Buyer guide · Dubai

Can you rent out a branded residence in Dubai?

A Dubai freehold owner may let long term, and tenancy contracts must be registered on Ejari, the Dubai Land Department's system, which individual owners can use to register lets of their own property. Short lets as holiday homes need a licence from Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), which administers the 2020 holiday-home rules made under its former name, the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, for the individual or company conducting the activity and a DET permit for each unit, applied for with the owner's or tenant's passport or Emirates ID, and the unit must be in an area where the activity is authorised. The 2020 bylaw names no consent requirement from the owners' association or developer; instead the sale and purchase agreement must not expressly preclude holiday-home use, and developers and owners of jointly owned property must enable licensees to operate. Licensees must hold comprehensive insurance, conclude a holiday-home lease contract with each guest, regularly provide guest information to DET, keep guest records for at least three years, keep to the maximum occupancy in the permit, and show their trade name and permit number in all advertisements; the unit must meet DET's technical standards.

10 branded residences in Dubai on our list have published letting terms; at The Residences at Palazzo Versace Dubai; The Residences at Mandarin Oriental Downtown, Dubai; Paramount Tower Hotel & Residences Dubai and Shangri-La Apartments, Dubai the hotel or operator is involved in letting. A building's own rules and its owners' association can be stricter than the law, so the terms of the building come first.

This is a summary, not legal advice; a lawyer in the United Arab Emirates should check the title and the terms before any deposit.