Holiday home rental in Dubai: the DET permit, short-term letting rules and the real costs
How to get a DET holiday home permit in Dubai, owner versus licensed operator, building rules, fees, Tourism Dirham and fines, and a worked net comparison with a long let.
In this guide
To rent a Dubai property to holiday guests, including through Airbnb, you need a holiday home permit from the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) for each unit. Short-term letting is regulated by Decree No. 41 of 2013 and its 2020 implementing bylaw: the operator must be licensed, the whole unit must be let, guests must be registered, and a Tourism Dirham must be collected for each night. This guide sets out the process step by step, the choice between running the home yourself and using a licensed operator, building restrictions, the costs that come out of short-let income and a worked comparison with a long let. DET's own holiday home pages refused our automated requests, so the rules here are taken from the legislation on the Dubai Legislation Portal and from named secondary sources, each dated.
What are the rules for short-term rentals in Dubai?
Anyone who regularly leases out holiday homes in Dubai must be licensed by the tourism authority. Article 3 of Decree No. 41 of 2013 says no natural or legal person may conduct the activity without a licence; the authority named in the decree, the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, is now part of DET. The decree and Administrative Resolution No. 1 of 2020, its implementing bylaw, require the operator to:
- let the whole unit, not individual rooms or bed spaces;
- hold insurance from a licensed insurer covering damage to guests for the whole licence term;
- sign a contract with each guest, give guests a written list of house rules and keep a complaints policy;
- provide electricity and water without charging guests extra;
- include the trade name and permit number in every advertisement;
- respect the permitted maximum occupancy and keep guest records for at least three years.
Holiday homes are classified as standard or deluxe (the Tourism Dirham resolution calls the higher class luxury), and DET may inspect and reclassify them. Permits last one year and must be renewed before they expire. A holiday home permit is a separate regime from the 12-month tenancies registered in Ejari, which are covered in our guide to renting out property in Dubai.
How do you get a holiday home permit in Dubai?
You register with DET as a holiday home operator, then apply for a permit for each property through DET's online portal. Combining the 2020 bylaw (Articles 8 to 10) with Bayut's guide of 20 October 2026, the steps are:
- Check the unit qualifies. It must be in an area DET has authorised, and be an apartment in a residential or designated building, a house or villa in a compound, or an independent villa. Units in hotels and hotel apartments are not permitted. Your sale and purchase agreement must not expressly bar holiday home use.
- Register as an operator. As a homeowner, register on DET's holiday homes system with your Emirates ID or passport. Bayut lists a registration fee of AED 1,500 plus AED 10 knowledge and AED 10 innovation fees.
- Apply for a permit for each unit. Upload the title deed and a DEWA bill in the owner's name. DET reviews the application and may visit the property.
- Pay the permit fee once approved, and receive the permit and classification.
- Prepare the home. Arrange insurance, display the QR code DET requires at the entrance, and prepare the house rules and guest contract.
- List and operate. Show the permit number in every listing, register every guest's passport or national ID at check-in, and collect the Tourism Dirham.
- Renew each year before the permit expires.
A tenant can also run a holiday home, but needs a lease that allows subletting and a no-objection letter from the owner in DET's template (Bayut). Article 24 of Law No. 26 of 2007 already requires the landlord's written consent to any sublet.
What does a holiday home permit cost?
The fees are set by Executive Council Resolution No. 49 of 2014:
| Item in the fee schedule | Fee (AED) |
|---|---|
| Permit to operate a holiday home, issued or renewed | 300 per bedroom, capped at 1,200 per home a year |
| Holiday home classification certificate | 50 per home |
| Inspection or re-inspection of a holiday home | 300 per home |
| Initial approval for a licence, or its renewal | 100 |
| New licence, or renewal | 500 |
Bayut's totals for the permit (AED 370 for a studio or one-bedroom, AED 670 for two bedrooms, AED 970 for three and AED 1,270 for four or more) match the resolution's per-bedroom fee plus the AED 50 certificate and AED 20 of knowledge and innovation fees. We could not trace Bayut's AED 1,500 operator registration fee to the resolution's schedule, and Real Estate Club Dubai (14 July 2026) reported the same gap.
The 2026 exemption. On 21 May 2026 the Dubai Media Office announced an AED 1.5 billion incentive package that included an "exemption from permit and licence fees for holiday homes", and exempted DET-registered establishments from collecting the Tourism Dirham. The release said each initiative would run for three to 12 months, with timings announced by the responsible entity. We could not find a published end date, or confirmation that the Tourism Dirham exemption covers holiday homes as well as hotels, so check your own account with DET.
Should you run a holiday home yourself or use a licensed operator?
That depends on how many units you have, whether you live in Dubai, and how much of the work you want to do. The law treats both routes the same: whoever runs the home must be licensed and must meet the guest, record and insurance obligations above.
- Running it yourself. Bayut says an individual homeowner may hold permits for up to eight properties, and needs a trade licence and registration as a professional operator beyond that. Real Estate Club Dubai could not find that cap in the decree, the fee resolution or the 2020 bylaw, and noted that Articles 2 and 3 of the bylaw refer to a commercial licence for licensees. The sources disagree, so confirm the position for your own case with DET. Self-managing means handling bookings, check-ins, guest registration, cleaning, maintenance and the monthly Tourism Dirham return yourself or through people you hire.
- Using a licensed operator. An operator is a licensed company with its own trade licence and office, which holds the permit and runs the home under a management agreement with you. The decree bars licensees from brokering between guests and unlicensed parties, so check the operator's DET licence before signing.
