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Property management licence, whose units you run

DET issues the licence once DLD approves it. Managing your own units or other landlords' units sets the conditions.

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A shaded podium terrace with seating between residential towers in Dubai
Usual route
Usually mainland
Extra approval
DLD approval
Timeline
Weeks
AML
Not a DNFBP activity
At a glance

A property management licence in Dubai is a DET trade licence approved by the Dubai Land Department (DLD). Managing units owned by the company or close family is a private licence. Managing other landlords' units needs a large bank guarantee and practice cards for staff, and jointly owned buildings add RERA registration.

Covers
Letting and running landlords' units, renewals, rent and maintenance coordination
Not covered
Sales brokerage, holiday lets and the maintenance trades themselves
Premises
A company office; branches carry the parent's trade name
Timeline
Weeks, usually set by the bank guarantee

What property management covers

The licence covers looking after units over time, for a fee the landlord pays while the tenancy runs. One-off deals sit elsewhere.

Covered

Not covered

Common areas of a jointly owned tower need their own licence and RERA registration, so we add it early when a building contract is near.

Mainland or free zone for property managers

DLD approves the activity on both routes, so the choice usually comes down to where your buildings sit and where landlords expect to meet you.

Likely route by where most of your clients are
If most of your clients areLikely routeWhy
Landlords with units across DubaiMainland (DET)DET with DLD approval is the usual base for third-party management
Owners of units inside a free zoneEither routeA zone licence can work with its authority's NOC and DLD approval
Your own company's portfolioEither routeThe private licence follows the title deeds, held by the company or a partner

A free zone company can serve the mainland through a DET branch licence or permit (Executive Council Resolution 11 of 2025). DLD approval still applies, and mainland income can affect QFZP status.

Several free zones license this activity; we match the zone to your visas, office and banking. Compare free zones

Real estate management licence approvals

DET receives the application, and DLD approves the real estate activity before the licence issues. Staff then register with DLD and hold their cards before they deal with a single landlord or tenant.

  1. Before the licence

    • Trade name and initial approvalDET
    • Real estate activity approvalDubai Land Department (DLD)
    • Bank guarantee for landlords' unitsA UAE bank

  2. The licence

    • Trade licence issuedDET

  3. After the licence

    • Trakheesi registrationDLD
    • Practice cards for leasing staffDLD
    • Company and staff registrationReal Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA), for jointly owned buildings

Staff take on landlords once their cards are issued.

Whose units decide the licence

Tick everything you plan to manage in the first year. The heaviest item shows which licence the portfolio needs.

The private licence reaches relatives up to the second degree. A friend's flat does not. We check every title deed before the licence type is chosen.

Tick every kind of unit you will manage

Tick every kind of unit you will manage
What you planPoints to
a private leasing and management licence, with the title deeds on file
a private leasing and management licence, with the title deeds on file
a DET holiday home licence, with a permit for each unit
a jointly owned property licence, with the company and staff registered with RERA
a third-party leasing and management licence, an AED 5 million bank guarantee and practice cards
a third-party leasing and management licence, an AED 5 million bank guarantee and practice cards

The bank file for a property manager

Bank viewBank relationship needed early for the third-party guarantee

Banks meet a property manager before the licence issues, because a UAE bank provides the guarantee that DLD asks for on third-party management. Rent then flows in from many tenants and out to many landlords. That draws questions. We put the management agreements, the fee model and a plan for keeping landlords' money apart into one file, so the review sees how each dirham moves.

AMLNot a DNFBP activity; the bank's own customer checks still apply.

Where property management files stall

  1. A friend's flat on the private licence

    The private licence covers units owned by the company, its partners and their relatives up to the second degree. Anyone else's unit is third-party work, which brings the bank guarantee and the practice cards with it.

  2. The guarantee left until the last week

    Third-party management needs a bank guarantee before DLD approves the activity, and a new company without any banking relationship in the UAE can wait weeks for one. The licence waits with it.

  3. Tower contracts signed before RERA registration

    A jointly owned building needs its own licence, with the company and its staff registered with RERA. Founders often sign with a developer first, and then the registration sets the start date.

Questions about a property management licence

A question about your plan? Describe your property management plan and an advisor replies on WhatsApp.

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What are the property management licence requirements in Dubai?

It depends on whose units you manage. Your own or close family's units need a private licence and the title deeds. Other landlords' units need a third-party licence, a large bank guarantee and practice cards for staff. Jointly owned buildings add RERA registration for the company and its staff.

How to start a property management company in Dubai?

Start by deciding whose units you will run, because that sets the licence type. DET receives the application and DLD approves the activity, so for third-party work the bank guarantee has to be in place before the licence can issue at all. We map your first landlords and buildings to the right licence.

Can a free zone company offer property management in Dubai?

Yes, with a NOC from its own authority and DLD approval of the activity. Many managers still choose DET, since the landlords they work for and the buildings they look after usually sit across the mainland rather than inside one zone. A free zone company serving mainland landlords may also need a DET branch licence or permit.

Who manages owners association buildings in Dubai now?

A licensed management company. Law 6 of 2019 replaced owners associations with owners committees, which advise, while management companies run the common areas under RERA's supervision. The company and its staff register with RERA, and staff hold registration cards before they start work on a building.

Is a real estate management licence the same as brokerage?

No. Management covers looking after units and tenancies over time for a management fee. Finding a buyer or a one-off tenant for commission is brokerage, which DLD licenses as separate activities. Many firms hold both, so we check the fee model before the activities are chosen.

Related pages

Private licence or third-party licence? Count whose title deeds you hold

Thirty minutes on your landlords, your buildings and your fee model. You leave with the licence type, the route and the order of the DET and DLD steps.

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On the call

  1. The activity wording that fits your plan
  2. The route, and the approvals in order
  3. A written scope, agreed before any work starts
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