To rent a home in Abu Dhabi to guests for short stays, it needs a holiday home license from the Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT Abu Dhabi). The owner, or an operator the owner authorizes in writing, applies online with a passport, an Emirates ID, the title deed and a holiday home insurance policy; the home must pass a DCT inspection, and the license lasts one year. Guests pay a 6% tourism fee that you collect and pass on every month. Running a holiday home without a license costs AED 5,000 for a first offense, rising to AED 40,000, under DCT's Guide to Holiday Homes in Abu Dhabi.
This is a summary for owners, not legal, tax or financial advice. DCT can change its requirements and fees, so check the current guide and the Holiday Homes system before you apply.
Which rules apply?
Holiday homes in Abu Dhabi have been regulated since 2020, under DCT Chairman Decision No. 3 of 2020 as amended. In 2026 DCT gathered that decision, its amendments and its circulars into one document: The Guide to Holiday Homes in Abu Dhabi, version 2. The guide says compliance with it is mandatory, and that the Arabic version prevails if the two texts differ. Emirates 24|7 reported that it was updated on Sep 15, 2026.
Everything below comes from that guide unless another source is named. Many broker blogs still describe the older 2023 manual, so their limits and steps can be out of date.
Which homes can be holiday homes?
Section 2.1 of the guide lists the homes that can be licensed:
- apartments in residential or mixed-use buildings
- townhouses
- independent villas
- farms, including annexes built for guests
- caravans
- floating vessels and floating homes approved for accommodation
- any other unit DCT approves
The home must be fully completed and privately owned, and it is licensed and let as a whole: the guide defines a holiday home so that it "does not extend to individual rooms", and renting by the room or by the bed is not allowed without a special exception from DCT. A home can be anywhere in the emirate, including free zones and private developments such as Yas Island, Saadiyat or Al Reem Island, subject to zoning and the approvals of the other authorities.
DCT can refuse a license for a home that fails its requirements, and for a "grant property" or any home whose use as a holiday home is restricted by the rules of another authority (Section 2.7).
Who can apply?
The guide (Section 2.3) allows three kinds of applicant:
- An owner who is a person: a sole or joint owner on the title deed (a joint owner must be authorized to act for the others) who meets DCT's minimum age. At most six holiday home licenses at a time.
- An owner that is a company: it holds a commercial license with an activity that fits holiday homes or property management.
- An authorized operator: a person or company, including a tenant of the home, with a written authorization from the owner, which the owner confirms on DCT's system.
An owner who wants more than six homes must run the extra ones through a licensed company they own, or hand them to a licensed operator. Some guides online still say an individual may hold eight licenses, which is Dubai's rule, not Abu Dhabi's: go by DCT's current guide.
If you hand your home to an operator, the guide sets out what the authorization must say. It lasts at most one year, and must set out the money: how revenue and costs are split, what the operator pays you and when, and the compensation if the operator pays late. It must also make the operator responsible for tourism fees and fines, say who renews the license, and say how the home comes back to you at the end.
What documents do you need?
Section 2.5 lists the documents for each applicant:
- An owner who is a person: passport and Emirates ID, and the title deed.
- An authorized operator: the owner's authorization, and a copy of the owner's passport and Emirates ID.
- A company: its commercial license, the passport and Emirates ID of its authorized signatory, proof of that signatory's authority, and the title deed.
- Everyone: a holiday home insurance policy from a UAE-licensed insurer, covering the home, damage by guests and liability to third parties. It must stay valid for the whole license and at least one month after it ends.
Documents must be current, in Arabic or English, and legally attested if they were issued in another language, and every name and number must match across them.
The home itself must meet safety and comfort standards before it is licensed (Section 2.4), including:
- a valid Preventive Fire Safety Certificate from the Abu Dhabi Civil Defense Authority, and its approval where required
- a fire extinguisher, fire blanket, gloves and a torch; emergency lighting and exit signs; smoke detectors; and, in villas, detectors connected to Civil Defense's Hassantuk monitoring system
- a CCTV camera covering the entrance, to the requirements of Abu Dhabi's monitoring and control center (MCC)
- an elevator if the building has more than three floors
- no more than three guests per bedroom, and no living rooms or hallways used as bedrooms
- a furnished kitchen, at least one bathroom with a shower, and house rules on display
How do you apply?
The guide sets out five steps:
- Read the rules and confirm that your home is an eligible type.
- Gather the documents above.
- Open the application channel. When the guide was issued, that was the Holiday Homes System on DCT's website. DCT says it will move the service to TAMM, Abu Dhabi's government services platform, so check which channel is current before you start.
- Submit the application with everything uploaded.
- Pass the inspection and pay the fees. For a villa, townhouse or any home that is not an apartment, you book an on-site inspection with the application, and the license is issued once the inspection is approved and the fees are paid. For an apartment, the license can be issued before the inspection, but it is inactive: you must book an inspection within three working days, and you may not take guests until DCT approves it. The license runs from the date of that approval.
DCT issues a license within 15 days of a complete application, with the fees paid (and, for homes other than apartments, the inspection approved). All fees are non-refundable. If an application is rejected, you can appeal to DCT's Reconsideration Committee within 15 days.
How much does the license cost?
