Dubai eases home stay rules to boost tourism

Even tenants can lease out property with short-term permits

dubai — Under new regulations governing holiday homes, tenants who are renting a property can lease their accommodation to guests with a short-term permit if they receive a no-objection certificate from their landlord and meet requirements set by Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism).

Additionally, Dubai Tourism’s new regulations will allow private home owners to apply for a holiday home licence without having to go through an approved Dubai Tourism operator, as long they meet all the necessary criteria.

Under the new initiative, individual owners and authorised tenants no longer need to go through the same detailed licence requirement submissions as professional operators. Dubai Tourism has also upgraded its application portal to allow for these new applications. The portal will soon also allow for all e-commerce payments to be done digitally.

The move complements Dubai Vision 2020 announced by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, which aims to attract 20 million visitors — and Dh300 million in tourism revenues — annually by 2020. The plan focuses on three areas: family tourism, global events and attractions, and Dubai’s status as a business destination.

“The vision is clear, infrastructure is ready and confidence in our human resources is high,” Shaikh Mohammed said when the plan was announced. “The future does not wait for those who hesitate. We want everyone to work as one team to achieve the goal, with positive energy, strong determination the belief that anything is possible.”

According to Dubai Tourism, the updated regulations are designed to make them more competitive and enhance the emirate’s holiday home segment through increased transparency, safety, standardisation and competitiveness.

“As part of the dialogue with our partners, the industry and providers, we are continuously looking at how to enhance our overall offering to ensure Dubai remains competitive and appeals to an evolving diversity of travellers. Through the implementation of streamlined processes and a conducive and supportive regulatory environment, underpinned by a strong digitised administrative environment in line with Dubai’s Smart Government initiatives, we continue to put in place the necessary market conditions to stimulate the growth of the tourism sector in a safe, secure and controlled manner while ensuring that the high standards of quality for which Dubai is known are maintained,” said Khaled bin Touq, executive director, Tourism Activities and Classification Sector of Dubai Tourism.

The new regulations also detail all the requirements that home owners need to apply for a licence, which include quality standards, amenities, health and safety measures, insurance necessities, code of conduct and integration with the wider community.

The rules only apply to full accommodation rental. Room sharing rental is prohibited.

Home owners will also be held accountable for ensuring that the property meets all the legislative requirements and complaint management policies, is listed for visitors, and is sufficiently maintained with all guest services and amenities provided.

Dubai Tourism will conduct regulation inspections of registered home — which will be classified as Standard of Deluxe depending on what they offer — to maintain standards and enforce penalties for non-compliance with regulatory demands. More information can be found at www.visitdubai.com, and registrations can be completed on the Holiday Homes website, https:// hh.dtcm.gov.ae.

As part of the dialogue with our partners, the industry and providers, we are continuously looking at how to enhance our overall offering to ensure Dubai remains competitive and appeals to an evolving diversity of travellers. Khaled bin Touq executive director, Tourism Activities and Classification Sector