I bought an apartment in Dubai: how holiday letting works

You've just been handed the keys to your apartment in Dubai and the next question is the obvious one: can I put it on Airbnb now? The short answer is not yet. To let your home by the night in Dubai you need a holiday home permit issued by Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism, the DET, formerly known as the DTCM. It's obtained for each unit and before you publish the listing. Advertising without that permit is illegal and carries a fine.

That's the part that changes compared with Spain. In Spain the debate is about your autonomous community's tourist licence, different in each one; in Dubai there's a single window, the DET, and the same rule applies to the whole of Dubai. On top of that permit come two charges you can't skip (the Tourism Dirham per night and VAT) and a practical detail that matters more than it seems: if you live in Spain, almost the whole process and all the day-to-day operation end up relying on a licensed operator on the ground.

We say this because we've done it from a distance. At beBalmy we manage 93 homes in 18 cities, and Dubai is one of our markets; you can see how we work there on our Dubai page. The distance matters less than you think. What really takes effort is setting up the permit, the classification and the guest reporting properly from day one. Let's take it step by step.

What do you need to let your apartment by the night in Dubai?

You need the DET's holiday home permit, and it's compulsory for each unit you want to let short term. The legal framework is Administrative Resolution No. 1 of 2020, which develops the regime of Decree No. 41 of 2013 (DET legal framework). Until your permit is approved, your flat can't appear on Airbnb, Booking or any portal as tourist accommodation. We checked this on the DET's official website in October 2026.

Skipping it is expensive. The penalty regime provides for fines ranging from a few hundred dirhams for minor breaches to tens of thousands for operating a property after a closure order, and they double if you reoffend within the following twelve months (legal summary of the fees and fines regime). Dubai cross-checks portal listings against its own register, so a flat without a permit is easy to spot. It isn't a formality worth leaving until after the first booking.

The two ways to get the permit: in your name or through an operator

The DET lets you register the home in two ways, and it's worth choosing wisely from the start.

• In your name, as the owner. The account name has to match the one on the title deed, and you can only apply for a permit for units that are yours. It's the direct route if you have one flat and the time to deal with the day-to-day.
• Through a licensed operator. This is a company whose trade licence includes Vacation Homes Rental; it registers your home under its tourism licence and takes on compliance. It's the usual route when the owner isn't in the country (registering as a holiday home operator with the DET).

The difference isn't just administrative. Getting the permit in your name means you have to keep on top of guest reporting, the monthly settlement of charges and support when something goes wrong at eleven at night, in a time zone three hours apart. That's why, from Spain, the second route usually wins on simple practicality.

What paperwork they ask for and what the permit costs

To register the home, the DET basically asks for the title deed (or the sale and purchase agreement with proof of payment if the building is still being handed over), your passport or Emirates ID, a recent DEWA bill (the water and electricity company) and the property management letter using the DET's own template. If you register in the name of a company, the trade licence is added.

The fees are public and modest compared with the price of the property (holiday home permit fees on the DET website, with the breakdown of amounts also set out in this industry guide):

• Initial registration: around AED 1,520 per home (about €380 at October 2026 exchange rates; the dirham is pegged to the dollar).
• Annual permit: around AED 370 for a studio or a one-bedroom unit (about €90) and up to about AED 970 for three bedrooms (about €240), adding more for each extra bedroom.
• Validity: the permit is issued for a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 12 months, so it has to be renewed.

What moves the number within that range is size: the more bedrooms, the more the permit costs and the more Tourism Dirham each night will generate. That's why the returns calculation for a studio and for a three-bedroom flat look nothing alike, even in the same building.

The Tourism Dirham and VAT: the two charges you can't skip

Besides the permit, every occupied night generates the Tourism Dirham, a tourist fee you charge the guest and pay to the DET: AED 10 per bedroom per night if your home is classified as Standard and AED 15 if it's Deluxe. It's declared monthly, before the 15th, through the DET's Holiday Homes system. It doesn't stay in your pocket: you collect it and hand it over, just like the tourist surcharge in so many cities.

VAT is a separate matter. Short-term letting is taxed at 5% in the Emirates, and registering with the tax authority (the FTA) is compulsory when your taxable turnover exceeds AED 375,000 in twelve months (about €92,000) and voluntary from half that figure. With a single apartment you'll rarely reach the compulsory threshold, but it's worth keeping on your radar if you plan to add more units. The Tourism Dirham and VAT are paid to different bodies, and mixing them up is the most common accounting mistake when starting out.

Standard or Deluxe: what the classification changes

When you get the permit you classify your home as Standard or Deluxe. It's a self-classification based on the level of equipment and finishes, and it has two effects: it sets the Tourism Dirham rate that applies (AED 10 or 15 per bedroom per night) and it tells the guest what level they're going to find. Moving up a category isn't free in terms of the fee, but it can support a higher nightly price if the home genuinely backs it up. The trap is classifying yourself above what you offer: the guest notices it in the review, and in this business the review is the next booking.

Managing it from Spain: why it almost always ends up with a local operator

A non-resident foreign owner can buy in the freehold areas and let short term; you don't need to live in Dubai to be the owner or to hold the permit. Ownership is the easy part. What takes work is the day-to-day upkeep.

Running a holiday home by the rules means reporting each guest's details to the DET system and, in many communities, also to the developer's portal (Emaar or DAMAC, for example) (what changed with Emaar's rule); settling the Tourism Dirham every month; keeping the home up to date with DEWA; handling check-in and the approved smart lock; and responding when something breaks. All that, from another time zone and in English, is a job, not a detail.

That's where a licensed operator comes in, registering the unit under its tourism licence and taking on compliance and operations. It's the same approach we work with in Spain and the one we apply in Dubai: you can see it in our holiday home licence guide and in home management in Dubai. There's no trick: it's about having someone in the country who knows which piece of paper is due and when. In our portfolio, that operation translates into an average rating of 8.76 out of 10 on Airbnb across 2,331 reviews and 7.80 out of 10 on Booking across 1,530, and that score is decided by the guest, not by us. If you'd like us to review your specific case before you decide, you can write to us and request a valuation with no commitment.

What drives the market in Dubai, and what we can't promise you

Dubai has high, sustained tourist demand: hotels closed 2025 with average occupancy of around 80.7% and 19.59 million international visitors, according to official DET data reported by the industry press. These are hotel figures, not holiday home figures, so they help you understand the size of the market, not promise you what your flat will earn. Your apartment's occupancy and nightly price depend on the area, the type of property and the season, and anyone who gives you a fixed number without seeing your home is selling you smoke. The honest thing is to work it out with your case in front of you.