Mohammed bin Rashid issues a law regarding the quality and safety of buildings in the Emirate of Dubai

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister, may God protect him, in his capacity as Ruler of the Emirate of Dubai, issued Law No. (3) of 2026, regarding the quality and safety of buildings in the Emirate of Dubai.

The provisions of the law apply to all buildings located throughout the emirate, including buildings located in special development areas and free zones, including the Dubai International Financial Centre, whether these buildings were constructed before the provisions of this law came into effect or after its provisions came into effect.

The law aims to enhance the quality and safety of buildings in the Emirate of Dubai, by ensuring their continued suitability for use in accordance with the highest construction standards, preserving the structural safety of buildings and ensuring their sustainability, in accordance with approved technical requirements, and achieving advanced levels of comfort and well-being for residents of buildings in the emirate, through periodic verification of the safe and proper operation of all systems and facilities of the building.

The law also aims to reduce the occurrence of accidents in buildings, and ensure the protection of lives and property in them, by ensuring that periodic maintenance is carried out, raising the aesthetic level and general appearance of buildings in the emirate, and preserving them in a way that enhances the urban identity of the Emirate of Dubai.

Municipality powers

The law specifies a number of tasks and powers for Dubai Municipality in order to achieve its objectives, including: developing a comprehensive digital system for managing and maintaining buildings, including creating and updating a unified database for all buildings in the emirate, conducting periodic evaluation of buildings, to verify their structural safety and continued suitability for use, adopting and applying unified standards to improve the quality of buildings and ensuring their sustainability, and setting the necessary requirements and procedures to reduce the risks associated with them. The safety of buildings, and the protection of lives and property therein.

Dubai Municipality is also responsible for adopting regulatory standards and procedures for conducting periodic maintenance and renovations of buildings, in coordination with the relevant authorities, investigating building-related incidents that fall within the scope of the municipality’s jurisdiction and responsibility, taking the necessary corrective measures to ensure that they are not repeated and achieving the highest levels of safety and security in them, adopting and regulating modern technologies and innovations used in evaluating and maintaining buildings, encouraging the use of these technologies and innovations, and regulating mechanisms for using building materials. And maintain them, in order to achieve the safety of buildings and extend their lifespan, and create, manage and operate the digital window that includes all building data in the emirate, in coordination with the competent authorities.

The law specifies the powers of the competent authorities to regulate, license and monitor construction work in the areas subject to its supervision in the Emirate of Dubai. The law also specifies the requirements for issuing a quality and safety certificate after inspecting the building and conducting a comprehensive analysis and evaluation of its structural condition and the technical defects found in it by the engineering office, as well as procedures for evaluating the condition of the building and issuing a quality and safety certificate.

Owner’s obligations

According to the law, the owner, who is the person in whose name the building is registered, whether as an owner or as a legal holder in accordance with the legislation in force in the emirate, which includes the owner of the real estate unit in the building subject to the provisions of Law No. (6) of 2019 regarding ownership of joint properties in the Emirate of Dubai, is obligated to a number of obligations, including: obtaining a quality and safety certificate after twenty (20) years have passed from the date of issuance of the building’s completion certificate. Commitment to the time periods specified by the competent authority to address the technical defects mentioned in the technical report and issue a quality and safety certificate in accordance with the provisions of this law and the decisions issued pursuant to it.

The owner’s obligations also include contracting with the engineering office for the purposes of evaluating the condition of the building and issuing the technical report, in preparation for issuing the quality and safety certificate, and performing periodic maintenance of the building that has not been constructed for twenty (20) years from the date of issuing the completion certificate, whether on its own or at the request of the competent authority, and addressing any defects that may pose a threat to the structural safety of the building and the safety of lives and property in it and the buildings surrounding it. Contracting with the contractor under the supervision of the engineering office for the purposes of implementing the work required to address the technical defects mentioned in the technical report, and not obstructing the work of the employees of the competent authority when they inspect the building in preparation for issuing the quality and safety certificate, and taking the necessary measures to evacuate the building of its occupants, for the purposes of enabling the contractor to carry out the required work and address the technical defects in the building.

