The rule
Dubai regulated holiday homes early and clearly. A home can be let for short stays only if it is registered with the Department of Economy and Tourism, the body that was called DTCM until 2021, and holds a holiday home permit. The permit is issued to the operator, who may be a licensed company or an owner who has registered directly, and it is renewed each year after the home passes inspection.
The permit comes with a number, and the rule that matters to you is this: the number must appear on every advertisement for the home, on every listing site, in every brochure. Operators must also register every guest with the department, with passport or Emirates ID details, exactly as a hotel does. A home that cannot show you a permit number is not a holiday home under Dubai law, whatever the listing calls it.
How to check, in a minute
- Ask for the numberBefore you pay. A licensed operator sends it at once, often with the permit certificate, which carries the department's name and a QR code
- Look at the listingOn the big sites, licensed Dubai homes show a permit or registration number in the listing details. Its absence is the first sign
- Ask who registers youA licensed operator asks for every guest's passport before arrival, because the law requires it. One who does not ask is not registering you
- Ask for the companyA trade licence and a physical address in Dubai. Our own details are in the footer of every page
Why it matters to you
The permit is not paperwork for its own sake. It means the home has been inspected for safety, that the operator carries the insurance the department requires, that the building's owners' association knows the home is let and that you have a regulator to complain to. It means that if the host cancels the week before Christmas, there is somebody to answer for it.
An unlicensed let has none of that. Guests in unlicensed homes have been asked to leave by building security, have found the Wi-Fi and the air conditioning cut by an owners' association that did not know they were there, and have had no recourse when a deposit was not returned. None of this is common. All of it is avoidable with one question.
The other signs
- Payment off the platformA request to pay by bank transfer to a personal account, with a discount for doing so
- No total in writingA nightly rate but no answer on the Tourism Dirham, VAT, cleaning and deposit
- No one to callOnly a chat window. Ask for a phone number and call it at eight in the evening
- Photographs that do not matchA listing that uses the building's marketing renders rather than photographs of the actual home
Our guide to how renting a holiday home in Dubai works covers the costs and the booking process in full.
Questions we are asked
Is Airbnb legal in Dubai?
Yes, when the home is licensed. Dubai allows short-term lets through any platform provided the home holds a holiday home permit from the Department of Economy and Tourism and shows the permit number on the listing. An unlicensed listing is illegal, whatever the platform.
How do I find a Dubai holiday home's permit number?
It must appear on the listing. If it does not, ask the operator before you pay; a licensed operator can send the number and the permit certificate at once. Refusal or delay is the answer.
Why does a Dubai holiday home ask for my passport?
Because the law requires licensed operators to register every guest with the tourism department, as hotels do. A host who does not ask for passports is not registering you, which usually means the home is not licensed.
What happens if I stay in an unlicensed holiday home in Dubai?
The guest is rarely penalised, but has no protection. Building security may refuse entry, services may be cut by an owners' association that did not know the home was let, and there is no regulator to turn to if the deposit is withheld or the booking is cancelled.
Next in the journal
New Year's Eve in Dubai from a holiday home. Where Dubai's fireworks are, which homes see them from the balcony, how the Downtown road closures work, and when to book for New Year's Eve.
All the guides
