How do you get a holiday home permit in Dubai?

· Editor: George Vanous

An artist's rendering of two slim white residential towers at dusk, with the Burj Khalifa rising between them, a row of lower buildings and palm trees in the foreground and an orange sky behind
Image: Creek Haven by Emaar Properties

To rent a Dubai home to guests by the night, the home needs a holiday home permit from the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), and you must be registered on DET's Holiday Homes system, as an owner or through a licensed operator. You apply online with the title deed, a recent DEWA bill and a property management letter; DET says it reviews an application within one business day. Its published fee is AED 300 a bedroom plus AED 70 in smaller fees, valid for a year, and guests pay a Tourism Dirham of AED 10 or 15 per room per night. A Dubai relief package of May 2026 exempts holiday homes from permit and license fees for a time, so confirm what you will pay on the portal.

This is for anyone who owns, or is buying, a home in Dubai and wonders about short stays instead of a yearly lease. It is a summary of DET's rules as published, not legal or tax advice, and it promises no occupancy, rent or return.

Which rules apply?

Short-term letting in Dubai has its own rules, separate from the yearly tenancy law:

A holiday home is a furnished home let to guests who pay to stay overnight. A yearly lease registered on Ejari falls under the tenancy law instead (see how much a landlord can raise rent in Dubai).

Which homes can be holiday homes?

Article 8 of the 2020 resolution lists four kinds: an apartment in a building set aside for holiday homes, an apartment in a residential building, a house or villa in a compound, or an independent villa. The home must be in an area where DET allows the activity, meet the guide's standards for its class, and the owner must show the right to use it this way.

Two limits to check before you buy with this plan in mind:

Article 17 requires developers, owners' associations and management firms to let a licensed holiday home operate in line with its permit.

Who can apply: owner or operator?

Either. DET's registration page says owners and professional operators register on the Holiday Homes system:

Registration costs AED 1,500 plus AED 20 in knowledge and innovation fees, AED 1,520 in all, once, according to the same page. It names no renewal fee, though details such as trade licenses are updated every year.

What documents do you need?

DET's new permit page lists:

The steps are online: log in, add the home, upload the documents, accept the declaration, classify the home yourself as Standard or Deluxe, and pay. By law the permit must be displayed inside the home.

How much does it cost?

The new permit page gives the fee as AED 300 a bedroom, AED 50 for the classification certificate, and AED 10 each in knowledge and innovation fees, "Up to AED1,200 per Holiday Home each year". Worked out from that page:

Home New permit, per year Renewal, per year
1 bedroom AED 370 AED 320
2 bedrooms AED 670 AED 620
3 bedrooms AED 970 AED 920

The renewal column follows DET's renewal page: AED 300 a bedroom plus AED 20, up to AED 1,200 a home. For four bedrooms or more, confirm on the portal how the AED 1,200 limit is applied.

The 2026 exemption. On May 21, 2026 Dubai approved a second relief package, which according to WAM's report exempts holiday homes from permit and license fees. Its 33 measures run for three to 12 months, with each one's timeline set by the entity in charge, here DET. When we read DET's service pages on Nov 9, 2026 they still listed the fees above, so confirm on the Holiday Homes portal whether the exemption still applies when you apply.

What is the Tourism Dirham on a holiday home?

A fee charged to guests and passed to DET. The registration page sets it per room per night, whatever the number of guests: AED 10 for a Standard home and AED 15 for a Deluxe one. For a stay longer than 30 nights, it is charged on the first 30 consecutive nights only, and the figures must be entered in DET's system by the 15th of each month, after which late fees apply.

The May 2026 package also mentions exemption from collecting the Tourism Dirham, but WAM's report ties that to hotel rooms and restaurants. Whether it covers holiday homes is not stated there: confirm with DET.

What do you have to do once the home is let?

Article 14 of the 2020 resolution lists the duties of whoever holds the license, among them:

The permit lasts one year and must be renewed before it ends (Article 10). DET says renewals are not automatic and are assessed case by case, and a new owner or a new DEWA account means registering the home again as new.

What if you break the rules?

Resolution No. 49 of 2014 fines each violation as set in its schedule. A repeat within a year doubles the fine, up to AED 100,000, and DET may also warn, suspend the activity for up to six months or revoke the license. Under Article 11 of the 2020 resolution DET can also close a home, for example when the permit is not renewed or the home no longer meets its class.

What does this mean if you buy off-plan?

Homes.me does not promise any occupancy or return. To compare areas, start from the Dubai guide or a community such as Dubai Creek Harbour, run the numbers in our tools, or ask the Homes.me advisor.

In short

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