Mohammed bin Rashid issues a law regulating the occupancy and management of shared housing in 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. (4) of 2026, regulating the occupancy and management of shared housing in the Emirate of Dubai.

The provisions of the law apply to all real estate units located in the Emirate of Dubai, including real estate units located in special development areas and free zones, owners authorized to allocate their real estate units for shared housing, and residents of real estate units designated for shared housing.
As well as establishments licensed by the commercial licensing authority to engage in the activity of renting and managing the real estate unit for the benefit of the owner, or the activity of renting the real estate unit from the owner for the purpose of re-renting it to the residents. The provisions of the law also apply to rental contracts and management contracts concluded between the owners or establishments and the residents, provided that real estate units designated for collective labor housing are excluded from the provisions of this law.

The law aims to regulate the management and occupancy of real estate units designated for shared housing in Dubai in a way that guarantees the rights of owners and residents, improves the shared housing system, and ensures the provision of a suitable residential environment for different societal groups in Dubai, in accordance with the public health and safety requirements required to be provided in real estate units designated for shared housing in accordance with the legislation in force in the emirate.
The law also aims to eliminate the phenomenon of overcrowding and random congestion in residential areas and neighborhoods within Dubai, reduce security risks and challenges and negative repercussions that affect the security and stability of society, prevent its aggravation, limit the spread of random shared housing in Dubai, address violations related to construction and uses of land and buildings in accordance with the legislation in force in the emirate, and ensure the achievement of justice in renting real estate units. Allocated for shared housing, which contributes to the stability of the real estate market in the emirate, preserving the cultural and aesthetic appearance of the emirate, and contributing to reducing the negative aspects arising from the unregulated use of buildings, homes, and other real estate units designated for shared housing.

Dubai Municipality specializations
According to the law, Dubai Municipality is considered the competent authority to organize shared housing in the emirate, and under the law it has a number of tasks and powers, most notably: preparing the general policy and strategic plans related to organizing shared housing in Dubai, presenting them to the Executive Council of the Emirate of Dubai for approval, and determining the conditions for allocating a real estate unit to shared housing, including the maximum number of residents allowed in each real estate unit. The space allocated to each resident, and the common services and facilities that must be available in the real estate unit.
Likewise, Dubai Municipality is responsible for determining the standards and specifications of the areas in which the activity is permitted and allocating real estate units for shared housing, provided that in determining those standards and specifications, the urban planning of the emirate, the population density in those areas, the infrastructure and the sewage system therein, the social nature of the residential neighborhoods, and the establishment of a unified digital platform across Dubai, dedicated to receiving requests. Obtaining permits related to allocating real estate units for shared housing, studying and deciding on these requests, and operating, managing, supervising and updating this digital platform, in a way that ensures the documentation, organization and management of shared housing in the emirate, linking it with the electronic record of shared housing established by the Department of Lands and Properties, and making it available for use by the competent authorities.

Specializations of the Land Department
The law stipulates that the Dubai Land Department will manage the electronic registry for shared housing and link it to the digital window of Dubai Municipality, specify the basic data that must be recorded in it, and update it based on the changes that occur in the shared housing, in coordination with the competent authorities, and determine the basic data that must be included in lease contracts and management contracts, provided that these contracts include data of lessors, numbers of residents, and data of units. Real estate and areas allocated for shared housing, and developing unified forms for these contracts and including them on the department’s website.
The Department of Lands and Properties is also responsible for verifying that establishments comply with the requirements and controls of the activity they are authorized to practice in accordance with applicable legislation, and developing an index for the rent of real estate units designated for shared housing and updating it periodically, provided that this index takes into account the technical and service specifications of the real estate unit, and coordination with the commercial licensing authority in each. Regarding issues related to practicing activity in the emirate.

Declaration
It is prohibited by law for any natural or legal person to allocate the real estate unit for shared housing, except after obtaining a permit that is issued and renewed in accordance with the conditions and procedures specified by a decision issued by the Director General of Dubai Municipality in coordination with the Land Department and the competent authorities, provided that when issuing and renewing the permit, it must be taken into account that the real estate unit fulfills the requirements and technical requirements specified in this law, including the requirements for planning and building specifications. approved by the competent authority, public health and safety requirements, the maximum number of residents allowed in each real estate unit, the space allocated to each resident, and the common services and facilities that must be available in the real estate unit.
The law stipulates that the permit period should be one year, renewable for similar periods. The competent authority may, upon the owner’s request, set the permit period at two years, provided that the permit renewal application is submitted within at least thirty (30) days from the expiration date of its term.

Renting the real estate unit
According to the law, the right to rent the real estate unit designated for shared housing is limited to the owner and the establishment only, and residents and third parties may not re-rent the real estate unit or any space allocated to them in it to others. Renting the real estate unit after obtaining the permit occurs through the owner concluding rental contracts himself with the residents, or the establishment managing and renting the real estate unit for the benefit of the owner under the management contract, or the facility renting the real estate unit from the owner. Pursuant to a lease contract, for the purpose of re-renting it to the residents.
Conditions and technical requirements
The law specifies a number of conditions and requirements for the purposes of approving the allocation of the real estate unit for shared housing, including: that the real estate unit fulfills the requirements of the planning and building specifications approved by the competent authority, and the public health and safety requirements that are determined in accordance with the guide issued by the municipality in coordination with the concerned authorities, including safety requirements, firefighting, and regulations. Health, environmental, security, and public electricity network safety systems. The law also specifies the landlord’s obligations, the resident’s obligations, and the mechanisms for promoting and advertising real estate units designated for shared housing.

Penalties and administrative measures
The law stipulates that anyone who commits any of the acts that violate the provisions of this law and the decisions issued pursuant to it shall be punished with a financial fine of not less than (500) five hundred dirhams and not more than (500,000) five hundred thousand dirhams. The value of the fine shall be doubled in the event of the same violation being committed again within one year from the date of committing the previous violation, and its maximum limit shall not exceed (1,000,000) million dirhams.
In addition to the fine penalty, the law allows Dubai Municipality, the Land Department and other competent authorities to impose a number of measures on violators, including: suspension from practicing the activity for a period not exceeding six (6) months, cancellation of the permit, coordination with the commercial licensing authority to cancel the facility’s commercial license, and cutting off public services for the violating real estate unit or the real estate unit in which the committed violation is not corrected in coordination with The entities concerned with providing these services, until the causes of the violation are removed, and the real estate unit that is in violation of the permit requirements is vacated based on the decision of the enforcement judge at the Rental Disputes Settlement Center.

Resolving disputes
According to the law, the Rental Disputes Settlement Center in Dubai is exclusively responsible for examining and adjudicating all disputes and disputes related to the rights and obligations stipulated in this law and the decisions issued pursuant to it. The Center is responsible for reviewing and adjudicating these disputes and disputes in accordance with the rules and procedures in force in this regard.

Reconciliation of the situation
All owners who allocated their real estate units for shared housing, as well as establishments operating in Dubai before the provisions of this law came into force, must adjust their situations in accordance with its provisions, within one year from the date of its entry into force. The Director General of Dubai Municipality may extend this period once when necessary.
Issuing executive decisions
With the exception of the decisions that the Chairman of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Dubai and the Director General of Dubai Municipality are authorized to issue in accordance with the provisions of this law, officials of the competent authorities, each in their field of competence, shall issue the decisions necessary to implement the provisions of this law, and these decisions shall be published in the Official Gazette of the Government of Dubai.
Any text in any other legislation shall be repealed to the extent that it conflicts with the provisions of this law. It shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall come into effect after (180) one hundred and eighty days from the date of its publication.