The 2026 guide says the license is issued once "the applicable fees, as determined by DCT Abu Dhabi" are paid, but it does not list them. The last fee table DCT published is in its 2023 manual:
| Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| Registration in the online Holiday Homes system | AED 1,550 |
| License or renewal, per year | AED 900 |
| Re-inspection | AED 1,040 |
| Change to a license | AED 150 |
So a first license came to AED 2,450 under that table, and AED 900 a year after. Treat these as a guide and confirm the fees on DCT's Holiday Homes system before you budget, since the 2026 guide does not repeat them.
How long does a license last?
One year, and it does not renew itself (Section 2.6). DCT sends a reminder six to eight weeks before the expiry date, and you renew with the same documents and conditions as the first time, within 30 days of the expiry date. Late renewal is a violation: AED 500 the first time, under Annex 2. DCT may inspect again before it renews.
A license ends early if you sell the home, and closing one takes DCT's approval: you clear all bookings, declarations, tourism fees and fines first, and get a cancellation certificate.
What is the tourism fee?
Every guest bill carries a tourism fee of 6% of the total invoiced, under DCT Chairman Resolution No. 94 of 2018, as the guide's definitions put it. As the license holder you must:
- show the fee on every invoice and price list
- file a monthly revenue declaration within the first five working days of the next month, even for a month with no guests
- pay the fee to DCT within 15 days after the end of the month it fell due
- record every booking, guest check-in, invoice and cancellation in DCT's system
Payments or declarations made outside DCT's system do not count (Section 4.5). If you stop letting the home, you must tell DCT in writing and pay any tourism fee owed within 60 days.
What else must you do once guests arrive?
Under Section 5.3, a licensed holiday home must:
- show its license number on every listing, on every website or app
- never be listed anywhere without a valid license
- include water and electricity in the price, with no extra charge to guests
- display a sign with the license holder's details in Arabic and English inside the home
- give guests terms and conditions in Arabic and English before they book, with the full price, taxes and fees shown apart, and the cancellation and deposit rules
- keep records for as long as DCT requires and protect guests' personal data
Booking platforms carry duties too. Under Section 5.4, a platform must not list a home without a valid DCT license, must show the license number on the listing, and must take a listing down within 30 days of a notice from DCT.
What if you break the rules?
DCT can warn you, fine you, suspend the activity, cancel the license or close the home. Annex 2 of the guide sets the fines, which double with each repeat:
| Violation | First time | Fourth time |
|---|---|---|
| Running a holiday home without a license | AED 5,000 | AED 40,000 |
| Giving DCT false data or forged documents | AED 5,000 | AED 40,000 |
| Operating after DCT has suspended you | AED 20,000 | AED 160,000 |
| No valid insurance for the whole license period | AED 2,000 | AED 16,000 |
| Charging guests for water or electricity | AED 2,000 | AED 16,000 |
| Renting by the room or by the bed | AED 500 | AED 4,000 |
| Renewing late | AED 500 | AED 4,000 |
The same violation five or more times can lead to the home being closed for a time or for good. You can appeal a penalty within 60 days of being told of it; if DCT has not decided within 90 days, the appeal counts as accepted.
What does this mean if you buy off-plan?
You cannot license a home that is not built yet. The guide defines a holiday home as a "fully completed" property, so an off-plan unit can only be licensed after handover. You do not have to wait for the title deed, though: where a finished home has been handed over and the deed has not been issued, DCT may accept the sale and purchase agreement, a handover certificate or a possession letter instead (Section 2.5).
Before you buy with short stays in mind:
- Ask the developer whether the building or community allows holiday homes, and what the service charges cover. Our guide to service charges in Abu Dhabi explains how they work.
- Budget the running costs: the license, insurance, cleaning between every stay, the fire safety certificate and CCTV, and furnishing to DCT's standard.
- Plan who will run it. An operator can do the work, but you stay the owner on record and must confirm their authorization on DCT's system.
- Do not count on a return. Nobody can promise how often a holiday home will be booked, or at what price.
Long lets follow different rules. Abu Dhabi has frozen yearly rent rises on ordinary leases since June 2026; our post on whether a landlord can raise rent in Abu Dhabi explains it. Foreign buyers should first check where foreigners can buy in Abu Dhabi.
Our catalog held 59 Abu Dhabi projects at its import on Nov 1, 2026. You can browse every Abu Dhabi project, add up purchase costs with our tools, or ask the advisor which projects fit your budget. We list what developers publish and do not recommend any purchase.
How is this different from Dubai?
Both emirates require a license for each home, renewed every year, and both fine unlicensed lettings. The differences that matter most: Abu Dhabi lets one person hold six licenses where Dubai allows eight homes, Abu Dhabi charges guests a 6% tourism fee on the bill where Dubai charges a Tourism Dirham per room per night, and every Abu Dhabi home needs its own holiday home insurance policy. Our guide to holiday home permits in Dubai covers Dubai's rules.
In short
- A home rented to guests for short stays in Abu Dhabi needs a DCT holiday home license, renewed every year.
- The owner applies, or an operator (a tenant included) with the owner's written authorization; one person may hold six licenses.
- You need ID, the title deed, holiday home insurance and a passed inspection; an apartment's license waits for its inspection before guests can stay.
- DCT's last published fees were AED 1,550 to register and AED 900 a year: confirm today's fees on its system.
- Guests pay a 6% tourism fee, declared monthly and paid within 15 days of the month's end.
- An off-plan home can be licensed only after handover.