We found no published, sourced benchmark for operator fees. Ask each operator for its fee in writing, and for what it includes: pricing, listing, guest communication, cleaning and linen, maintenance call-outs, Tourism Dirham remittance and insurance.
For an overseas owner, an operator is the practical choice in most cases, because guest check-in, registration and maintenance have to happen in Dubai.
Can a building or community stop you running a holiday home?
The law limits what they can do, but your title and the building's procedures still matter. Article 8 of the 2020 bylaw requires that your sale and purchase agreement does not expressly bar holiday home use, so read it before you buy. Article 17 requires developers, owners of jointly owned property and management companies to enable licensees to operate in line with their licences and permits.
Several practical limits remain:
- Hotel and hotel-apartment units cannot be permitted as holiday homes (Bayut, 20 October 2026).
- Houses in gated communities are eligible if the community has at least four units (Bayut).
- Building procedures. DET recommends telling building management before you start. Buildings run by an owners' association under Law No. 6 of 2019 have their own rules on access cards, visitor registration and use of facilities, which guests must follow.
- Off-plan homes. Bayut lists a title deed and a DEWA bill in the owner's name among the documents for a permit, so in practice you apply once the home is complete and connected. There is no short-let income before handover.
What fines apply to holiday homes in Dubai?
Executive Council Resolution No. 49 of 2014 lists 27 violations. A selection:
| Violation | Fine (AED) |
|---|---|
| Operating without a licence | 5,000 |
| Leasing out holiday homes without prior approval | 2,000 |
| Not maintaining valid insurance for the licence term | 2,000 |
| Charging guests extra for electricity or water | 2,000 |
| Not providing regular maintenance | 2,000 |
| Giving false information or documents | 5,000 |
| Operating while suspended | 20,000 |
| Letting rooms or bed spaces separately | 500 |
A repeat of the same violation within a year doubles the fine, up to AED 100,000. DET can also suspend the activity for up to six months or cancel the licence (Decree No. 41 of 2013, Article 11).
The Tourism Dirham has its own penalties under Executive Council Resolution No. 2 of 2014: failing to collect it costs 10% of the uncollected amount, at least AED 1,000, and charging the wrong rate costs AED 5,000 plus the fee due.
What costs come out of short-let income?
More than come out of a long let, because the owner pays for running the home between and during stays:
- Service charges. The same as for a long let; see service charges in Dubai.
- Utilities and internet. Guests cannot be charged extra for electricity or water (Decree No. 41 of 2013, Article 8), so the operator pays DEWA. We have also assumed internet is included in the nightly rate. On a long let, the Dubai Land Department's tenancy service notes that the tenant pays DEWA fees separately where applicable.
- Furnishing. The home must meet DET's technical specifications and fittings for its classification (2020 bylaw, Article 8), and furniture wears faster with a stream of guests.
- Operator fee, cleaning and linen, or your own time if you self-manage.
- Booking platform commission.
- Permit and licence fees, unless the 2026 exemption applies.
- Insurance covering guests, as the decree requires.
- Vacancy. Every empty night is lost income. CBRE reported Dubai hotel occupancy of about 23% in the week ending 14 March 2026, after the regional conflict began, and expected some short-let units to switch to long lets.
The Tourism Dirham is paid by guests, not the owner, but the operator is liable if it is not collected and passed on.
Short let or long let: a worked net comparison
The figures below compare the two for the same home. They are an illustration of the arithmetic, not a forecast of what any property will earn.
The home. A 750 sq ft one-bedroom flat in Jumeirah Village Circle. Betterhomes' September 2026 median rent of AED 91 per sq ft a year gives a long-let rent of AED 68,250. The long-let costs are those in our rental yields guide: 5% vacancy, an assumed AED 15 per sq ft service charge, 5% management and AED 2,000 for maintenance and insurance.
| Long let (AED a year) | Short let (AED a year) | Basis for the short-let figure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent or booking revenue | 68,250 | R (unknown) | The figure we solve for |
| Vacancy | 3,412 | Included in R | Revenue is counted net of empty nights |
| Service charge | 11,250 | 11,250 | Same building |
| Management or operator | 3,242 | 20% of R | Our assumption |
| Platform commission | 0 | 3% of R | Our assumption |
| Utilities and internet | 0 | 12,000 | Our assumption; paid by the operator |
| Furnishing, spread over five years | 0 | 8,000 | Our assumption: AED 40,000 of furniture and equipment |
| Maintenance and insurance | 2,000 | 4,000 | Our assumption: more wear |
| Permit fee | 0 | 370 | Bayut's total for a one-bedroom; nil while the 2026 exemption applies |
| Net income | 48,346 | 77% of R minus 35,620 |
For the short let to leave the same AED 48,346, 77% of R must equal AED 83,966, so R is about AED 109,000 a year: roughly 60% more than the long-let rent. At 70% occupancy (256 nights) that means an average of about AED 426 a night after any discounts; at 60% (219 nights), about AED 498. These are break-even figures from our assumptions, not market rates. Test your own numbers in the rental yield calculator, and compare the nightly rate you need with what similar permitted homes in the same building actually achieve across a full year, including summer.
Do Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah use the same rules?
No. The DET permit and the rules above apply only in Dubai. Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah license short-term letting under their own rules, which we have not verified for this guide, so check with the emirate's tourism authority before letting a property there. For a comparison of the three markets, see Dubai vs Abu Dhabi vs Ras Al Khaimah.
Is income from a Dubai holiday home taxed?
Not in the UAE, for an individual: the UAE does not levy personal income tax (PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, reviewed 9 September 2026). Your country of residence may tax the profit, and its rules for furnished or short lets may differ from those for long lets. See the UAE property tax guide and the guides for UK, US, Indian and Canadian residents.
