Short answer: yes. Any residential property in Dubai rented out for fewer than six months needs a holiday home permit from the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), the authority that absorbed the former DTCM. This applies whether you list on Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, or take direct bookings on social media. Renting without a permit is not a grey area in Dubai, it is a finable offence.
Who needs what
There are two different routes, and the one you take depends on whether you manage only your own property or others' too:
- Individual owners can register their own units directly through the DET portal without a trade licence. As of 2026, an individual can self-manage up to eight of their own units this way.
- Operators who manage holiday homes on behalf of other owners, even a single unit, must hold a holiday home operator trade licence. A managed unit is then listed under the operator's licence.
In other words, if you hand your apartment to a management company, that company must be a licensed operator, and your unit sits under their permit.
The documents you need
For a standard apartment, expect to provide:
- The title deed or a signed tenancy contract
- A landlord No Objection Certificate (NOC) on DET's official template, if you are a tenant subletting with permission
- A recent DEWA (Dubai Electricity and Water Authority) bill in the owner's or registered tenant's name
- A building NOC from the owners' association confirming the building permits short-term rentals
- Your passport or Emirates ID
That building NOC is the step that catches owners out. Not every building in Dubai allows holiday home use, so confirm it before you furnish a unit on the assumption you can list it.
What it costs
The DET holiday home permit is priced per unit, per year, and is renewed annually. Operators additionally carry the cost of a trade licence. Because government fees are reviewed periodically, treat any figure you read online, including ours, as indicative and confirm the current schedule with DET directly before you budget.
The Tourism Dirham
Holiday homes collect a per-night Tourism Dirham from guests and remit it to DET, normally by the 15th of each month through the Holiday Homes portal. Late or missed filings can mean fines or permit suspension, so this is not a step to leave to memory.
Note: in 2026 the Dubai government temporarily deferred Tourism Dirham collection for a short period as part of an economic support package. Even during a deferral, you are expected to keep accurate records and be ready for collection to resume. Always check the current position with DET.
What happens if you skip it
Operating an unlicensed holiday home in Dubai carries real penalties: a first offence typically means a fine and immediate removal of the listing, and repeated or serious violations escalate sharply, up to listing blacklisting and a permanent ban. The downside is not worth the saved paperwork. For the rules themselves, see is Airbnb legal in Dubai.
How CORE handles this for you
Permit setup and monthly Tourism Dirham filing are part of CORE's onboarding. We operate under a holiday home operator licence, register your unit, check building eligibility and the NOC up front, and keep the monthly compliance running so you never miss a filing. It is one of the reasons owners move from self-managing to a licensed operator. See how CORE manages Airbnb and holiday homes in Dubai.
This guide is general information for 2026, not legal advice. Rules, fees, and deadlines change. Confirm current requirements with the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism before you apply.