According to the law, the owner is not exempted, after obtaining the quality and safety certificate, from the obligation to perform periodic maintenance of the building or address any technical defects in it, in the event of any damage to its structural structure. Likewise, the owner is not exempted, if he performs any periodic maintenance of the building before obtaining the quality and safety certificate, from the obligation to appoint the engineering office, inspect and evaluate the condition of the building, and prepare the technical report in preparation for issuing the quality and safety certificate in accordance with The provisions of this law and the decisions issued pursuant to it.

The law specifies the obligations of the engineering office, and the procedures for entering the building by the competent authorities to inspect its structural condition and verify that the building meets the requirements stipulated for issuing a quality and safety certificate in accordance with the provisions of this law and the decisions issued pursuant to it.

Validity of the quality and safety certificate

The law stipulates that the validity period of the quality and safety certificate shall be (10) ten years, for buildings for which less than (40) forty years have passed since the issuance of the completion certificate, and (5) five years, for buildings for which (40) forty years or more have passed since the issuance of the completion certificate, provided that the validity period of the quality and safety certificate shall be renewable for similar periods.

Evacuate the building

According to the law, the provisions stipulated in Law No. (26) of 2007 regulating the relationship between landlords and tenants of real estate in the Emirate of Dubai apply to the eviction of the building from its occupants in the event of approval to demolish the building. The occupant of the building that was vacated in accordance with the provisions of this law has priority in returning to the building after its reconstruction or completion of maintenance work and treatment of technical defects. Therein, and at the same rental value agreed upon in the lease contract concluded between him and the landlord before his eviction, unless the two parties agree otherwise.

Violations and administrative penalties

The law stipulates that anyone who violates the provisions of this law and the decisions issued pursuant to it shall be punished with a fine of not less than (100) one hundred dirhams and not more than (1,000,000) million dirhams, provided that the violating acts and the fines to be imposed on their perpetrators are determined in accordance with a decision issued by His Highness the Chairman of the Executive Council, and the value of the fine is doubled in the event of the same violation being committed again. Within two years of committing the previous violation, and not exceeding (2,000,000) two million dirhams.

In addition to the fine penalty, the law allows the competent authority, in coordination with the relevant government agencies, and in a manner appropriate to the nature of the violating person, to take one or more of the following administrative measures: stopping the issuance or renewal of the owner’s building permits related to the building in violation until the causes of the violation are removed, and stopping or not accepting any transactions related to the building in violation with government agencies or private agencies, including stopping the certification of Lease contracts for real estate units in the building subject to the violation, for a period determined by the competent authority in coordination with the Land Department.

The law also stipulates that imposing the penalties and administrative measures stipulated in this law does not prevent the violator from being subjected to civil or criminal liability when necessary, as well as any penalties or administrative measures imposed on the engineering office or contractor in accordance with the legislation regulating the practice of engineering consulting activities or contracting activities, in the event that the engineering office or contractor breaches any of the obligations. imposed on them under the provisions of this law and the decisions issued pursuant to it.

Grievance

The law permits any interested party to file a grievance in writing to the official of the competent authority regarding the decisions, procedures or measures taken against him under this law and the decisions issued pursuant to it, within (30) thirty days from the date of his notification of the decision, procedure or measure he is complaining about, provided that this grievance is decided within (30) thirty days from the date of its submission by a committee formed by the competent authority for this purpose, and the The decision issued in this grievance is final.

Reconciliation of the situation

The law stipulates that all owners, contractors and engineering offices subject to the provisions of this law are obligated to adjust their situations in accordance with its provisions, within one year from the date of its implementation.

Any text in any other legislation shall be repealed to the extent that it conflicts with the provisions of this law, which shall be published in the Official Gazette, and shall come into effect after sixty (60) days from the date of its publication.