UAE: Dubai Tourism has introduced new rules to regulate the emirate’s growing short-term rental sector.
Dubai already has 57 licensed rental operators with more than 1,600 properties registered.
The Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) has announced executive resolution 3/2015 to provide “greater transparency, safety and standardisation of the market to further increase the sector’s attractiveness to guests, home owners, operators and developers”.
The move is part of Dubai’s objective to further diversify and increase its hospitality offering in line with its vision to attract 20 million visitors to the emirate by 2020, Dubai Tourism said.
The regulations bring the holiday home sector in line with Dubai’s wider hotel and hotel apartment guidelines, and introduce mandatory criteria for property owners, including quality standards, amenities, health and safety, insurance necessities, code of conduct, and wider community integration.
Homeowners are required to use a Dubai Tourism licensed operator to rent out their homes. Operators are accountable for ensuring the property meets all legislative requirements and complaint management policies, are sufficiently maintained and are accurately listed to visitors. The regulations also stipulate specific requirements for operators to adhere to in order to obtain their licence, further building market confidence in the sector.
Dubai Tourism said it will regularly inspect registered homes, which are classified as standard or deluxe depending on their offering, to maintain standards and issue penalties for non-compliance to regulatory demands.
Khaled Bin Touq, executive director, licensing and classification sector at Dubai Tourism, said: “The decision to regulate Dubai’s holiday home sector is to broaden the range of options available to visitors, while ensuring that the high standards of quality for which Dubai is known are maintained. Visitors booking their accommodation through licensed operators will have the assurance that their accommodation has been classified in line with global best practices, while owners of properties will benefit from the expertise and marketing capabilities of the operator through who they rent out their property.
“The holiday home market is a key facet to us achieving our long-term visitor goals in addition to delivering the right accommodation mix that is extremely well regulated and attractive to the diverse needs of travellers. Furthermore, these regulations empower building management companies, developers and home associations to be an active player in ensuring the quality of Dubai’s Holiday Home offering, driving a mutually beneficial increase of the emirate’s overall destination competitiveness and appeal,” he added.
www.visitdubai.com/en</p
