do not assume it. We found no new holiday home regulation enacted in 2025 or 2026 beyond these in DET's legislation news or the Dubai Media Office releases. The latest rule change we could find remains the 2023 QR code requirement. Because DET pages change without notice, the check date at the foot of this article matters.

A pre-launch checklist

1. Building: written confirmation that holiday lets are allowed, and any NOC obtained.
2. Lender: if mortgaged, the bank's position on short lets.
3. Route: your own registration or a licensed operator, with the property management letter if the latter.
4. Permit: approved before any advert goes live.
5. Class: standard or deluxe, with the criteria read from DET's guide.
6. Insurance: a liability policy valid for the licence period.
7. Advert: permit number shown, trade name where the licensee requires it.
8. Entrance: QR code displayed.
9. Records: guest data submitted and kept for three years.
10. Money: who collects and files the Tourism Dirham, and how it shows on your statement.

We are launching in Dubai with a DET-licensed operating partner; our own operator licence is in progress, and we do not currently operate holiday homes in Dubai ourselves. Any fee we charge is agreed upfront, in writing, before anything is signed. This article is information, not legal advice; confirm details with DET or a lawyer in Dubai.

Sources

• Department of Economy and Tourism, Dubai: dubaidet.gov.ae, including Apply for a holiday home permit, New holiday homes permit issuance and Register to operate holiday homes.
• Executive Council Decree No. 41 of 2013; Administrative Resolution No. 1 of 2020; Administrative Resolution No. 2 of 2020; Executive Council Resolution No. 49 of 2014, on the Dubai Legislation Portal.
• Dubai Media Office: 21 May 2026 incentives package; 29 May 2023 QR code announcement.
• Dubai Land Department, frequently asked questions (Ejari).
• Airbnb Help Centre: hosting in Dubai.
• Last checked 27 October 2026.

Héctor Clarke

Co-founder of Bliss Homes. We run about 60 holiday homes in Spain, from city flats to rural houses, and are now launching in Dubai with a DET-licensed operating partner.